The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island) Archeological walks

Easter Island, or Rapa Nui in the native language of the Polynesian people that first settled there, is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. (Tristan da Cunha in the southern Atlantic Ocean also lays claim to this title, depending on how one considers the year-round Antarctic base several hundred miles away). It is also not cheap to fly as LATAM airways is the only airline flying the nearly 2500 miles from Santiago (Rapa Nui is legally part of Chile) with between one and three flights per day depending on the season and day of the week. While providing the locals with much-needed income, the limited number of flights has the benefit of keeping the island from being over-run with tourists and their concomitant infrastructure that could easily ruin the whole experience.

Its compact size, interesting topography, and good road access to much of the island make Rapa Nui an ideal place to enjoy nature as well as the archeological remains from the Polynesians. Essential to planning your visit and appreciating the sites is A Companion To Easter Island (Guide To Rapa Nui) by James Grant Peterkin. We spent five night in a small AirBnB cabaña where we were able to rent a small 4×4. While we saw all the main sites, there were several more hikes to do had we more time – and had my gout not flared up!

Pastoral view from the Te Ara O Te Ao trail near its trailhead just west of the airport at Matarevi
Hanga Roa from the Te Ara O Te Ao trail. Hanga Roa is the only town on the island and where virtually all visitors stay. The runway is also visible in this photo.
Rano Kau crater and wetland. This is the only wetland on Rapa Nui and contains many endemic species.
Three islets off the southwest coast of Rapa Nui. The Tangata manu, or bird-man, was the winner of the competition to collect the first sooty tern egg of the season from Moto Nui (the largest islet shown here), swim back and climb the sea cliff to the village of Orongo.
Rapa Nui coastline near Ana Kai Tangata caves
Bird-man pictographs, Ana Kai Tangata.
Hanga Roa coastal view of the pebble beach and some restaurants and shops. Everything was expensive on the island, but the local seafood was excellent.
Petroglyphs at Papa Vaca (literally “stone canoe.”) Images at this site include fish hooks, tuna, canoes, turtles, and even one shark.
Rano Raraku quarry. If you visit one site on Easter, Rano Raraku with its over 400 Moai at various stages of production should be it. While you can walk the paths in less than an hour, plan on spending a morning here.
Moai in profile at Rano Raraku. Nearly all of the almost 900 known Moai were carved from tuff, compressed volcanic ash.
The kneeling Moai, Rano Raraku
A collection of Moai, Rano Raraku
Tongariki Moai and platform (ahu) from behind. This is the best example of the skill involved in constructing ahu for the Moai. Like all Moai, these had been toppled over during the civil wars on Rapa Nui and only recently restored.
The fifteen Moai at Tongariki. Note the top knot on the 2nd from the right Moai. Several others had similar red scoria (basaltic) head gear, but they have since been destroyed.
The “traveling” Moai at Tongariki. It was loaned to Japan for the 1970 World’s Fair and returned. In contrast, the British Museum, despite tearful entreaties from the Rapa Nui, has held the Hoa Hakananai’a for 150 years.
Rano Raraku quarry site seen from Tongariki.
Anakana platform (ahu) and Moai, many showing top knots. Anakana is one of only two white sand beaches on the island, popular with locals on the weekend.
Moai on its back at Akahanga. Very unusual since during the civil wars most Moai were toppled onto their faces to destroy their power.
Several top knots at Vaihu. Once thought to be hats, they more likely represent the hair style of the time. Only some of the later Moai were adorned with these massive basaltic sculptures.

And one final image to leave you with. . .

Tongariki and the rugged east coast of Rapa Nui from Rano Raraku

Right now I am relaxing on my balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean just north of Viña del Mar in Chile, planning my travels through the summer and will shortly update my calendar accordingly. My next blog post, in a couple of weeks, will be a smorgasbord of different hikes and walks I did on mainland Chile this past month. In the mean time, enjoy the outdoors where ever you happen to be.

The Vagabond Hiker

Climbing Ojos del Salado, the Highest Volcano in the World

After my Peak Lenin frostbite issue (see my post from September 2017), until now I had hesitated in climbing another high peak. But curiosity as to the lingering effects on my fingers must have gotten the better of me. This past two weeks eight of us (five Brits, myself and another American, and a Swedish woman (the only woman) attempted to climb a series of ever-higher peaks culminating in the 6891 meter (22,608 ft) Ojos in Chile. Ojos, whose summit is on the Chile-Argentina border, is the second highest peak outside of the Himalaya and the highest volcano in the world. Unlike its slightly higher (about 200 ft) more southerly neighbor in Argentina, Aconcagua, climbing Ojos does not require stumping up about $1000 in permit fees. It also has an interesting scramble at its summit, which is generally protected if you are using guides, as we were. Also, since it is not THE HIGHEST mountain, but only the SECOND HIGHEST in both the western and southern hemispheres, only a fraction of the number of climbers attempt the summit. Finally, the road systems, mostly made for the mines in this corner of the Atacama desert, provide many options for nearby acclimatization hikes, eliminating the need to repeatedly go up and down the mountain before summit day.

The photos which follow give an idea of the experience. Just imagine you are in a meat locker with a high-powered fan blowing while climbing. Read on to see whether I reached the summit.

Vallecito acclimatization hike vista. Our first hike was a short leg-stretcher about 1500 ft above our 10,000 ft campsite in the Vallecito Valley
Laguna Santa Rosa at sunset. We spent 3 nights in a hut beside this lake while doing two acclimatization hikes.
Laguna Santa Rosa from our Hermanas Peak hike. This photo shows the mineral salts around the lake. Hermanas Peak is 4950 m (about 16,250 ft). A little blob in the landscape, it is higher than Mount Blanc. Forty-plus mile an hour winds on the ridges made the climb not particularly enjoyable.
A flamingo feeding in Laguna Santa Rosa at sunset. There were several dozen altogether, but they were very shy so my 6x optical zoom couldn’t really do them justice.
Summit view from Cerro Pastillitos (5090 m, 16,700 ft) with the Tres Cruces far in the background. This peak was a long scree climb, our first over 5000 meters. All eight clients attained the summit.
Lagunas Verdes in the morning. After Laguna Santa Rosa, we drove to this highly toxic lake at about 4200 meters for the next 2 nights of camping.
A dessicated cow at Lagunas Verdes. Perhaps it drank from the arsenic-laced water that precludes any life? The warm springs on the lake shore were a welcome relief to some of us, however.
Some of our group at a rest stop during ascent of Carrancas Blancas. It was our first 6000 meter peak.
The Vagabond Hiker pointing out Ojos from near the Carrancas Blancas summit
Our summit team on Carrancas Blancas. I am on the left here. Only four of the eight clients reached the 6000 m (19,700 ft) south summit. The true summit is more than a mile along the ridge and only 200 ft higher, so no one made the additional 4 hour trek.
The Atacama Basecamp. About 5220 meters (17,100 ft), we camped there four nights during our climb of Ojos.
Ojos from the road hike up to Tejos Refuge. At 5825 meters (19,100 ft) supposedly it is the highest refuge in the world. While it is sometime used as a high camp, the small container-like building only has 8 bunks so we later chose to drive up to it to commence the summit day climb.
Ice Penitentes on the hike up to the Tejos refuge. These formations are common high in the Andes, and are a product of very dry air, strong winds, and of course the cold.
Dawn view with my boot on the Ojos climb. We had started climbing at 2:45 AM and I took this photo at about 6:30 during a rest break. There was no snow, so ice axes and crampons were not required. With the cold, though, double mountaineering boots were mandatory. At this point sunrise was about 1/2 hour away, but on the west side of the mountain it would not reach us until the summit block.
I reached the summit of Ojos del Salado (6891 meters, 22,608 ft) at 9:15 AM. Note the burly mitts to keep from getting a repeat of my Peak Lenin frost bite. Argentina is behind me. Two other clients (out of eight) attained the summit.
A final view of Ojos from Murray refuge with mining junk in the fore ground. We completed the trip in only 11 days (10 nights), much faster than is typically done on Aconcagua.
A study in contrasts on our jeep descent through Atacama foothills. The streams are created by snow melt in the summer. Contrary to common perception, it does precipitate in the Atacama, though generally only at high elevation as snow.

For the next 3 days I will be in Santiago, then on to other parts of Chile for the next 7 weeks. I expect to do another 2-3 posts during that time, though admittedly nothing nearly as extreme as Ojos. Stay tuned and keep hiking!

The Vagabond Hiker

Walking Lanzarote in the Canary Islands

Certainly there are worse places to spend the month of November than Lanzarote in Spain’s Islas Canarias. Located about 80 miles off the Coast of Morocco, it is to a large extent defined by the series of volcanic eruptions in the 1730’s.  Admittedly, my main purpose of renting an AirBnB apartment  overlooking the Atlantic in Puerto del Carmen was to enjoy the (relatively) warm ocean.  Nonetheless, I managed several interesting hikes/walks that encompassed some of the most interesting landscapes on the island.  Check out the photos below. . .

An Old Town harbor garden in Pueto del Carmen, near the beginning of my local coast walk.

Looking towards Puerto del Carmen from the coast path. I did this coastal hike (from my door) 6-8 times during this past month.

View along the path around the outside of Caldera Blanca. Here it doesn’t look much different from southwest Utah.

View of the Caldera Blanca from along its rim, with the west coast of Lanzarote and the ocean in the background. Amazing views make this one of the most popular hikes on the island.

A view towards the  Montana Caldereta from the rim of the Caldera Blanca. A recent lava field surrounds the caldereta. The white line in the background is a village.

Femes village, the trailhead for one of my hikes in the southeast of the island. Typical Lanzarotan architecture is seen here. Unlike other Canary Islands, Lanzarote has largely been spared unsightly development.

A ridge view near Pico Redondo towards Playa Blanca at the south end of Lanzarote. The island of Fuerteventura is on the left in the background. A 45 minute ferry runs several times a day from Playa Blanca to Fuerteventura and back.

A ridge view on Lomo del Pozo towards Puerto del Carmen

A coastal view back towards El Golfo on the west coast of the island. This land was created in the 1730’s through a series of eruptions.

Typical plants surviving in the tough west coast soil north of El Golfo in Timanfaya National Park

Further north on the west coast is the Playa de Famara.  With favorable winds and good surf, this beach is popular with both surfers and wind surfers.

The southern end of El Risco de Famara (cliffs) just north of the Playa de Famara. The path ended near here.

The Finca de Corona at the trailhead to another Risco de Famara hike even further north. It happens to be for sale.

Finca lands growing something. Agriculture (and viniculture) is definitely a challenge in the poor volcanic soil.

View from the top of the Risco de Famara. The path goes down off to the left here.

One of the few plants I saw in flower on the Risco de Famara

View towards Isla Graciosa from near the bottom of the Risco de Famara. I didn’t make it over to this small island last month. Something for next time.

Dunes and the Risco de Famara. The path back to the top is near the center of the cliffs here.

View from my balcony late one day. The island of Fuerteventura is visible to the right in the distance.

Wishing my readers a wonderful holiday season, my next post will be towards the end of January from Chile following my attempted climb of Ojos del Salado, the world’s highest volcano.

The Vagabond Hiker

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