Easter Island / Isla de Pascua / Rapa Nui – the most visually spectacular place I’ve ever been!

These 7 moai face the sea. Our guide said that they represent the European explorers.

So photogenic!

Sunset as seen from a seaside bar

I know someone who has a truck just like this one. Las aventuras de la rojita!

These rock carvings represent a traditional competition, in which the men from each clan would compete to swim to that little island you can see, pick up a special egg, and bring it back intact. The winner got to marry a virgin. And later that woman would give birth in the water. A fascinating story from a gorgeous site!

I snapped this shot of my feet by the pool at the Explora, a deluxe all-inclusive resort where we did not stay. I love visiting top hotels, just to check out the gardens and such! Living large on a budget!

The stairs up to the Explora

The "moai factory" - the place where the statues were carved. We happened to meet an archeologist who was giving a private tour to a Norwegian couple. He told us his theories about how the moai were moved from this spot all over the island. It's a hotly contested academic debate.

The archeologist told us that this moai was in the middle of stratigraphy. I remember this term from the archeology class I took at Cal. Stratigraphy is the measurement of all the exact positions of artifacts and other markers. Very cool.

Archeologist at work

This line of moai was knocked over by a tidal wave about 10 years ago. The Japanese government contributed to support its restoration. Here I met a group of 8 Chinese businessmen from Jiaxing, the "small town" of a million people that was my first home in China. The world is very, very small!

Anakena, the famous beach on the north shore of Easter Island. So breathtakingly beautiful.

Of course we couldn't resist posing for photos with the moai!