Remnants of original moai, knocked down during the conflicts, further damaged by the 1960 tsunami.

The hibiscus here are plentiful, come in tons of colors, grow like weeds & are huge.

The navel of the light is that big round stone in the middle. This is as close as we can get to it.

Anakena: Tough to see here, but Ahu-Ature is the far right moai & is separate from the others.

The backside of these moai have oetroglyphs, but we had a hard time seeing them.

Full Day Tour, pt.2

February 12 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

3 more stops:
AHU TONGARIKI: the iconic symbol of Easter Island, it's the largest ceremonial site featuring 15 restored* moai statues on a 200m long platform [*the moais were toppled during the island's civil wars, and then in 1960 the ahu was swept inland by a tsunami. The site was restored in the 90's by Chilean & Japanese teams.]
TE PITO KURA: famous for one of the largest once-erected moai (10m tall, 80-ton, excluding its 12-ton 'hat') known as Paro which lies toppled near a highly magnetic, smooth, round stone called " Te Pito te Henua". Also considered the naval of the light, it is peculiarly round & is believed to be full of 'mana energy'. Today we're not allowed to touch it, but our guide told us he placed a compass on it when he was a child (before it was closed off from the public) & the needle just spun.
ANAKENA BEACH: aside from the white coral sand, there are 2 ahus: Ahu-Ature (which has a single moai) & Ahu Nao-Nao (which has seven, two of which have deteriorated.Read more