We want to get a
Rapa Nui stamp in our passports, so after breakfast we hurry into town to have them
done at the post-office.
We also have to fill up the rental car and deliver
it back by 11am. Checkout is noon. Our placid days are over, but we still have time to finish what's left of the the birthday champagne and take a last look at the hotel grounds.
The hotel claims check-in for our afternoon flight will be busy, and João, a robust Rapanui with
a tiny ponytail, who drove us in from the airport, and also rented us the car,
now returns us to the airport – we suspect to coincide with the arrival of
the plane from Santiago.
But the airport is fun, we have a snack,
watch the
crowd,
and check out the stores.
Everybody is just so calm – adults reading or
chatting, children sitting in groups quietly drawing or playing. There’s no
anxiety in the air. Throughout our stay we've noticed how relaxed everybody is - hotel staff and servers are invariably cheerful - nothing ever seems like a problem - there are no raised voices. Even the dogs are friendly and unafraid. One day I saw a guy playing with his flock of chickens, running after them, arms spread wide - just having fun. We’ve seen several families of tourists with young children and babies and wondered why they would choose this destination. Perhaps the island is
a good place for families – away from most modern distractions. It certainly
has been for us. We’ve used the internet to check our mail and the news, but there’s
no tv anywhere, nor any games. The pure air and the clean water, the sheer isolated beauty of the island, slow you down and put you in a state of bliss.
Finally the gates open and we walk
out on the tarmac,
past our last moai,
a last time in that brilliant sun and up the stairs to
find our seats in the huge plane. I sit at the window and watch the runway
and then
the island recedes much too rapidly
behind me, but now it is familiar.
We’ll fly to
Santiago, arrive late and wait a long time for our luggage. Then we’ll walk,
very tired, to a Holiday Inn across the road, where we’ll spend the night. The
next day we’ll fly out just after 6pm, crossing the snow-capped Andes
and land in Rio after 10pm. We’ll get
home, we hope, before midnight, and all look forward to seeing Zaffy. How happy she and we will be. She’ll get to sleep in Victor’s room tonight.
Thank you for
following us. It’s been a pleasure writing this blog.
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