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Tuesday, January 21st, 2014 – We were finally docked off shore and looked over the deck of the ship in amazement at Easter Island! We couldn't wait to get on the tender and head off in search of the giant Moai statues for which this Island is so famous.
Cruise ships very rarely come here because Easter Island is the most remote island in the world. Most people who have visited Easter Island had to fly and there is only plane service once a week. If you fly in you can't get a flight out for a week!
From what we understand, the annual Holland America World Cruise is the only cruise ship that goes to Easter Island anymore. Next year the world cruise is not going to Easter Island and it is not known if they will ever schedule it again.
In an earlier announcement the Captain had told us that Easter Island was his nemesis. They are only able to get people from the ship to the island 25% of the time. The last two years the ship was not able to tender anyone to the island and the year before that the tenders were badly damaged on the jagged rocks around the island when they were forced into them by the waves beating against the rocks. At least two tenders were damaged, one got a large hole in it.
When we saw the itinerary for this trip Easter Island was one of the deciding factors for us - we really wanted to see Easter Island! We talked to people on our ship who told us they had tried to get there 3 or 4 years and every time the tenders were not able to take anyone to the island.
When we woke up we had just dropped anchor and the seas were calm! This was so encouraging. Then the announcement came that a tender was being sent to the island with pilot crew only to test the waters and see if it was going to be safe to take the passengers to shore. We could see the waves splashing pretty violently against the rocks but we were still encouraged that it would be possible to visit the island!
No matter how calm the seas are, on these tiny little islands the waves are violet near shore and the coastlines are rocky! These small ports don't have real docks, just slabs of concrete or concrete steps with no handrails – very difficult to handle when getting off a rocking boat.
We were so excited when the Captain announced that the tender had safely returned and conditions were favorable! We would be able to visit Easter Island!
We knew that the swells were the least dangerous early in the morning and would gain momentum every hour so we knew our best chance to set foot on the island was to be on one of the very first tenders to leave the ship. On those years when the tenders were able to get passengers the short distance from the ship to the island the tenders were usually suspended after a few hours for people going to the island – it only made trips to return people to the ship after that.
The tender ride was very calm but as we got closer to the island we bobbed around a bit more but it was never bothersome. However, it was very difficult to get off the tender because there wasn't a real dock, not even handrails. The tenders were really getting a beating on the rocks around the island but I didn't hear any reports about any serious damage to any of them. The tenders were able to run back and forth until 4:00PM without suspending them all day!
As an added bonus, the ships tour was $200 per person and to see all the statues, many of the passengers took 2 different tours - $400 each or $800 a couple. We hired our own van and driver for $60 each or $120 a couple and saw everything!
I am so glad we got to see Easter Island and see the awesome Moai statues! What a memorable day!
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Thanks for spreading positivity!
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