Wednesday 24th April

 We were up early, at 4.30 a.m. and quickly got dressed and packed for our taxi pick up at 6 a.m. The hotel had coffee in the lobby for early risers  and the taxi arrived promptly at 6 a.m. The trip to the airport was quick and smooth and we were soon checked in for our flight to Rapa Nui. We found a lounge and were able to spend a comfortable couple of hours awaiting boarding. As with so many airports, the walk to the gate was very long! When we arrived, boarding had already started and it was clear that the plane would be full waiting in the line to board I could scarcely believe my eyes when I spotted the famous concert pianist and Rapa Nui native Mahani Teave with her family also waiting to board.

When we were seated, she passed my seat and I told her that 95% of the reason we were coming to Rapa Nui was to see the music school she is a co-founder of. She was very gracious and said she would see me after we arrived.

The flight was 5 hours and was very calm and comfortable in the Boeing 787. We landed and went to the arrivals hall to collect our bags. Rapa Nui is two hours behind the time in Santiago or EDT There, Mahani Teave was as good as her word and gave me the phone number to call at the school and suggested that Friday would be the best day to go. This was so nice of her, I appreciated it very much.

We were then met by Maeva a bubbly and vivacious young lady from the AirBnB cabanas which are called Tip Tip Hoe, that we are staying at on Rapa Nui. She garlanded us with leis and led us to her small SUV to take us a short tour of the town of Hanga Roa and to point out various places of interest, including her favorite restaurants, where to purchase the pass which allows access to the parks on the island and supermarkets, etc. Maeva is very enthusiastic and suggested some half day tours which she said would cover the main points of the island. She also took us to our cabana, a charming little house with everything we need, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and small living area all faced with lovely dark local wood.

The small town of Hanga Roa is spread out and has a few small shops, a small harbor where there are boats which will take you scuba diving and snorkeling as well as fishing. 

After dropping us off we contacted Mike, Krista and Beverly whose AirBnB was some way away from us. They had rented the truck of their host and said they would come and pick us up to go to dinner.

They arrived and we went the short distance to the shore where there are a number of restaurants. We chose one which served every kind of food imaginable, Indonesian, Peruvian, Chinese, Ceviche and…….Rapa Nui! The food was tasty and the portions rather large!! During dinner someone arrived with an enormous tuna which had recently been caught. A testament to the quality and quantity of the fish here.

After dinner we found the place to buy the parks passes, which was, unfortunately closed and then to the supermarket to get some basic groceries. Then it was back to Tipi Tipi Hoe to show everyone our little house and then off to bed!

We decided that we would take a half day tour with Maeva the next day and also rent her car for the three days we are here so we would be mobile. We will be picked up at 9 a.m. in the morning for the first of our tours. I will also call the music school and arrange our visit there on Friday.