Day 15: Easter Island

Day 15:  Easter Island

Quote of the day: How many horses are there on the island?

Weather:    Another day in paradise

Pics:     sunrise, crater hike, S in a very unusual pose, our guide in camouflage, afternoon hike sights, A&THB at the top, guides at the top

Up at 7 to see the sunrise, sitting by the pool. THB asks for 2 cappuccinos and croissants to be delivered. At 8, when we head up for breakfast, someone is making coffees for la piscina. OOOPS, we’ve returned before they can be delivered (we gave them an hour). Breakfast same as it ever was, minus the pancakes.

Two hikes on the schedule. In the morning we hike to another crater and see ancient refurbished stone huts on the bluff. It’s semi-strenuous and all of our party handles with ease.

Back early (meaning around 1:30) for lunch: another pot roast and fish choice, and floating isles for dessert (iles nevada).

Then THB and A split off again and hike with two guides to the highest point on the island, slight to medium uphill for 5 kilometers and at the summit for a great 360 of blue ocean. On the way down we meet another party of three who ask how much farther and clearly the guide understates the time, 30 minutos; (one of them is in flip flops, one is huffing and puffing and bringing up the rear),  and THB overcorrects by multiplying by 4 and giving them an emphatic dos horas. We don’t think they will be back before sunset.

Again, we’re all  back early for dinner (around 6:30) allowing time for a leisurely shower except the door to our room has jammed shut and two guys are working on it while DB and THB await a dearly needed shower. Door fixed, showers taken, and an even more leisurely drink (pisco sour for DB, vodka gimlet for THB) and tuna ceviche (excellent, we order another). DB has done the afternoon’s excursion again with the Takahashi’s, learned more about their life situation (3 kids, spent 12 years in US), and thoroughly enjoyed the 3 hours. There’s a good chance we’lldo a meet-up in Japan in September (our next big trip). DB is also the only one without a camera so she also fits in a long discussion with the naturalist, one we hadn’t seen before, about the island, national park service, etc.

Dinner of tuna empanada (excellent), tenderloin and fish, and no room for after dinner drinks. Few stars out, there is intermittent cloud cover shielding much of the sky.

Book Review: A Working Theory of Love, Scott Hutchins: THB really liked this novel. THB really really liked this novel. Why? It seemed to ring true throughout.  It’s a story of a late 30s guy, living in San Francisco, working on a three person project to develop a computer program that can fool a human into thinking he/she is conversing with another human. The program is based on his father’s journals. He’s already divorced when he meets a 20 year old woman, and the arc of their relationship spans the book. Much meditation on how much can we know who are parents really are, the signs (or non-signs) of romance, sex cults (ooops, is this why THB fell in love with this book?), competition among “friends,” and lots of local flavor for you Bay Areans (maybe better if you’re not a hipster?). Highly recommended.