Armed with our official national park passes and with Kava’s trusty car parked by the shoreline, Damjan and I were finally ready to explore the island in depth. Since local regulations required one of us to stay aboard the catamaran at all times, we split our days into meticulous shifts.
My first destination was Orongo, a ceremonial village perched high on the razor-thin rim of the Rano Kau volcanic crater. Standing at the edge, the view was breathtaking—on one side, a dramatic, water-filled crater overgrown with floating green reeds; on the other, a sheer vertical drop into the endless, dark blue Pacific. Orongo was the heart of the legendary Birdman (Tangata Manu) cult, which replaced the Moai-building tradition in the 18th century. Every year, brave young men from local tribes would scramble down these treacherous 300-meter cliffs and swim out through shark-infested waters to the tiny islet of Motu Nui to fetch the first egg of the Sooty Tern. The first to return alive won the title for his chief, granting their tribe total control over the island’s resources for a year. Looking down at the roaring surf below, I couldn’t help but marvel at the absolute madness and courage of those ancient competitors.
After trading shifts back at the boat, our next major stop was Rano Raraku, the iconic quarry where nearly every Moai on the island was born. Walking through this site felt like stepping into an active, frozen-in-time workshop. Giant stone heads and half-finished torsos jut out from the grassy hillside at crazy angles. You can still see giant statues lying flat in the bedrock, midway through creation, abandoned suddenly centuries ago as if the carvers just put down their tools and walked away overnight.
It was here that our thoughts drifted to Rongorongo—the mysterious, undeciphered script carved into wooden tablets discovered on Rapa Nui. Unlike any other writing system in the Pacific, these glyphs face in alternating directions, requiring the reader to turn the tablet upside down at the end of each line. To this day, no one knows if it represents a true language, a memory chant, or an ancient astronomical calendar, leaving Rapa Nui’s story shrouded in pure intrigue.
We continued along the coast to Te Pito Kura, home to the largest Moai ever successfully transported and erected on an ahu platform (standing at nearly 10 meters tall!). Just a short walk away sits Te Pito o te Henua—the “Navel of the World.” This smooth, rounded magnetic stone, brought to the island by the legendary King Hotu Matu’a, is said to emit a strange magnetic charge. Out of curiosity, I pulled out a compass and held it close; to my amazement, the needle spun wildly, completely disoriented by the rock’s raw energy.
Further down the shore, we arrived at the magnificent Ahu Tongariki—the largest ceremonial structure on the island. Fifteen massive Moai stand lined up side by side with their backs to the Pacific Ocean, gazing solemnly inland. Standing in front of these silent giants, with the ocean spray misting in the air, you truly feel the humbling scale of human ambition and ancestral devotion.
Our island road trip wrapped up at Anakena Beach, a stunning slice of paradise with turquoise water, swaying coconut palms, and white coral sand—a stark contrast to the rugged volcanic coastline found everywhere else. Here, five well-preserved Moai (Ahu Nau Nau) overlook the beach, standing guard over the very cove where Polynesian voyagers first made landfall centuries ago.
However, island life always has a way of throwing a curveball. Just as we were finishing our explorations and preparing the catamaran for our upcoming passage, a launch from the Chilean Coast Guard (Armada de Chile) pulled up alongside Daedalus Adventure.
Officers boarded our catamaran for a thorough, unannounced safety and customs inspection. They checked our documentation, inspected our safety gear, and combed through our galley freezers and storage hatches to ensure we were adhering to environmental and maritime regulations. Fortunately, everything on board was in tip-top shape, and after a tense half-hour of formal checks, the officers relaxed, stamped our paperwork, and wished us fair winds for our journey ahead.
With our park passes fully stamped and memories of Rapa Nui burned into our minds, we returned Kava’s car, thanked his brother and friends for watching over our boat, and started prepping Daedalus Adventure for the next long Pacific stretch.
