A Hiking Guide to Easter Island

Written by David Stanley


Ask me which Pacific island hasrepparttar most to offer hikers and I'll probably answer Easter Island. Here on an island 11 km wide and 23 km long you'll find nearly a thousand ancient Polynesian statues strewn along a powerfully beautiful coastline or litteringrepparttar 133923 slopes of an extinct volcano. Getting there is easy as Easter Island can be included inrepparttar 133924 Oneworld Explorer airpass introduced on http://www.southpacific.org/air.html , and a fine selection of inexpensive places to stay and eat await you.

The legends of Easter Island have been recounted many times. What's less known is thatrepparttar 133925 island's assorted wonders are easily accessible on foot fromrepparttar 133926 comfort ofrepparttar 133927 only settlement, Hanga Roa. Before setting out seerepparttar 133928 sights, however, visitrepparttar 133929 excellent archaeological museum next to Ahu Tahai onrepparttar 133930 north side of town (the term "ahu" refers to an ancient stone platform). Aside fromrepparttar 133931 exhibits,repparttar 133932 museum has maps which can help you plan your trip. On online map is available at http://www.mapsouthpacific.com/easter_island/

The first morning after arrival, I suggest you climb Easter Island's most spectacular volcano, Rano Kau, where Orongo, a major archaeological site, sits onrepparttar 133933 crater's rim. But rather than marching straight uprepparttar 133934 main road torepparttar 133935 crater, look forrepparttar 133936 unmarked shortcut trail off a driveway torepparttar 133937 right just pastrepparttar 133938 forestry station south of town. It takes under two hours to coverrepparttar 133939 six km from Hanga Roa to Orongo, but bring along a picnic lunch and make a day of it. (If climbing a 316-meter hill sounds daunting, you can take a taxi torepparttar 133940 summit for around US$6 and easily walk back later inrepparttar 133941 day.) Once on top, you'll find hiking down intorepparttar 133942 colourful crater presents no difficulty. It may also look easy to go right aroundrepparttar 133943 crater rim, but only do so if you're a very experienced hiker and have a companion along as shear 250-meter cliffs drop intorepparttar 133944 sea fromrepparttar 133945 ridge.

Another day, rise early and take a taxi to lovely Anakena Beach atrepparttar 133946 end ofrepparttar 133947 paved road onrepparttar 133948 north side ofrepparttar 133949 island (you should pay under US$10 forrepparttar 133950 20 km). A few ofrepparttar 133951 famous Easter Island statues have been restored at Anakena and you could go for a swim, althoughrepparttar 133952 main reason you've come isrepparttar 133953 chance to trek back to Hanga Roa aroundrepparttar 133954 road-free northwest corner ofrepparttar 133955 island. You'll pass numerous abandoned statues lying facedown where they fell, andrepparttar 133956 only living creatures you're unlikely to encounter arerepparttar 133957 small brown hawks which will watch you intently from perches on nearby rocks. If you keep moving, you'll arrive back in town in five or six hours (but take adequate food, water, and sunscreen). This is probablyrepparttar 133958 finest coastal walk inrepparttar 133959 South Pacific.

An engine problem destroyed by sailing holiday. What shall I do?

Written by Alexander Vournas


Nobody likes to run into problems whilst on holiday, butrepparttar very nature of a yacht charter holiday does demand that you have to cope withrepparttar 133922 sea - which is always unpredictable (hence "sea" being ofrepparttar 133923 feminine gender) - and a vessel, which consists of thousands of parts and bits of equipment, (electrics, electronics, mechanical items, sails, etc) all of which should work together, and in unison. You can ignore allrepparttar 133924 promises that nothing will go wrong - it might just do that.

Add to thatrepparttar 133925 fact that you have chosen an idyllic setting for your holiday - "away from it all" - for examplerepparttar 133926 Ionian Islands in Greece (the Caribbean, Turkey, or any other exotic location would be similar), where you can not expectrepparttar 133927 natives to be as trained and proficient as those inrepparttar 133928 Hamble. A recent TV commercial for a Jamaican rum showsrepparttar 133929 very situation.

Let us look at an example - how you should react - how you should carry outrepparttar 133930 necessary damage limitation steps - and tips as to how you can smooth outrepparttar 133931 resulting aggravation.

Let's say you have chartered a yacht inrepparttar 133932 Ionian Sea, in Greece, for a week. Everything starts off well - untilrepparttar 133933 morning of Day 3, when you are in Ithaca and THE ENGINE WILL NOT START. After a few vain attempts at sourcingrepparttar 133934 cause ofrepparttar 133935 malfunction you callrepparttar 133936 contact number given to you for such eventualities, and a polite individual listens to your problem and says; "Don't worry, Mr Jones, somebody will come very soon and look at your engine". What they will, or should, do is to contact their man onrepparttar 133937 spot. Soon Vangelis arrives, spends a couple of hours with his head buried inrepparttar 133938 engine compartment, covers all your saloon cushions with oil and grease, and emerges triumphantly holdingrepparttar 133939 fuel pump which he says isrepparttar 133940 cause ofrepparttar 133941 problem. He states that he will takerepparttar 133942 pump back to his workshop and repair it.

"How long this repair will take, Vangelis?" You ask.

"Hmm, about a couple of hours" is his reply.

Away he goes, with your pump, and as it is already noon on Day 3 of your holiday, you decide to go and have lunch and then wait forrepparttar 133943 return of Vangelis. But, there is no sign of Vangelis, or your pump, and much later, asrepparttar 133944 sun is going down Vangelis's assistant arrives withrepparttar 133945 wonderful news that your pump can not be repaired on Ithaca and that it has to go, by ferry, to Patras, where there is a pump specialist, and that it will be returnedrepparttar 133946 next day onrepparttar 133947 ferry. Whilst this part ofrepparttar 133948 saga is unfolding your blood pressure has gone sky-high. You have also made three more phone calls torepparttar 133949 local contact and two back torepparttar 133950 UK to your yacht charter agency, with whom you bookedrepparttar 133951 charter inrepparttar 133952 first place.

WHAT YOU DID NOT KNOW was that Vangelis failed to tell you that - since it was noon, he would first have to go for his lunch, then his siesta, then his cup of coffee THEN he would have a look atrepparttar 133953 pump. For him, this is normal behaviour as working in siesta time is "out ofrepparttar 133954 question" in a place like Ithaca. After all, you asked him how long it would take to repairrepparttar 133955 pump - NOT when he would come back. He didn't lie - it took himrepparttar 133956 forecast two hours to find out that he couldn't fix your pump.

So, here you are, onrepparttar 133957 morning of Day4 of your holiday, with a vessel broken down, waiting for Vangelis to arrive. Imaginerepparttar 133958 state of your blood pressure when noon arrives and no sign of Vangelis. It is not until late that afternoon that a smiling local arrives and invites you to come and joinrepparttar 133959 local Saint's Day celebrations. To work during siesta time is against local customs BUT to work onrepparttar 133960 local Saint's Day is a crime against humanity. Not only does Vangelis not work on a Saint's Day but he does not think it appropriate to inform "infidels" ofrepparttar 133961 simple facts of life. For him it is a day to celebrate and anyone who doesn't realise that should be dead.

You have, by now, made another ten phone calls to your yacht charter agent and torepparttar 133962 local contact, as hasrepparttar 133963 charter agency BUT Vangelis doesn't answerrepparttar 133964 phone on a Saint's Day. The only thing you can do is to grin and bear it and join inrepparttar 133965 festivities. Taking more blood pressure pills or blowing uprepparttar 133966 village square will not enamour you torepparttar 133967 locals, or get your boat fixed - it won't help you a lot, either.

Now it isrepparttar 133968 morning of Day 5. Stillrepparttar 133969 yacht is not functioning and nobody has turned up. Now isrepparttar 133970 time to start believing in "God's Will". At around 11 o'clock a smiling Vangelis arrives with your pump - fully functional. He sets to work probably realising thatrepparttar 133971 look in your eye is not indicative of your good temper and feelings towards him. Thus, after an unusually reasonable period of time, withrepparttar 133972 saloon cushions sporting another layer of grease and oil, with engine testing and cleaning carried out, your boat is READY. However, it is now 5 p.m and too late to set sail for your next port of call, so your departure has to be put off until tomorrow morning.

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