Being an island, Rapa Nui offers a number of possibilities for diving. I had read that there was an underwater moai at one of the dive spots - something I simply HAD to see. So this morning, I went diving. According to my guide, the visibility was bad today: only 30 meters. On good days, visibility could be as far as 70 meters, he said. Since I've never had visibility above twenty-something meters so far, I was perfectly satisfied with 30. The moai - a replica, to be sure - was impressive: just sitting there, gazing out into the sea, and slowly being populated by coral and other sea life. But, I'm almost sad to say, the real highlight of the dive were once again the animals. There were trumpet fish, a number of different moray eels and schools of little black fish with a bright white rim. And - what great luck - we also saw a big sea turtle. First, she was just relaxing on the ground, so we lay down in front of her to watch for a bit, and when we left, she also decided to go and swam away to the surface. What an amazing sight!
Later in the day, I went for another walk to the nearby archeological site of Vinapu. Besides the usual moai, the site had a very fine ahu that reminded me of Inca masonry:
Seems not only South Americans were fine masons ;-)
After the walk, I got back to the western coast of the island just in time to witness a beautiful sunset. Have a look:
Later in the day, I went for another walk to the nearby archeological site of Vinapu. Besides the usual moai, the site had a very fine ahu that reminded me of Inca masonry:
Seems not only South Americans were fine masons ;-)
After the walk, I got back to the western coast of the island just in time to witness a beautiful sunset. Have a look:
