Today I organized a full day tour with a local agency. It was a good price and I wanted the extra benefit of having a guide to try and get the most out of this amazing place. Our minibus was full but it was a nice opportunity to meet some people. We headed north from Hanga Roa on the coastal road with our first stop being Ahu Akahanga. This was a large Ahu where the moai had been toppled over.

After that we went to Ahu Tongariki, one of my favourite sites consisting of 15 reconstructed moai. It was very dramatic - I don't know if I'll ever get bored of looking at the moai! These 15 had been pushed over and destroyed but to make matters worse a large earthquake in Chile had created a tsunami that hit Easter Island and damaged them even further. At the site all of the moai have been repaired but the pukao (topknots) were not so lucky. These could not be put back in their rightful places as they were too eroded to balance back on top of the moai. Also at this site was a moai face down on the ground, however this one is different because it never actually made it to its intended Ahu platform. Archaeologists know this because the eye sockets had not been carved, and they used to do this in situ on the Ahu. It probably broke during transportation and was then abandoned because they believe it has lost its "mana" (spirit). One other moai here is known fondly as "the travelling moai" as it has visited countries all around the world!

After Tongariki it was time to head to Rano Raraku. I was really looking forward to this site. This is the quarry where the moai were carved. It was amazing. A path led us along the hill looking up at the rock face and surrounding us were moai at various stages down the hill, having started to be transported, almost like they were walking away from the quarry. It was quite eerie, it looked as though one day this was a quarry in full flow with half completed moais still attached to the rock face and completed moais being transported, and then the workers just put down their tools and left, never to return. We spent quite a lot of time exploring the quarry and taking photos. We learned how the moais used to be carved and the different theories archaeologists have for their transportation - although no one actually knows for sure. We also saw the largest moai ever carved, measuring 21m in length. We ate our lunch in a picnic area here and did a short walk up to the crater.

Then we were on the move again, heading north and along the coastline. Our next stop was another Ahu with a fallen moai but this one is special because it is the largest one they have found at a platform. It is 10m high and weighs in excess of 70 tonnes - quite a feat to get it there! Also here is a smooth very round rock that some people mistakenly call "the navel of the world". People think it has special "mana" (spiritual powers) because when you put a compass near it the north arrow swings round and round (actually due to magnetic minerals in the rock but a good story).

Our final stop of the day was Anakena beach, one of only two white sandy beaches on the island. It was a beautiful setting and felt special to swim in the pacific and look back at some moais on the beach.

That was the end of our tour but when we returned to town Laith (English guy), Jess (American girl) and I went for some pisco sours at a bar near the water and watched the sunset. We shared some ceviche and other seafood dishes and a bottle of wine, a very nice end to a great day.