8 things about Easter Island

I traveled from Santiago to Easter Island with my friend Teresa for a visit, March 13-17, 2009. What we learned may prove useful to others planning a visit.

• Distance — Easter Island is one of the most remote islands in the world. It’s about 2,300 miles off the coast of Chile, which translates to a 5- to 6-hour flight from Santiago or Tahiti… on a regular jet, not a small commuter plane.

• Luggage allowance — Everywhere else in Chile we were allowed one 20-kilogram suitcase to check and one (or two) “reasonable” carry-ons. Only as we were checking in for our LAN flight to Easter Island did we learn they allowed each of us to check in two 20-kilogram suitcases but the one allowed carry-on could weigh no more than 4.50 kg (10 pounds).

I dumped items into Teresa’s checked suitcase until my carry-on weighed exactly 4.50 kg. (There was no leeway; at one point my carry-on weighed 4.52 kg and was still rejected.)

• Ice cream — Hanga Roa has some of the best ice cream in the world! Normally, I associate flavors such as pineapple or mango with icy sorbets, but this was ice cream. I don’t recall its name, but the coffee and ice cream shop on the cove at the corner of Policarp Toro and Te Pito Te Henua streets was so good, we tried to go every day. About $10 for two generous scoops.

• Easter Island passport stamp — On Te Pito Te Henua, up from the ice cream shop, is the post office, where for 500 Chilean pesos (about 89¢) you can have your passport stamped.

• Internet and phones — Continuing up the road from the post office and across the street, we found our favorite Internet café. In addition to accessing the Internet affordably, we could buy computer supplies, make copies and purchase beverages. We rarely had to wait for a computer except on Sunday night, when the café bustled with families and young couples.

Since neither my cell phone nor Skype worked on Chile’s mainland, it was no surprise they didn’t work on Easter Island. The phone booths in the Internet cafés were popular, but I found my 10-minute call to London from one of the booths expensive; I paid about $1.50 per minute. The Internet café might have been using VoIP, but I couldn’t tell. The charge for using computers at this café was about $4 per hour.

• Roving packs of dogs and horses — Dog packs intimidated us and bands of horses brushed us off sidewalks in Hanga Roa. We saved leftovers and fed any “single” (nonpack) dog we saw.

• Tropical paradise — Except for our last day (when it rained so hard the town lost power and most businesses closed), it was hot and sunny. I wore my hat and applied sunscreen liberally and often and still got scorched.

• Two days of tours is long enough — We joined two half-day tours on our first day on the island and one full-day tour on our second day. We saw everything we wanted to see and, in some cases, sites we could have skipped, such as caves and unrestored areas with little to view.

Highlights included Rano Raraku (moai quarry), Puna Pau (red scoria quarry), Orongo (Birdman cult), Tongariki (15 moai), Akivi (17 moai) and Anakena (beach and moai).

We are happy we made the journey to Easter Island, but we would not have wanted to stay longer.

CARRIE GILLESPIE

Richmond, UK