Rapa Nui

Easter Island, also known as Isla de Pascua or Rapa Nui, is one of the most isolated places in the world. This Chilean island is located in the middle of the Pacific ocean, at around 3.800 km from the continental Chile, at the same latitude as Valparaíso. The nearest point to the west is Tahiti, on the French Polynesia, at around 4.200 km. Due to this compulsory oceanic isolation, the island is also known as 'the navel of the world' (or 'Te pito o te henua' in Rapa Nui language). To reach the island, the best is to take the LAN Chile flight that covers the route Santiago - Tahiti, which stops for 30 minutes in the island every two days.

Easter Island is around 12 km long by 24 km wide, and is inhabited by 4.000 or 4.500 people (permanent population), who mainly live in Hanga Roa, the main town of the island. The 80% of the territory is a national park, administered by Conaf (the Chilean Forest National Corporation). There are around 1000 moais (monolithic human figures carved from rock) on the island. Most of them are laid down on earth due to tsunamis or wars between clans that happened more than a century ago. The weight of the moais may exceed several hundreds of tons and there are different theories to explain how they could be carved from the only single rocky area in the island (the Rano Raraku volcano), rise them up and move them several kilometers through the island to reach their final destinations. It is believed that moais were built to represent the chiefs of the different tribes in the island. They were sculpted when the chiefs were still in life but only on their death the moais were carried to their final location, put on a stand up position and their eyes placed.

The white color of the eyes was achieved using a typical coral of the area with a human brain shape. At the center of the eyes, in black color, a stone of obsidian was set. It was only at that time, when the spirit of the deceased was entering the moai and staying there forever, to protect his tribe. Moais were always placed looking to the center of the island, except the ones of the ahu Akivi, which are the only ones looking to the sea (it's not really known why, but there are different theories about it.)

In the following video, you can watch the main sights of the island, with the exception of the Rano Kao volcano:

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

Did you know? We are all the same, wherever we are. With the same needs, same wishes and hopes. We are all brothers. Or didn't you realize yet?

Bouddhanath

One of the most representatives Buddhist stupas is Bouddhanath, on the eastern side of Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. Everybody feels observed by four pairs of eyes situated in the 4 cardinal directions. They are the eyes of Bouddhanath, which means 'the Lord of enlightenment'.

Bouddhanath is a great place of pilgrimage since the 5th century. People come here from many different places in Asia, not only from Nepal, even if Bouddhanath is a place mainly loved by Tibetans.

The construction of Bouddhanath has a sense of cosmic representation, a mantra. The stupa is surrounded by a circle of houses and shops. In the middle, the main dome is risen with five terraces, each of them pointing to the five space directions: north, south, east, west and the azimuth.

The colorful praying flags are flying all the time. They all have a meaning: red is the fire, blue is the sky, the reddish spots of the dome are the consequence of the saffron offered by the faithful. But never forgetting to turn. Always. Reincarnate in a better karma, move the prayer wheels.

To walk around Bouddhanath, always in a clockwise direction, impregnates of faith. To turn the prayer wheels, feel the smell of incense, close your eyes and get overwhelmed in the murmuring of the Tibetan prayers. All is magic and we are invaded of spirituality.

Buddha's eyes are omnipresent. His nose feature represents the number 1 in Devanāgarī script (alphabet of India and Nepal). Buddha doesn't have a mouth because he doesn't need it. He sees everything, but he doesn't talk for the sake of talking.

Pachamama

The Earth, our mother Earth, where once we came from, and where we will go back. And so, one life, and another, in this Earth or that Earth, what difference does it make? If this one goes away, it will come back, renewed. Without us. With others. But you will be there again, as it always was, and so it will be.

Pachamama, years have past, but you don't age, you change. You're pretty. Oceans, desserts, mountains, clouds, your blue, your white and your green. Your land. Your life. I like to stare at you from the outside, high, very high, and see the clouds pass by. See a corner of the World waking up, while another switches off. The sun light, the night, in the darkness the lights. I don't get wearied looking at you. The tides take me to you.

The Conquerors of the useless

Today I found at GOOD Magazine a quite cool interactive map showing some of the greatest journeys and adventurers in history. This includes the routes followed by Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, James Cook, Marco Polo, Pizarro and a few others. I thought it would be a nice way to start this blog devoted to the wanderlust, to the well-known and not so famous adventurers in our short world history, and to the ones the famous french climber Lionel Terray once called "les conquérants de l'inutile" (the Conquerors of the useless). I hope you will enjoy this blog.

Click on the picture to access the map: