After leaving Robinson Crusoe Island, it’s a 4 day sail to get to Easter Island. The challenge with Easter Island is there is no protected harbor. You anchor off the town of Ranga Roa and then tender in IF the waves aren’t too high. Unfortunately for us, that was the case. Silver Sea had even allowed a second day in case it was needed and it almost worked. There were 12 people from the ship who took a side trip to Machu Picchu from Valparaiso and they were to rejoin the ship at Easter Island which was also an issue. On the second day the weather was better so the expedition team launched a zodiac to get them back. The area you board the tender or zodiac is only 3 feet above the water and the waves were over 6 feet. So as the waves hit the ship, it flooded the boarding area with water which then went back out on the next roll of the ship. Even the expedition team said it was really rough but they got everyone back on board safely. The captain then announced we would pull up anchor and do a slow cruise around the island since most of the Moai are positioned along the shore and we were able to get some photos. Last night Jane arranged a wonderful birthday party for me and another of our friends from Australia who shares the same birthday. We had a reception for 20 people in the Observation Lounge which is above the bridge, followed by a great dinner with special menu offerings and dessert. Our room was also decorated with balloons, banners, champagne and a personal cake. One of our friends who was on the Machu Picchu trip purchased some things on Easter Island and gave me and Roland, the other birthday boy, Moai necklaces. So we did come something from the island.
Tomorrow we’ll try to land at Pitcairn Island which is where the mutineers from the Bounty landed. It’s also an unprotected harbor but the weather forecast is looking good right now. We hope so because we’re all anxious to get on land for a while. Since we left Robinson Crusoe, we been sailing/sitting on the ship for 8 days. If we can’t land tomorrow, it’s 2 more days to the next stop!!
I’ve been trying to upload some photos but considering were 3,000 miles from South America or Australia, we’re REALLY in the in the middle of nowhere.
Stay tuned and I’ll load pictures as soon as possible.
