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The dream to go to Easter Island never included diving. When I found out it was even an option, I was over the moon. What an amazing bonus. I had no expectations but whatever was at the bottom of the ocean that far away, I wanted to see it.
We did three dives in one day. From the research I had done, I was so thrilled to see a picture of a Moai at the bottom of the sea. What an adventure! As if it wasn’t cool enough to see them in person but to see one diving, WHAT!?
The first two dives were pretty cool. Mostly comprised of hard corals, it was a pretty unique environment compared to many others I have seen. The landscape has to be hearty to survive some of the storms that far out in the ocean. Some of my favorite fish were there, puffer fish and my absolute favorite, trumpet fish.
Although the dives were cool and any time diving is a good time, I was seriously anticipating seeing this Moai.
On the third dive, it was time. I was pumped. My heart was actually racing as I saw it out of the distance. When we were face to face with it, I smiled in my regulator. Amazing. I swam around it, took it in, loved taking pictures and was excited for Scott and I to share in this moment together.
After the dive, back on shore, I was standing at the harbor looking out to where we just were. Then, it struck me… how did that Moai get there? Why would people take the risk of damaging it to put it under the ocean for the handful of divers who will dive there in a year? I turned to the shop owner and asked him how the Moai ended up in the ocean. That is when he blatantly said, “we put it there, you know it’s fake, right?”.
Thwarted again. Still, it was a fun adventure.
Stubs.
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Easter Island was one of those places on the bucket list that, in the back of my mind, never really thought I would ever get to. The remoteness of it, the distance from Canada and the cost of it are all things that make this trip a challenge. When we made the plunge to go, I couldn’t have been more excited.
We only had one night in Santiago and were so thrilled to stay at The Aubrey Hotel. A tiny hotel in the heart of the restaurant and shopping district, the 15 rooms are all located in an old mansion. From here, you could walk to a lot of amazing restaurants and listen to the sounds of Chile outside the windows. Although the stay before Easter Island was only one night, we did return to the hotel two more times in our stay overs in Santiago.
The arrival on Easter Island is hard to describe. You can tell you’re on an adventure right from the moment the plane lands. Live music, smiling faces and my first fresh flower lei kicked off the adventure well. We stayed at Iorana Hotel, which is right is right on the ocean. About a 15 minute walk out of town, this place was perfect for us.
The pictures in this blog are from our adventuring together without a guide. We just rented a car to tour the island. I will say, without a guide, we were a little lost. The story was missing some key information and without that, some features of the island were a little confusing. Mainly, why all of the heads (the Moai) that we saw in the first few days were laying on the ground. We had this iconic vision in our head of driving around and stopping every two minutes to admire these Moai, and that was just not the case. A few hours into touring and we were, to say the least, confused.
At the very end of the day, we found the mecca of the Moai, “The Quarry”, where all the rocks were mined for all of the heads. This place was everything we had pictured and the best part was, we had the entire place to ourselves. Not only was it an experience to be there and look these ancient stones directly in the face but to enjoy it with peace and quiet and have the opportunity to have the place to ourselves, was.. well, priceless. I will forever be grateful for that time, it was a beautiful gift from the universe.
Stubs.
Easter Island was one of those places on the bucket list that, in the back of my mind, never really thought I would ever get to. The remoteness of it, the distance from Canada and the cost of it are all things that make this trip a challenge.
We only had one night in Santiago and were so thrilled to stay at The Aubrey Hotel. A tiny hotel in the heart of the restaurant and shopping district, the 15 rooms are all located in an old mansion. From here, you could walk to a lot of amazing restaurants and listen to the sounds of Chile outside the windows. Although the stay before Easter Island was only one night, we did return to the hotel two more times in our stay overs in Santiago.
The arrival on Easter Island is hard to describe. You can tell you’re on an adventure right from the moment the plane lands. Live music, smiling faces and my first fresh flower lei kicked off the adventure well. We stayed at Iorana Hotel, which is the only hotel on the island that is right on the ocean. About a 15 minute walk out of town, this place was perfect for us.
The pictures in this blog are from our adventuring together without a guide. We just rented a car to tour the island. I will say, without a guide, we were a little lost. The story was missing some key information and without that, some features of the island were a little confusing. Mainly, why all of the heads (the Moai) that we saw in the first few days were laying on the ground. We had this iconic vision in our head of driving around and stopping every two minutes to admire these Moai, and that was just not the case. A few hours into touring and we were, to say the least, confused.
At the very end of the day, we found the mecca of the Moai, “The Quarry”, where all the rocks were mined for all of the heads. This place was everything we had pictured and the best part was, we had the entire place to ourselves. Not only was it an experience to be there and look these ancient stones directly in the face but to enjoy it with peace and quiet and have the opportunity to have the place to ourselves, was.. well, priceless. I will forever be grateful for that time, it was a beautiful gift from the universe.
Stubs.
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Some pictures from an amazing road trip through southern Saskatchewan last year. If anyone is looking for a different kind of summer camping adventure, I’d highly recommend it. Off the beaten path and not as often travelled, this is a gem in Canadian geography and plays host to some uniquely prairie creatures.
One of our favorite stops was the Claybank Brick Plant National Historic Site. A fun site to tour and a great place to take pictures and we had the place to ourselves. Even Caper could explore.
What would a Canadian road trip be without some awesome ghost towns too. This trip had it all. Enjoy.
Stubs.
stubsadventures 