Those who know me well enough know that I’m pretty much obsessed with being active, particularly running (guilty as charged!). This obsession means that the way I explore the places I visit is slightly unconventional: I discover new places with my running shoes as much as I can. Given the 60 something square-mile of the Island’s size, running the whole thing would be challenging so, I opted for the next best thing which was to combine walking, running and cycling. The result? I loved it! The whole time I would catch myself laughing out-loud, even during the most painful uphill bike rides!

Day 1: Walk & Run (14 miles)

I started from the centre of the town (Hanga Roa) along the water on the west side of the island and walked back through the trail that cuts the first part on the map [marked 1].

The weather is temperamental: sunny one minute, then windy, then a heavy shower soaks you but stops by the time you reach for your raincoat. The constant big waves hit the rocks and make an incredible sound. As most people drive between visit spots, I could only see a couple of people on the trail. I caught up with one walker and we walked together for a while. He’s a nurse and told me a lot about the work he does with children. It was refreshing to see someone so passionate about a job which most of us would consider to be very tough.

When we came to the top of the first section, the path was a little unclear and we knew that to complete the full circle we’d have to walk about twice as much as we already did, and this meant the risk of walking in pitch darkness (the Island is blessed with wild horses and cows, so, dangerous!). He decided to return and was really concerned about me, but I assured him that I would be fine as I’d be running! He gave me the weird look that I’m used to now but also a hug and asked me to promise that I’d be careful and hitch a ride if it’s getting late. The next 9 miles was the funnest part for me as I ran almost the entire way back other than stops I made to see the Moa’s, the Ahu’s and hidden caves.

I made it back to my hotel well before sun down, very happy and very very hungry. Had my dinner against the amazing sundown.

Day 2: I rented a bike and rode in another direction [marked as 2 on my map]. The plan was to go around the second but much larger (50k) circle but I was quickly humbled when I realised that, by 6 pm, with all the stops I had made to see different sites, I was only about half way through. A few guides advised that it was better to return the way I came from as the other way was much longer and hilly. Luckily, I did listen to them and decided that I’d visit my next stop (the Tongariki) for the sunrise in the morning.

Made it back to the gorgeous hotel, again, in time for the sun-down. The chef, Juan Manuel, offered me delicious pisco sours and whipped up a tailored dinner of quinoa, avocado tomato salad and grilled fresh tuna. Almost as paleo as it gets if you count the quinoa as paleo, which I do! Being the only customer in the hotel doesn’t help their business but certainly I felt very privileged. I had really fun conversations with Juan and his friend Omar who owns the diving centre in town and I think that he’s convinced me to try it soon.

Day 3: I took a taxi at 6 am to drive me to Tongariki which is the spot where I returned yesterday, and it is the spot to watch the sunrise. Seeing the sun rise up behind the giant statues is a rare site and I was both happy and emotional for being so blessed to see such thing. Later, I rode back the same way I returned yesterday as I had to check out of my hotel and check into my next accommodation (my tent!). By the time I returned it was 9:30 am and it felt great to have so much fun even before the hotel was serving breakfast!

The exhaustion of the past few days caught me, and I returned the bike deciding that I’d take a taxi to the famous beach and relax there for the day and skip the last section. However, the very flirty bike shop owner (Christiano) insisted that I should keep the bike. He insisted on giving me the bike for free and driving me with the bike to the beach, so I could cycle back and complete my initial mission. He’s clearly obsessed about cycling but said that he was impressed by my effort and it was his job to help me complete! I am grateful that I did listen to him, the beach was fascinating. I was in paradise of golden sandy beach, palm trees, blue ocean and, to top it all, another fascinating Ahu. The ride back was painful for the first 3 miles as there were crazy vertical hills, one after another. When I came to the top of the final big hill it was already 25 minutes into my ride and the next 20 minutes, I did 8 miles flying down the hills and made my way safely back to Christiano’s shop.

One small note: I realise now that I make peace very quickly when I lose things. As I was about to ride back, I reached for my mobile but realised that it wasn’t there. Traced all the steps back, asked people and came to the conclusion that everything in the phone was recoverable and if I had lost it I’d just have to live with it. Luckily when I was returning the bike Christiano told me that I had left my phone in his car.
Twice the saver of my day, I thanked him and politely declined his flirty attempts to take me out for dinner! Instead, I opted for the full sun-down experience near the popular spot but away from the crowd. Later, enjoyed a glass of wine while I thought about how lucky I was for watching the perfect sunrise and sundown all in one day.

My conclusion is that the Island is a paradise. I had a great sense of adventure with all the challenging runs and rides, incredibly delicious meals which almost always involved some fresh local tuna fish. I saw these magnificent figures that remind me that we humans are incredible and been so even hundreds of years ago, perhaps even more so then.

The disappearance of Rapa Nui culture, their exploitation and gradual destruction by slave traders and missionaries broke my heart; their story of destruction by their great obsession and waste of resources scares me for what might happen to the earth, but I am grateful to them for leaving behind these great statutes that gave me goose bumps each time I looked at one.

A final note about the ocean: My fav landscape is still the mountains but, want to be as crazy as these waves when I am mad and as calm and shiny as the ocean when I’m in my element! In this island, I was in my element and do hope to return sometime.