Siri in Easter Island

James Grant Peterkin, who wrote the guidebook that we've been consuting, also runs a touring company, Easter Island Spirit, and for today we've booked his Tour A, a day-longtrip around the island. Our guide, Patricia, arrives at 9.30am sharp to pick us up, but we're slow to get going - disorganized, looking for water, and running back to our huts to get the all-important $80 park entry vouchers, which we had to buy upon arrival at the airport. Finally we're off, and our first stop is back at Tahai, where we take a closer look at the immense moai, Ahu Ko Te Riku , standing off by himself, his white-coral and obsidian eyes looking towards the sky. He's the only moai with fully restored eyes and the red topknot, an example of the careful work done by the American archeologist William Mulloy, who came with Heyerdahl's expedition in 1955 and then dedicated his life to unearthing the hidden mysteries of Rapa Nui, until he died in 1978. Highly respected on the isla...