Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is much more than its nearly 900 statues. The moai are impressive, but so are the landscapes, with three extinct volcanoes forming an island shaped like a boat. We swam in the warm Pacific at sandy Anakena Beach. We climbed to two calderas, now filled with water and plants. The island’s trees were cut down years ago, with replacements of non-native varieties of plants today. Most of the moai had not yet been placed for particular people, as they were left near the quarry, rather than set atop platforms facing their ancestral villages.

The islanders were preparing for their annual Tapati Festival, which began soon after we left the island. We watched a large group of women rehearing their dance routines in the local school gym, but missed the complete cultural experience.

For stunning aerial views of the island, though with sad text about the fate of Rapa Nui, please see the New York Times article from March 14, 2018, with drone and still photography by Josh Haner.

Click on this link: Easter Island is Eroding.

For New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof’s March 17, 2018 article about Easter Island, click on this link: A Parable of A Self-Destruction.

Note: On some devices, clicking Play Slideshow may give very small images. For larger images, click on the first (or any other) image and then arrow through for the rest of the images.