Recommend April 2013 - (Page 69)

S carla hunt Come to Easter Island for wild horses—yes thousands of them—white-sand beaches, a great outdoor museum of enigmatic stone statues, and even a high-end hotel or two. Head for the Galapagos Islands to track tortoises in the highlands, swim with the sea lions, dive deep for rays and sharks, cruise among many islands, and stay put on one or two. Actually, Easter Island and the Galapagos do have something else in common: they’re each unique. easter island: just call me rapa nui Easter Island may have jumped ﬁrst into travelers’ imaginations on reading “Aku-Aku,” charting Thor Heyerdahl’s quest (scientiﬁcally unfulﬁlled) to prove that seafarers from South America could have settled Polynesia. More recently, inspiration to add Easter Island to one’s bucket list of must-see places may have come from the exposure of its beauty (and the visiting beauties) in Sports Illustrated’s 50th annual Swimsuit Edition. Archaeologists and anthropologists are still unraveling the mysteries of the Polynesian people who arrived in giant canoes to settle around the eighth century on Rapa Nui—aka Easter Island; however, there is no mystery about why this dot in the Paciﬁc is a magnet for 21st century globetrotters. Located halfway between Chile and Tahiti, this remote, beautiful place is home to some of the world’s most colossal, stone-carved statues, known as moai. There are around 900 of these big-headed ﬁgures, scattered around the island’s 63 sq. miles, some lying toppled and littering the rolling grasslands, others clustered along the shore on ceremonial platforms, their elongated bodies and heads facing inland. When on the island, you hike up to the extraordinary site of Rano Raraku quarry, which occupies a volcanic crater and is the mother lode of Easter Island’s iconic moai, carved centuries ago. More than 350 unﬁnished statues remain, some upright, others face down, and others in various stages of completion still hewn into to the rock. The largest is 70 ft. tall and weighs 270 tons. Among other groups of moai, one shouldn’t miss the row of 15 statues at Ahu Tongariki. And for a look at a different side of the island’s past, take another hike, up Rano Kau volcano, whose crater measures a mile in diameter. Clinging to the lip of the crater high above the sea is the Orongo ceremonial village and ritual site, whose basalt rocks and cliff faces are covered with hundreds of Birdman Cult petroglyphs. It is also no mystery why this archaeological wonderland of ancient stone villages, open-air sanctuaries and great stone megaliths adds up to an ofﬁcial UNESCO World Heritage site. But Easter Island has other visitor pleasures: sightseeing on horseback; gorgeous mountain hiking; ﬁrst-class scuba diving and snorkeling; kayaking and surﬁng; sunbathing on white-sand beaches—Anakena, guarded by the seven towering moai, the best; and now, even ziplining. Pack a picnic when making the easy 5-hour hike along the length of the island to Rano Raraku from Hanga Roa, the island’s only town, and a laid-back one it is. Most hotels, with the exception of Posada de Mike Rapu, are in or within easy walking distance of town, where visitors ﬁnd a good Anthropological Museum, several ﬁne restaurants serving freshly caught ﬁsh, and excellent folkloric troupes who showcase island music, costume and dance in performances most evenings. the galapagos islands: a “bucket list” destination The Galapagos Islands, one of the world’s great expedition cruise destinations, continues to evolve in different ways. Over the centuries, the Galapagos cormorants, found only on Fernandina and Isabela islands, have come to swim but no longer ﬂy, while for some reason, Antarctic penguins and fur Two for the Road Located ﬁve hours by air from Santiago, Easter Island has moved up into the top three attractions on Chilean vacations, right behind southern Patagonia and Atacama, according to Michelle Shelburne, president of Ladatco Tours. “Part of this popularity is due to better access, with LAN now offering daily ﬂights, a frequency that gives ﬂexibility in planning that 4-night optimum stay. Additionally, we now have more and better places for clients to stay.” Shelburne books active clients into explora’s Posada de Mike Rapu, which has 30 spacious rooms with lavish bathrooms, and its all-inclusive rates cover two excursions a day—on foot or horseback. Her choice for traditional sightseers is the 75-room Hangaroa Eco Village & Spa, built of volcanic rock. Its spacious (500 sq. ft.) rooms and suites (800 sq. ft.) are all on a single ﬂoor, looking out on the ocean from private terraces. The 11-cabana Altiplanico is a good all-around three-star option, and for the more budget-conscious client, the Taha Tai in town makes a great island base. Ladatco Tours’ 21-day Si! Mystery itinerary combines the most famously mysterious destinations in South America into one grand tour. Flying in to Lima, and home from Santiago, travelers in between will explore Peru’s Sacred Valley of the Incas from the Sol y Luna Lodge; spend two days discovering Machu Picchu; spend four nights on the shores of Lake Titicaca (two on the Peruvian site and two in Bolivia), “ﬂy” by hydrofoil to the Fountain of Youth on Sun Island, touring the pre-Inca ruins of Tiahuanaco; shop for good luck items in La Paz’s Witches Market; and spend four nights at explora’s Posada de Mike Rapu on Easter Island. Other top-of-the-line hotels, destinations in themselves, are featured when staying in Lima, Cusco, Puno and Santiago. Most meals, private overland transport and guides are included in the $11,999 pp dbl cost. (800) 327-6162; ladatco.com. Myths & Mountains has introduced a new tour, Rapa Nui: Moais, Warriors and Beaches of Easter Island, which spends the ﬁrst night in Santiago at the Holiday Inn Airport Hotel and ﬁve nights discovering island mysteries during three full days of sightseeing with expert English-speaking guides. A picnic lunch on Anakena Beach is included on one of the full-day outings, as well as all breakfasts when staying at the Hotel Otai, right in town. The land cost is $2,295 pp dbl. (800) 670-6984; mythsandmountains.com. april 2013 69 68-72 LA Galap,Easter.indd 69 3/21/13 9:59 AM http://www.ladatco.com http://www.mythsandmountains.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend April 2013

Editor's Notes
The Islands of Tahiti
Hotel Desk: Song Saa Private Island, Cambodia
Tour Talk: Islands in the Sun
A Med Escape: Greek Isles & Cyprus
Set Sail
The Seychelles' Private Island Resorts
Portrait of Israel
Booking 2 on the Isles: Easter Island & Galapagos
Island-Hopping in Mexico: Cozumel, Isla Holbox & Isla Mujeres
The Pulse of Poipu, Hawaii
Florida's Islands: Amelia, Captiva & Sanibel
The Real Caribbean: Grenada & Martinique

Recommend April 2013