Had a rough night sleeping in my room, not because of the gecko on the ceiling, but the neighbors next door were extremely noisy, the cardboard walls did not filter out any sounds at all, I could hear everything people next door said except it was not a language I understand. The worst one was around midnight or 1am, a woman came back and she talked so loud to her friends, it sounded like she was crying or something because she was frightened due to some situation. I was so tired myself and cared less what she bumped into, I just wanted her to shut the f up. Over the course of the night, I must have got awaken by the neighbors for 3 times. At 5am, the cocks in nearby houses starts to screaming morning, reminding everybody it's about time to wake up, except those "soon to be KFC" start to scream at 5am, does not stop until like 8pm in the evening. So, you really hear cocks' coo-cooing all day long. I set an alarm for 7:20am, but because there is no mobile connection here, my cell phone clock is all messed up. I must have put am as pm when I reset the clock manually last night, that the alarm has not come on at the appointed time. Due to the disturbance over the night, I have totally overslept. When I get up, it is already 8:20am, while I am supposed to be at the travel agent office by 8:30am to see whether there is any last minute availability for today's tours.
Skip the shower, skip the breakfast, just wash my face and run to the dining room. Ask the host Tesera where the phone is, and she says the agents are closed. I convince her that I was told to call in the morning. So, she dials for me. The first agent has no answer, the other one said all tours today are full. But I am quite sure that their 9:15am tour still has room, I don't believe that it got filled up already especially when they were closed yesterday afternoon. I decide to walk to the agent to talk to them instead of explaining myself to the host and ask her to call again. The sky still sprinkles a little bit when I head out. Hurry to the travel agent, get myself successfully sign up for the morning tour. I am excited about it, at least I have a tour to go today, instead of wasting my limited time in Easter Island. But that excitement lasts about 30 mins, until the rain has started to pour down. By then, I am already back to the hostel to grab a bread to eat, standing outside waiting for the pick up van, I am wearing a pair of shorts today and my wet walking shoes without the socks. Sooner enough my shorts are all wet already because the rain comes horizontally. Anyway, at that point, I am still convinced that it is better than sitting in a hostel all day.
Pick up by the tour van, there are mostly German and Spanish speaking people, there are so many German tourists that the group has an extra German speaking guide. An Englishman and I are the only ones who speak English. The Spanish/English guide is quite friendly. She also promises me to try to find me a seat for the afternoon tour. The rain is nonstop, we are supposed to go to Ogongo, a ceremonial village and its nearby crater. We are told that it's extremely foggy at the moment, even if we go up to the Ogongo and the crater, we would see nothing. So, we end up waiting for the clouds to clear in a small museum for almost an hour. I start to wonder if it is wise to join a tour after all. We finally get out of the museum and head to the Ogongo, the so called houses looks small for anyone to stand inside, but the guide says the people in the old days often did things outdoor, the houses are mainly for cooking and sleeping. They look more like terraces from above. On one side is the cliff with the houses, overlooking the 3 tiny islands off just by the edge of the Easter Island, the other side is the crater called Rano Kau, which looks very interesting. Spend maybe an hour at Ogongo, the rain starts to come down again and the whole hill is covered by fogs. At first, we are going to make some photoing stops, but clearly it is not possible, you can barely see anything. We come back down, and we stop by a cave where has some bird drawing on the ceiling. This also ends the morning tour. I honestly feel a bit disappointed about the tour, even though the tour guide is particularly friendly to me, still, CHP18,000 (US$34) to see what I have mentioned is a bit of a waste. The rain has made things much worst of course.
The guide tells me to wait for her at the Post Office at 3pm, she'd try to find me a seat for the afternoon tour. If that plan does not work out, I am going to hike to some moais on my own (which may take 1.5 hours way up and another hour back down). At 2:45pm, after some internet, I am already standing outside the post office, the rain is the heaviest at that time, my shorts are already soaking wet. What the hell with the weather, I am thinking, and if I should just head back to the hostel and call off the day, save another US$34 for the afternoon tour, which is probably disappointing with the rain. Try to think positively, right? so I continue to wait. The tour bus arrives, and I get the front seat with the driver. So, I have a tour to go to after all. The first stop is actually the few moais I already visited yesterday on my own. This time with a story I guess. And then we see a hilltop where the topknot were made, but because of the fog and rain and it is kind of cold too, so we really have not seen much there, just a slope with some half-carved stones laying everywhere. At last, we visit the 7 moais platform which I have planned to walk to. Story in the bus and some quick pictures due to the heavy rain, then the tour ends. Another US$34 for a just about 2 hour tour. Worth it, probably not, but I do my tourist duty and see the things I should see on Easter Island. Tomorrow, a full day tour to the south coast with tons with moais. Although the weather is not promising at all, according to the guide, it has been raining like this for 5 months already, I hope I will get to see more exciting than today's tours.
Debating what to eat for dinner, have had a pasta and a green tea for $26 freaking US dollar at lunch. My cash is literally running out. I understand the island is so isolated and I haven't regretted to come here since it is such a rare occasion, but I have started to feel that the tours and the meals are a bit of a rip off here. Just think about the main costs for a 3 days trip to Easter Island: the flight US$820, the meals US$60 a day if you dine out, the tour US$60 a day not including tips, the hostel depending on how well a place you want to stay, it could cost you between US$35-300 a night. Coffee break, snacks and fruits are not particularly cheap either, one should expect to spend US$15-30 a day, not including any souvenir of course. Easily, a 3 days trip to Easter Island costs way over US$1500. And for anyone who is planning to come here, a bit of an advice, pick the dry months to come here, if there is such a thing, and find your tours ahead. Unlike other places, the tour agencies operate in a very laid back style. If you come here on a weekend, you might find it hard to find yourself a tour.
Since I want to have a good meal on the last evening here, to balance out with the budget, I go to the grocery and get myself some breads, ham and mayonnaise to make myself 3 small sandwiches, that should be enough for the night. Still have pineapple juice and banana left from yesterday anyway. My second night on the Easter Island involves a large number of postcard writing.
Photos here: Day 48
