A Day Ashore Rapa Nui

Part 1- I Prove My Anchoring Skills

Mama, Jack, Pete and I were going ashore on Rapa Nui, Easter Island. The harbor was rough so Daddy wanted to stay onboard Sila to keep an eye on her. We also did not want to fill Petit as we were anchored a very long way away from shore. Pete, and I were going with Daddy first. Daddy had spent the past hour carefully inflating Petit, putting on the engine, and putting in the dingy anchor. We had discussed how to deal with engine break downs, man overboard, and every other emergency. On the very wet way there, Pete and Daddy were going over everything that could go wrong for a second time. They had gone through break downs, collisions, and were starting man overboard. We were almost there when the engine sputtered and stopped. I leapt up to the bow and dropped the anchor overboard. The ten feet of chain whisked overboard. The line that extended the chain was in a coil. The anchor was on the bottom and dragging. I struggled with the coil as we got closer to the rocks. The anchor caught just as Daddy started the engine. 

"Lift up the anchor," said Daddy. Relieved that I would not have to untie the coil under pressure, I began to haul. Suddenly I could not pull any more. No matter where the dinghy was it would not come up. Pete tried for a minute. Eventually, Daddy tried, leaving Pete to steer. We spun around and around, narrowly missing the rocks time after time. Slowly the anchor began to work out from under a large rock.

"Uff,", said Daddy to me, as he hoisted the anchor into the dinghy,"I'll say one thing for you, no one can say 'you do not know how to anchor'."

Part 2- Formalities and Lunch

When Daddy had taken all of us ashore and we were sure he made it back to Sila safely, we went up to the road. We walked for about thirty seconds, until a pick-up truck passed. The people were nice and we jumped into the back for the twelve and a half mile ride.

They dropped us off at Hanga Roa, the town on Rapa Nui. We zig-zagged around the town, meeting very nice people along the way, until we came to the Armada. Mama took out our passports, and boat information.  It took two, rather boring, hours to get us legally checked in to Chile. Part of the waiting time was getting four or five different people to drive to the Armada to evaluate our paperwork.

As soon as it was time to go, Jack and I were walking speedily toward the suggested restaurant. After a lot of doubling back, one tourist information place, and a lot of map checking, we came to a restaurant with loosely hung plastic coverings for walls. Pete, Jack and I went with a local bacon burger while Mama decided on ceviche. It soon started to rain and Mama got wet through the doorless entrance while Pete's bag got dripped on. We moved to the other side of the restaurant, Pete and his bag taking the spot farthest from open flaps. Sopapillas with salsa fresca arrived for appetizers. They were greasy and delicious. I noticed the roof was a little drippy. I thought it was hilarious when I realized there were only two drips within two feet of our table, one right behind me and the other onto Pete's backpack! Soon after Pete had moved his backpack, the food arrived. The burgers were delicious. The meat was nicely cooked, the bacon was perfectly crunchy and the bun was fresh baked bread. The fries were pretty good and came with lots of ketchup. Basically, the best burger I've had in a while.

Part 3- A Rainy Return

Following our stupendous lunch, we began looking for a place to buy a card for the phone and a grocery store. We had not been walking for ten minutes, when Mama found a place to get a card. Pete, Jack, and I went into all the nearby tourist shops until Mama came out. Getting tired, we walked to a grocery store where we bought freshies and a few other things we were low on, like butter. As we left, it began to rain incessantly. We trudged slowly along, not wanting to flag down cars as we were dripping wet. Finally, Mama waved down a pick-up truck which stopped to give us a ride. Sitting in the back of the truck, we felt like we were in a rain jacket ad. I got soaked through but still enjoyed the ride. I was in a funny position on my foot but it went numb. When we got out, I nearly fell over, my foot was so numb. The driver had gone 25 miles out of his way and still would not accept a tip. He, like everyone else we met, was extraordinarily nice. - Porter