Top Easter Island Classes: Your Ultimate Guide
Easter Island. Even the name just has this air of mystery, doesn’t it? More than just those giant stone figures, there is also a whole culture just brimming and alive on this small, isolated island. It is just too often overlooked by people who come here! If you’re thinking about traveling all the way to Rapa Nui, wouldn’t you maybe want to do more than just snap some photos of the Moai? It’s almost like, why not really connect with the spirit of the island by doing one of its local classes? This guide looks at some top-rated, totally unforgettable cultural experiences you might want to look at doing while you are visiting this magnetic destination. Read our full review: Easter Island Full Review and Details
Unearthing the Magic: Moai Carving Workshops
So, it’s almost like we cannot just talk about Easter Island without giving at least a little nod to its most iconic treasure: those majestic Moai. I mean, these towering statues, they were hand-carved by the Rapa Nui people centuries ago. And so, for a really close, really hands-on cultural experience, some workshops do actually allow you to try and create your miniature Moai! You will start out with just a simple block of volcanic stone, it’s likely, and a local craftsman will guide you in the process, showing you the techniques passed down from generation to generation. The whole feeling is, as you chip away at the stone, you might not just be carving a sculpture, yet you’re also, too, kind of connecting with the island’s past and you create your own little piece of history. The satisfaction of actually holding that finished Moai you made? Well, it is simply unparalleled. See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Moai carving)
Rhythms of Rapa Nui: Polynesian Dance Classes
More than just a pretty place, Rapa Nui boasts also a deeply rooted Polynesian culture which is just full of dance, music, and just storytelling. If you ever wanted to just feel the rhythm of the islands, why not just join a Polynesian dance class? Often, they’re led by local dancers who’ll happily walk you through the steps and the significance of different moves. So, in some respects, you might be swaying your hips to the hypnotic beats of the ukulele, it’s very likely, and learning just about the stories that these dances pass on. So too, the experience, it isn’t just about just learning moves, it really can also give you a deeper sense for the culture and also the communal spirit so inherent to Polynesian societies. And you are getting a workout too, as well. See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Polynesian dance)
Savoring Tradition: Easter Island Cooking Workshops
If food is more your style, Easter Island actually has some really cool, local, distinctive dishes to look out for. I mean, what better to just learn about them than doing an Easter Island cooking workshop? Guided by local chefs, anyway, you’ll discover exactly how they prepare classic Rapa Nui dishes, perhaps it is using fresh seafood, locally grown veggies, and those conventional cooking techniques. So, typically, you might be learning about making dishes like “Umu,” which involves cooking food underground using hot stones—which really gives just these smoky flavor only nature knows about. You actually get to then savor the fruits, figuratively, of your own labor. Also, I would recommend you talk to the chefs to find out about just what place the food has inside the culture, about how those old food traditions bind the local population with the ancestral past. Read our full review: Easter Island Cooking Full Review and Details
Unlocking the Stars: Rapa Nui Stargazing Experiences
Because it is quite isolated and just almost entirely free of light pollution, Easter Island also just offers this pretty amazing chance at stargazing. I mean, some Rapa Nui people had used the stars just to navigate, and there is a close connection just between these celestial bodies, together with their legends and the old way of their life. Now, tour operators just provide stargazing experiences including guidance from astronomy experts who can point to constellations, to planets, and to the myths connected with them. But what makes that activity super special, actually, is actually hearing some local folklore, what stories they give. So, really it’s not only an astronomy lesson, it is still something which offers a quite deeper comprehension with how this world view just formed ancestral life here. The pure size with the night sky makes anyone who bothers see a spot seem fairly little on earth in some respects. See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Rapa Nui Stargazing)
Crafting Memories: Traditional Rapa Nui Arts
Actually, art really forms the heart, as well, just with the culture of Rapa Nui— it comes in diverse shapes, from wooden carvings all the way to tapa cloth making. Some workshops give opportunities at trying at getting close with those old art types. In some workshops it’s quite possible at that time you might be under instruction in carving complicated patterns just within wood, under guidance out from a local craftsman; but rather, one of the others you get guidance about ways of turning plant fibers into cloth patterned with symbols which mean lots of ancestral narratives, often . These sorts of trainings assist a lot to not simply grasp the artistic process, yet also for treasuring stories they express regarding background of culture right here over this secluded heaven that exists here . Read our full review: Rapa Nui Arts Full Review and Details