After 36 hours of travelling and over 12 weeks of planning, we finally arrived on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Our final flight was actually the best with a slightly bigger plane and I managed to sleep most of the 4 hour flight. We arrived during the day and despite being seated in the middle of the plane, we managed to catch glimpses of the island. John was chomping at the bit looking down at the rolling swell. Looking from the plane and seeing swell that big from so high was a little daunting for me!
We were warmly greeted by hotel Hotu Matua (named after the 1st king of Rapa Nui) with beautiful handmade leis.
We were escorted to our hotel 400m down the road from the airport and shown to our rooms. The hotel is very old school – 70s style – but perfetcly island style!
I was blessed with the main suite and a double and 2 single beds, a lounge, a dining room and a bathroom. So lush!
I went for a short warm SALTY beatiful swim accompanied by Tao and Kanva from a burial sit along coral reef in incredible blue. Before heading home to prep food.
Julie and Vivi from Pastic Oceans spent the afternoon hunting down beetroot and veg for my soup, and Rentia and I spent 2 hours making soup, rice and mash for the potential swim.
I was exhausted and ate some fish, potatoes and salad before crashing into bed at 9pm.
A good solid sleep, I woke up feeling better but not fully rested or ready to swim but know i could if i needed to.
John arrived and showed us the charts had changed and maybe the swim was no longer on. I was quite relieved and at peace.
I want to get the swim done sooner than later, but I also want to feel a bit more rested and in a bit of a routine.
I now have a telephone interview with ABC Australia before dinner, and then hopefully tomorrow we can settle into some form of routine before the big swim.