Day 4 on Easter Island

We set out in the morning to visit the museum, a task that was easier said than done. To find it you walk out of town, past the cemetery, and past Ahu Tahai. At that point we got lost as we should have been right on top of the museum, but it was nowhere to be seen. Eventually, after enquiring the way a couple of times, we found it. The museum contains displays of various artifacts and explanation boards telling one about the evolution of the island geologically, and then its history since being populated. Its prime exhibits are the only genuine moai eye found (it is made of coral) - the one on a nearby re-erected moai is a reproduction glass eye , a female moai, examples of petroglyphs and a genuine Rongo Rongo tablet.

Rongo rongo is the hieroglyphic script of Easter Island, and nobody has yet decoded the few surviving examples. The tablets upon which the script is written are wood, never stone, and consist of rows of tiny symbols like birds, animals, plants, and various geometric forms. When the Peruvian slavers abducted the men who could read the scripts, and those men died in South America, the knowledge of decoding the scripts died with them.

Petroglyphs, or rock carvings, are unusual designs carved into the rocks in many places on Rapa Nui. They are difficult to make out unless the sun is in the right place. Easter Island rock art was overlooked until 1981 when an documentation project began. The normal locations are smooth areas of lava flow, referred to as 'papa', or on smooth basalt boulders. Most of these surfaces occur along coastal areas and are often associated with major ceremonial centres.

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To get to the museum you walk out past the ahus at Tahai, and if you are like us, ask the way there.

Original moai eye of coral	An unusual female moai	A rongo-rongo tablet

Examples of petroglyphs from ..	across the island, with a bit of	help from Photoshop contrast

In the afternoon we explored the town

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Chilean police waiting for trouble	Napa Nui Parliament complaining	about Chilean colonisation

restored old island jail	Shop where we bought bread	Town church

Typical street scene Hanga Roa	The little port in Hanga Roa	Cemetery

The Chilean police are around in some force on the site of a disputed hotel - 4 men and 2 patrol cars on duty 24 hours a say. I understand that 120 Chilean police have been brought to the island to cope with the "unrest". I felt that the government action was to "in your face" and was further alienating the populace

There is a Rapa Nui Parliament, a self-appointed Parliament set up by the local council of elders in 2001 with the aim of recuperating all Rapanui lands. It demanded a limitation on the development of economic and commercial activities by state employees on the island. It also demanded labour norms that favoured the native population. Indigenous rights issues are closely linked to questions of sustainability and responsible resource use.

The old island jail is no longer used for its original purpose, but has been restored, and is one of the few old buildings to be seen in Hanga Roa.

The Catholic Church in Hanga Roa has wood figures that combine catholic elements with symbols of the Rapanui culture. Masses are held on Sunday, with chants in Rapa Nui and melodies with a stressed Polynesian rhythm.

The cemetery is worth visiting during a wander. Islanders believed that in death the soul is returned to the ocean. Accordingly, graves face inland, so that relatives can gaze over the Pacific to view their loved ones. Gravestones are small and traditional, with many wooden crosses around the site.

Dinner at La Kaleta restaurant on the harbour

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That's it on the left and we sat ..	and watched the sun set over the	..sea as we had our dinner

A really wonderful position at the end of the pier at the harbour. You dine on a deck right on the sea, and watch the sun set as in my photos above. The food was good, and of an average price by local standards (that is expensive by normal standards!)

We had problems with the staff being a trifle aggressive, in "allowing" us to sit in a half empty restaurant. They also told us in no uncertain terms that we could not pay by credit card - we did not want to anyway. And when the bill came, they added 10% "optional" charge that had not been declared in the menu. I declined therefore to give any tip - they would have got one otherwise.

Another odd thing was they would not give me a wine list so that I could see the prices, the waitress just refused. So I ordered beer, rather than take the risk of a tourist rip off. You pays your money and takes your choice with this place Good position, reasonable food, appalling service