Yes!  We made it!  The weather, after 2 previous awful calls, has been perfect.  We still had a moderate swell of course, however that comes with the territory here.  Guests and some of the crew have had an adventure and one more item can be crossed of their ‘Bucket List’.

I didn’t anchor today, preferring instead to ‘drift’ on our joystick; it’s rather like playing a piano with a finger, instead of both hands.  The joystick controls the azipod drives and bow-thrust by use of a polar control, all one has to do is move the control in the direction one wants to go and the computer does the rest.  It’s not the same as Dynamic Positioning as we manually choose the control, however it’s the next best thing.

There is a swell running into Hanga Roa harbour, quite manageable by previous experiences and the tenders run incessantly, taking guests ashore, where they join their tours.  It’s hot and with a UV warning of 11, everyone is covered up and wearing hats.

I took a jaunt ashore for this blog, photos are a necessity, I probably had more photos taken of me than I took myself though 😎 .  The inevitable stalls greet you on the quay, trinkets and of course, miniature moai.  We have tents and ice-cold water and lemonade close to hand, a welcome relief from the blazing sun.  Many guests choose to go to the National Park, where the moai are, others wander along the coast in the cooler breeze and take in the sights of the town and its restaurants.

I am unable to take the opportunity to go to the Park, so the moai photos you see here are ‘stock’, taken on a previous call in 2012, I’m sure it hasn’t changed much since then.

We’re off to Pitcairn Island, 1120 miles away, home of the ‘Bounty’ mutineers and we arrive on Friday after 2 clock changes.  It has been weird, travelling west to Easter Island, but not changing clocks because the island, being Chilean, stays on Chilean time, even though it’s over 2000 miles to the west.