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| No......that's not me! After a long day of hiking we enjoyed a traditional Rapa Nui dance show by the Cultural Ballet Group Kari Kari. The group is committed to passing along to the younger generation the values and culture of the Rapa Nui people. They are also very excited to share it with visitors. It was high energy and very entertaining, especially for all the women on the first two rows. |
Although we were somewhat limited by the elevation in the Atacama Desert, we've certainly gotten our fair share of walking/hiking on this adventure. Yesterday was by far the longest distance we've covered at any one time on this trip. It was a beautiful out and back hike along the incredibly scenic northwestern coast line of the island.
It was pretty "idiot proof", even for the Traveling Idiots. Leave the bungalow, turn right at the coast and keep the water on the left. Go as far as you want to go, turn around, keep the water on your right until you get back to the starting point. There was an old road that is now closed to cars that we were on at times, but for the most part we were just following a path that had been used by people and horses. The people were pretty clean and neat, the horses left a trail behind them that kept us on our toes.
The hike will be memorable for it's beauty and serenity, but it will mostly be memorable for the two friends who accompanied us on the entire 10+ mile adventure. As I had mentioned previously, there are quite a few dogs on the island. They seem to be very well cared for and friendly with both people and each other. Like the wild horses, they tend to roam free, which I'm sure makes this somewhat of a dog paradise.
Within a couple of minutes of leaving the bungalow we were greeted by two friendly dogs. One was black, a little younger and smaller than his brown friend. We figured they'd be with us for a minute or two, then lose interest and turn around. We sure underestimated the friendship and loyalty of these two. They never lost interest in where we were going and stayed with us the entire journey. At first we referred to them only as "black dog" and "brown dog". As we got to know them better we figured they deserved better names so they became "Blackie" and "Brownie". Blackie, being younger and more energetic (at least for the first eight miles) would often run ahead as if he was scouting the trail. Brownie, being older and wiser (at least until he somehow got mud all over his head) must have realized what he had gotten himself into so he tended to stay close to our side.
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| Ruins of an old village we passed along the way. |
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| We were joined by a small herd of cows for a short time. |
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| Brownie making sure we were not in any danger |
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| I'm not lost and looking for the trail. Just admiring the view. |
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| There were a couple of caves along the trail. They had been used by early inhabitants of the island as shelter. |
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| This cave was an old lava tube. It was about 50 yards long with an entrance/exit at both ends. In the background you can see our friends Brownie and Blackie. |
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| Leading Beth, Brownie and Blackie in a song |
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| There was plenty of fresh water for the dogs the whole way. Usually when they would get to a water hole they'd just go right in. |
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| It was harder to get a picture of Blackie because he was always on the move. Even in this picture he just looks like a black blob. This was near the end of the walk and he finally settled down to join Brownie for a little rest. |
When we got back close to the bungalow they suddenly peeled off without so much as an adios. We looked back to see that they had returned home. They had plenty of water along the way, but we only packed food for us. Hopefully they had a nice, big bowl of dog food waiting on them...…….they had certainly worked up an appetite.
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This was right near the end of our hike. Blackie was sensing he was close to home and picking up the pace again.
Yes, that's a horse in the middle of the road...……..Welcome to Rapa Nui!
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