In this second part of Tales of the South Pacific, we’ll visit Easter Island’s Tapati Festival - one of the highlights of our life! The gods smiled on us when we booked our trip to remote Easter Island. Totally by fluke it turns out that we are here for the grand finale of Rapa Nui's annual Tapati Festival. This huge festival celebrates the local culture, and honors the ancestors who created the famous Moai statues.
One of our favorite places we’ve had the privilege of visiting, was Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as its original inhabitants call it.
And one of the most unusual cultural events we’ve ever learned about is a traditional competition called the Birdman competition.
Birds were important animals on such a remote island where almost no large mammals or reptiles lived. Birds were believed to connect earth, sea and sky.
Often, our travel destination is determined by which international school invites me to do author presentations and workshops with their staff and students. And almost always these destinations are fabulous and exciting. But our bucket list contained a few places that we wanted to see without waiting for a school. At the top of our list? Easter Island!
Normally, we are very independent travellers and book all of our own arrangements, including flights and accommodations. However, just like in Africa, we felt that our trip to South America merited the knowledge and advise of a specialized travel agency. We found South American Vacations in Florida. They helped us to get to Chile and Ecuador….
