Ahu Akivi, Terevaka, Ana Te Pahu & Ahu Te Peu. Escaping the rain.

For our last day at the island we only had a few spots left on our to-do / to-see list and we felt like a hike would be nice as well as visiting the other beach next to Anakena, Ovahe.

We started with a visit to Ahu Akivi which was also at the same place as the hike would commence. This hike would take us to Terevaka where you were supposed to have a 360 ° view of the island. During our visit to Akivi we had to escape to the car due to showers and the clouds looked daring today. Starting with showers already at the morning... Looked like our beach plans needed to be cancelled. 

We started the hike and already after a few meters we had to hide under some trees when another shower announced itself. We had pretty good protection here though and continued our walk once it passed. After that we only got a few drops on us and it felt like we've chosen a location on the island where you could escape the rain. But we could see other parts of the island where it definitely rained. 

Raining down there

One of many craters on this island

The hike itself was easy walking mostly besides farm land on a tractor road which later turned into a little trail. Maybe not the most beautiful one, especially not considering we recently been in Patagonia. After we climbed a top of one crater, which didn't give a 360 ° view, J had a hard time believing we would get that kind of view anywhere around here. We almost made an end to the hike there but I wanted to continue a bit and thanks to that we also find a sign with "Terevaka" a bit further on. Hence where we were supposed to go. And this one actually had a 360 ° view in that you could see the water surrounding the island. I tried getting a picture of this but I didn't wanna include the other tourist so unfortunately I ended up with pictures mostly of the sky... J wasn't too impressed so our devoted photographer during this trip didn't take a single photo up here (!). We were both happy with the leg stretch though.

Terevaka

Still not that bad kind of view though?

Once we came back down we decided to go to some caves, Ana Te Pahu, where people (amongst many other things) used to gather water. Taking advantage of the natural filtration of rain water through the ground. There were also other things in the cave and a very big system down here. We only walked a little bit inside them since you never know how safe it is and J is not a big fan of caves.

Cave opening

We did three stops after the hike and after that we were starving and the weather was still unstable so we decided to head into town to get some lunch. We ended up at "Club Sandwhich" that our host recommended but had been closed the days before. A cheap place for Easter island standards with fast food sandwiches. Heavy portions so this is where our host took here grandchildren when their mother didn't know to spoil them with not so healthy food. Very cute. Not the best choice to have three cups of ice cream before this though ;-)

Ahu Te Peu

After this refill it was already afternoon and we had only missed a few spots on our list. Ovahue would probably not be visible right now due to the tide. Another one was a couple of remains that probably would require a guide that we missed the day before since we timed it with cattle being released by a young boy on a horse. It was crazy getting through on the bumpy road so we just missed the exit and didn't wanna go back in the chaos. I had my mind set on a sunset through a cave at Ana Kakenga but after a bit more research we realized this place wasn't marked once getting there (no signs etc). The entrance was a little hole in the ground where you had to get in, in a small area with barely half a meter before it getting bigger in the actual cave. Hello claustrophobia. Suddenly the idea of seeing this sunset wasn't so thrilling anymore and our host told us the cave filled up too much on rainy days. So mission not entirely completed but enough for us at this island.

We returned the car, strolled around some shops and celebrated (our mission) with dinner and drinks at a place further down the road. Quite cozy with many locals that arrived later on during the evening.  And yes the return went smoothly, no argues or complaints. Phu.

Hasta luego,
S