Well we are in a museum which is actually an island. The whole place is full of history and our group has some knowledgeable people in it. When we arrived there was a mix up over hotels which we never got to the bottom of but at least we had a nice room but no pool. The island is quite windy and hence dusty which is made more a problem as the buses don't have a/c so you have the windows open and you get a reddy coloured tan. The sun is also an issue as there are no trees and no shade, quite a few people got sunburn on the backs of there legs. The island is covered with Maoi's statues and we debate why they are facing out to sea and how they were moved from the quarry. We see the sacred volcano which has a lake at its centre supplying the island with water. We made contact with people from Canada and NZ. The guides we had were very good and informative. We also saw a lava tube and cave paintings. Our "city" tour was by a 3rd generation Easter Islander who gave use a lot of information on supplies, tourism, and general life on the island and its relationship with Chile. Nasa had paid for the runway extension to allow international flights to land which has helped tourism as there is control on the number of cruise ships which can anchor off the Island.

Xmas was not an event and with little decoration, as being Catholic they celebrate with Midnight mass and then a meal. We paid for a show and meal on Xmas eve, but due to low numbers turned into a standard menu meal and a dance show which was good. When we walked home at after midnight everyone was in their gardens barbequeing.

We have now moved on so will send another blog after this one.