We were signed up for two trips today, the morning outing was to the quarry from which all the Moai came. They were carved out of the Rock and then transported somehow across country to the platforms upon which they were to be stood. Only the eyes and the headdresses were done at the final site. We walked along one of the 'roads' that the Moai were taken. Along the way, you see abandoned and broken Moai - where something has happened during transportation and the monument is abandoned. The quarry itself has any number of part carved and all but complete Moai both still in the rock face and down the slope from it. When one looks at a 22m statue weighing about 80 tons, it makes you wonder how they were carved using basic chisels made of rock and how they were moved, let alone brought upright at the relevant site if they got there in one piece! The quarry is on the outer wall of the second volcanic crater on the island. We visited this after the quarry - it has its own ecology and a dose of wild horses!
Lunch was a barbecue/buffet near the coast, which was very good (and Pete was very popular because having disclosed no fish in advance, there was steak - something the guides more than anybody, probably even Pete, thoroughly appreciated!)
In the afternoon, we had signed up for a hike that was misleadingly called the hibiscus valley. It was actually a trek up to the highest point on the island. On this occasion, we were the laggards being at least double the age of any of the others on the walk. With lungs complaining because it was somewhat humid this afternoon, we made it up to the top and were rewarded with views over the whole island - all three coasts. The walk down was not overly exciting as the path was wide and the scenery was rolling countryside rather than anything of great interest. Having thought we were a bit slow - on the way up - our guide reported that we had done the excursion an hour quicker than anyone else in the past few weeks. Maybe we were not as slow as we thought but just run ragged by the youngsters!
Only one more full day to go here; we intend doing a longer walk tomorrow to cover off a number of the historic sites on the north coast.
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