Visiting Easter Island (Land-Based)

West Coast Road Scenery

The rough-and-tumble dirt road along the west coast, well north of Hanga Roa. The jeep navigated it without difficulty.		Rocky cliffs and rough surf.

A close-up view of the rough surf that crashed ashore.

After the cave, I continued driving on the road, heading northwest towards the coast. Once it reached the coast the road turned south and followed the coastline to Hanga Roa. This section of the road was in very poor condition, rocky and uneven, with ruts and holes, big bumps, sharp turns, and steep ups and downs. I was thankful the car was a 4WD jeep, because the road was beyond the capabilities of ordinary vehicles. Having said that, I did see some surprising vehicles coming the other way, including an ancient VW microbus loaded with people. If that notoriously underpowered and lightweight vehicle could make it, then my 4WD jeep certainly should make it, too.

I stopped to take pictures in a few places, especially pictures of the cliffs along the coast. Although the light wasn't very good (too contrasty), the sight of the big heavy swell crashing into the cliffs and exploding just demanded photographing. Later on, I came across another restored moai along the shoreline that made for a good scene—the stoic stylized human sculpture with clouds of spray in the background as the big waves dashed themselves to pieces against the rocky coast. I thought again of Nine of Cups and wondered how they were doing.

Two views of the rough surf, looking north along the west coast.