On our last day on the island we headed over to the island's museum. It had loads of interesting information about the history of the island and its people, as well as Polynesia generally. I've put a lot of it in the last couple of entries, but the biggest thing that came out from it is how much history is now lost - around the time the Europeans came the people stopped believing in their old customs, and therefore stopped passing it down orally through the generations. There is so much they just don't know, which felt sad.

We particularly liked the reproduced stone tablets with writing on like petroglyphs - apparently no one knows how to read it. There was also interesting details about how moai were built, including tools they found, and a female moai. I also liked the coral eye they had found - all moai when in situ had carvings allowing them to put in the eyes, when and why they did this isn't known. We then went over to the only moai on the island with artificial eyes in. It looked a bit scary!

Later we went to the airport, and were given a moai necklace each by our host. When we had gone through security we found yet another moai next to the runway. I was a bit unnerved when a Chinese man asked me to take a picture of the moai, and it turned out he wanted me in it! Rob found his fascination with my pale skin and blonde curly hilarious though.