REALDEAL: “What impressed us most was the festival’s totally native character,’’ Maxant said. “The people there were perfectly happy to share it with tourists, but it is their festival. It could easily become commercialized, but it’s not. I’m sure there were other tourists there, but it didn’t feel that way.’’ The group stayed at Hotel Manavai in the island’s one village, Hanga Roa.
TURNING RED: Every day they watched a different festival activity, which the entire community usually participated in. One day locals “bathed’’ in vats of a red clay-like substance that covered their bodies. The men wore slight coverings over their painted bodies, and the women donned skirts of flowers. “Some people in our group did the bath,’’ Maxant said. “I only got my face painted.’’ Later, islanders gathered for a parade. “We went to the hotel and drank pisco sours and watched the floats go by.’’
FISH FOR ALL: “There was music and dancing every night, with an outdoor stage by the water,’’ Maxant said. “One night all the men in the village went out fishing and had a huge fish fry. Anyone who showed up with a plate or a banana leaf could have a piece.’’
MAGICAL MOAI: Guided tours took them around the island, including the quarry where the famed moai, monolithic human figures, were carved from rock. “Standing in front of the moai was just awesome,’’ Maxant said. They picnicked on various beaches, and boated to uninhabited islands. “The water was the bluest I’ve seen, like melted sapphires.’’
LASTING IMPRESSION: Maxant passed on the group’s top choice of a souvenir - tattoos. “Buz had told us, by the time the week ends, you’ll want to get a tattoo. Many of us did, including Stan and Elenita. He got a very stylized turtle on his shoulder and she got a seahorse on her ankle. They’re very, very artistic.’’
DIANE DANIEL
