Getting to far distant, middle of nowhere Easter Island is half the battle at any given time. The other half ended up being getting on to Easter Island. We have come to realise that tendering 3000 people ashore is not an easy task. The Magnifican't manages to make it Herculean and also like the first time they've managed it - every single time. It took almost five hours to make the 10 minute boat trip to the island and the people we booked the private/small group tour with have the patience of saints. Which is lucky. We were only sharing the mini-van with one other couple and of course the same popsicle who said there was no point going to the queuing point until the official start of the queuing time was also the snowflake who suffers from low blood sugar so we absolutely had to stop at a supermarket for food en route to the Moai - despite starting the tour four hours late. As it turned out the bread at the supermarket was freshly baked, still warm and some bread, ham and cheese helped us use up some of our Chilean peso. But still - you'd think an adult could manage their dietary requirements without getting stroppy. Having said all that - WOW! What a wonderful place to visit and thanks be, we had an additional day due to the cancellation of the two days in Lima, Peru. The tour was fascinating and the weather was excellent - overcast, large and moody clouds providing atmosphere, not pissing rain and not blazing sun (though all did occur at times during the day) - just not when we were out of the mini-van.

The first stop was one of the three volcanic craters on the island and probably the most importtant stop of all, the quarry where the Moai were hewn by hand from the granite before being imbued with spirits and transferred to their Ahu or platforms elsewhere on the island. Rano Raraku is the only volcanic cone tuff quarry on the island so, if you like, the birthplace of every, single Moai that exists on the planet. Including Dum Dum - or the Moai who inspired the character in the movie 'Night at the Museum' with Ben Stiller. We took, as always, far, far too many photos and even managed to purchase a small Dum Dum carved from green onyx - but that was on our second day and thus we are jumping ahead.

The constant stair climbing on board (as we have forbidden ourselves from the use of the elevators) has definitely paid off. We were gallivanting about the steep hill site like mountain goats on speed and felt very fit indeed even though I had a sore throat coming on. Given the number of people onboard perpetually coughing up lungs, nothing to worry about. In the distance, near the end of the quarry visit, we could see our next stop - Ahu Tongariki (the Tongariki Platform).

Ahu Tongariki is the largest platform of all those reconstructed on the island and is also the most imposing. The Moai stand timelessly with the backs to the ocean and stare, as if homewards, to the Rano Raraku quarry in the distance. Apparently (certain museums are more guilty than others), a Japanese business had one of the Moai and ended up returning it to its home and paying for the restoration of Moai and the construction/reconstruction of the Ahu for this incredible collection.

We realised by this point that we had definitely chosen the best tour company on the island for our 5 hour 'see everything' tour. We would have needed to buy three of the ship excursions in massive coaches to even approach seeing all the sites and sights that this tour afforded us - at huge expense to management. Not these black ducks. Onwards and downwards to our next stop, Anakena Beach.

We are no longer denizens of beaches unless it's sunrise or sunset and we're there for a long walk. This was still a wonderful spot to visit with beautiful turquoise waters and coral sand. It is the main beach of the island and was the ancestral residence of the miru Araki royal family. Though today it was the residence of literally hordes of cruisers off our ship. It is also home to ahu Nau Nau - another of the islands ceremonial platforms and another wonderful opportunity to see a different style of Moai carving. Also shopping! We didn't have as much peso as we would have liked (though the lunch was lovely as we zoomed around the island in torrential rain). We therefore learned the hard way that there is no mobile reception, thus no mobile credit card facilities, at Anakena. Cash is king - even the tour operators - our guide and driver - had to have walkie talkies to allow for communications in this digital black spot. I did see a particularly pretty ring - only one of it's kind - and coughed up 5000 peso for it - very lucky as didn't see anything even remotely similar anywhere else during our two days at Rapa Nui.

We had a look at the souvenir offerings and carvings and by then had a good idea of what we were after by the time we left Anakena Beach. Onwards! We had already seen so much it was hard to believe there was even more of the island to see (and in all honesty, we hadn't looked at a lot of photos/done research - as it would have been all the more disappointing if we'd not made it here). Our trusty mini-van proceeded to haul its rear end up to Rano Kau. Wow. Keep saying it. Keep meaning it. This is the third crater on the island and we're now over the southwest side and can even see the ship as we head up. The advertising for the tour reckons that Rano Kau is 'one of the most beautiful natural landscapes of Rapa Nui' - and we're not going to argue. The crater contains a glistening lake and the whole area is comprises the biggest reserve of endemic flora on the island. The lake also provided drinking water back in the day. As far as we understand it the fruit and vegetables (including grapes!) is part of the public domain and people come in to harvest what they need. The expanse of the crater was definitely one of those photos that benefitted the wide-angle on the iPhone.

From Rano Kau's crater we continued a short way further to the last stop of our amazing tour. The O'rongo Village. We freely admit we hadn't been particularly interested in the Birdman ceremony - we were all about the Moai. Thankfully we had our excellent guide who pointed out all sorts of of important archeological features of the area and explained the Birdman proceedings. Suffice it to say, just like when they started making Moai, the Easter Islanders do not muck about and throw themselves into everything they do with a single minded focus that would rival the Spanish Inquisition.

It was safe to say we were exhausted by the time we returned to the ship having seen more of the island (and climbed it) than we could possibly have hoped for. It was dinner and a quiet night in that evening.

We were much more prepared for the tendering procedures the next day and turned up a solid hour and a half earlier than the scheduled start time. Just like everyone else. But it was less bothersome given we were just taking ourselves into town via a waterfront stroll. We also trundled up to the craft centre - easily half the price of the offerings on the pier and a much better selection. It felt like a just reward for walking up hill to get there. It was a quiet morning for the few vendors who were open, we were probably the first of the ship folk to make it there and had a grand time perusing the carved Moai offerings, selected Dum Dum, postcards and picked up some pretty shell based necklaces and earrings to go with the ring from Anakena and the shell earrings I found in a thrift store in Santiago (having no idea they were actually from Easter Island). By the time we stowed our parcels and prepared for the walk back, the vendors were doing a brisk trade (and no doubt on the phone to the other stalls saying get down here - it's a fiesta!). It was a blazing hot and sunny day and we were so lucky we did our tour on Day 1 - much more agreeable weather.

All told, a fabulous opportunity to visit a difficult to get to place. Unlike Antarctica, which we could visit over and over again, Easter Island is one of those spots that is brilliant to see - once. Certainly crossed of our bucket list now. Pitcairn Island - here we come!