{"id":23996,"date":"2019-03-25T12:22:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T16:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=23996"},"modified":"2020-04-16T10:32:04","modified_gmt":"2020-04-16T14:32:04","slug":"islands-of-mystery-and-legend-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/islands-of-mystery-and-legend-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Islands of Mystery and Legend II"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Spring of last year, 2018, we conducted our first <\/span>Islands of Mystery and Legend<\/span><\/i>. For those of you who weren\u2019t able to join us then and requested a second opportunity, here we go. It\u2019s this coming Summer: \u00a0<\/span>August 14-27, 2019<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For those who regard our planet as endlessly fascinating, there are few places on earth they yearn to see more than the world\u2019s two great Islands of Mystery and Legend lost in the remotest South Pacific \u2013 Easter Island and Pitcairn Island. <\/span><\/p>\n

Since we were kids, we\u2019ve all seen pictures of Easter\u2019s huge brooding stone statues \u2013 but how many people do you know who have seen and experienced them for real? The power and magic of being with the <\/span>moai,<\/span><\/i> as they are called, will never leave you.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

And who among us has not heard the story of <\/span>The Mutiny on the Bounty<\/span><\/i> \u2013 of how, on April 28, 1789, Fletcher Christian, first mate of HMS (His Majesty\u2019s Ship of the British Royal Navy) Bounty led a mutiny of the crew against the tyrannical Captain William Bligh, set Bligh and crew members loyal to him in a longboat, and took the Bounty to sail into history. <\/span><\/p>\n

Clark Gable was Fletcher Christian in <\/span>Mutiny on the Bounty<\/span><\/i>, which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1935. Marlon Brando played him in 1962, as did Mel Gibson in 1984. Everyone knows the story, for it is epically famous. Yet so very, very few have ever experienced being where it took place. \u00a0Now you can.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fletcher Christian and the Bounty Mutineers discovered and settled on an uninhabited island in remotest Polynesia \u2013 Pitcairn Island \u2013 so remote you can only sail to it, and where the descendants of the Mutineers and their Tahitian wives still live to this day. It is still just as hard to reach Pitcairn as ever \u2013 by boat \u2013 and remains one of the most isolated and inaccessible populated islands on earth.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

To this day, all Pitcairners are descendants of the original mutineers and their Tahitian wives. It\u2019s meeting and becoming friends with these extraordinary people that makes visiting Pitcairn so memorable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

To experience either of these magically historical places is a dream of any explorer of the world \u2013 to experience <\/span>both<\/span><\/i> at the same time\u2026 well, that\u2019s unique.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both Pitcairn and Easter are in the far corner of Polynesia \u2013 the \u201cPolynesia Triangle\u201d encompasses all islands from Hawaii to Easter to New Zealand:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

April 5 was Easter Sunday in 1722, and on that day Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen came upon an island he appropriately named <\/span>Paaseiland <\/span><\/i>\u00a0— Easter Island in English. In Spanish, for the island is a dependency of Chile 3,500 kilometers (2,170 miles) away, <\/span>Isla de Pascua<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

Roggeveen came upon an astonishingly unique culture tragically dying. A thousand years before (ca. 700 AD), the island was reached by Polynesians in their canoes from Gambier (aka Mangareva \u2013 see triangle map). A Stone Age people with no metal implements had carved huge stone statues called <\/span>moai<\/span><\/i> out of volcanic tufa with basalt chisels, dragged them over to the island\u2019s edges, and erected them standing in the hundreds. Almost 900 <\/span>moai<\/span><\/i> dot the island today.<\/span><\/p>\n

But with overpopulation and deforestation, all the incredible energy of competing clans to build more and bigger <\/span>moai<\/span><\/i> turned destructive. The last of the <\/span>moai<\/span><\/i> were built around 1680. With no trees, the islanders could not build boats to fish. Starvation and cannibalism became rampant. 100 years before Roggeveen arrived, the island had a population of 15,000 \u2013 by his arrival in 1722, there were less than 3,000 left.<\/span><\/p>\n

The survivors \u2013 no one knows what they called themselves originally, but now are called either <\/span>Pascuans<\/span><\/i> in Spanish or <\/span>Rapa Nui<\/span><\/i> in Polynesian \u2013 endured ghastly challenges in the centuries since: Peruvian \u201cblackbirder\u201d slave raids, smallpox and tuberculosis epidemics in the 1800s; not even allowed to live outside the small community of Hanga Roa while the rest of the island was an off-limits British sheep ranch until the 1950s; still cheated out of much (but far from all) of their land today.<\/span><\/p>\n

But survive they have, with warmth and goodwill in their hearts. We\u2019ll be welcomed as we explore the most uniquely astounding island on our planet.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are over 350 <\/span>ahus<\/span><\/i> (altars) around the island\u2019s circumference, many with <\/span>moai<\/span><\/i> of various sizes upon them. We won\u2019t get to <\/span>all<\/span><\/i> of them, but certainly all of the best. A sample:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

At the quarry of Rano Roraku, we can see every stage of how the giant <\/span>moai<\/span><\/i> were carved out of the volcanic tufa stone:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll walk along the lip of the Orango Crater and see the rock carvings of the Bird Man of Rapa Nui:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll have time to explore Rapa Nui on our own \u2013 by foot, bicycle, horseback, motor scooter, your choice. You can swim, snorkel, explore caves, spend time with the locals, have as much fun as you can \u2013 and, of course, enjoy a gorgeous Easter Island sunset with a glass of your favorite Chilean wine\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

To get to Pitcairn from Easter is not as simple as flying the 1,200 miles between them. We take the once-weekly flight to Papeete, Tahiti (2,600 miles), fly the next day to Mangareva (1,030 miles) to board the <\/span>MV Bravo<\/span><\/i>. It is the Pitcairn Government\u2019s passenger and cargo vessel. The cabins are comfortable, the food is good, the ship bar is open. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

The voyage takes 32 hours to reach Pitcairn (430 miles \u2013 if you\u2019ve added it up, that\u2019s 4,000 miles or 6,400 kilometers total; of course you can\u2019t fly those 1,200 miles from Easter to Pitcairn, as there\u2019s no airport!).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

We arrive at anchor in Pitcairn\u2019s Bounty Bay by dawn. After sunrise, a longboat will come to land us at the tiny landing cove:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost everyone on the island will be there to greet us. A ship coming in is a big deal to one of the most isolated communities on earth. We\u2019ll be driven up the Hill of Difficulty in ATVs to Adamstown, where we\u2019ll stay in Pitcairners\u2019 private homes. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

The islanders are renowned for being open-hearted and hospitable, so we\u2019ll get an ultra-warm welcome. This is lunch, for example, at Tom & Betty Christian\u2019s. Tom (yellow shirt) is the great-great-great grandson of Fletcher Christian.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll explore the island, but first, so many Pitcairners will be inviting us over to their place for a cup of tea that we\u2019ll hardly get out of Adamstown. We will, however, see the Bounty Bible on display, the Bounty anchor, and two of the Bounty\u2019s cannons.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, yes, we\u2019ll snorkel in Bounty Bay over the site where Fletcher Christian burned and sank The Bounty so the English wouldn\u2019t find it. We\u2019ll explore one of the world\u2019s most legendary yet unknown islands, being guided by Pitcairners and their children –<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2013 as we walk to Fletcher Christian\u2019s Cave…<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

…peer over The Edge, examine ancient petroglyphs, and swim in St. Paul\u2019s Pool:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll join a festive Friday dinner at Olive Christian\u2019s home, Big Fence. Everyone on the island shows up for a lot of food and even more fun. For this is Pitcairn\u2019s main attraction: its people. They are among our planet\u2019s most unique people, and the friendliest. It won\u2019t take long until you have found life-long friends among them. You won\u2019t want to leave.<\/span><\/p>\n

But we must. After a sumptuous Sunday brunch at Olive\u2019s lasting until mid-afternoon, the longboat will take us back to the MV Bravo. The goodbyes will be tearful. You won\u2019t believe how much you\u2019ll miss Pitcairn as it recedes into the distance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll try not to drink too many rum punches on the Bravo. Upon our sunrise return to Mangareva, we can visit one of Mangareva\u2019s famous pearl farms to see how some of the world\u2019s most gorgeous black pearls are grown. Or just explore \u2013 this, as you can see, is a beautiful island:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Islands\"Islands<\/span><\/p>\n

After lunch, we board the Air Tahiti flight back to Papeete, for it is here we must say farewell to each other until the next adventure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of us will be taking the late evening flight back to the U.S. (LA or Honolulu). Others will be bound for Tahitian islands such as Moorea or Bora Bora. Or perhaps continuing on to Rarotonga. No matter where we go from here, we will always have Easter Island and Pitcairn forever as part of our lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

The dates, just so you know, are <\/span>Wednesday August 14 arrival in Santiago, Chile, to Tuesday August 27 departure from Papeete, Tahiti.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I can only bring eight of you, so please let me know ASAP by <\/span>emailing me at <\/span><\/i>Jack@WheelerExpeditions.com<\/i><\/b><\/a> to tell me The Islands of Mystery and Legend<\/span><\/i> are for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Carpe diem<\/span><\/i>. Life is short. The time for a great adventure is <\/span>now.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Jack Wheeler is the founder of\u00a0<\/b>Wheeler Expeditions<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Click here to get advance notice of expeditions you can join & stunning photos of Once-in-a-Lifetime Adventures<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Spring of last year, 2018, we conducted our first Islands of Mystery and Legend. For those of you who weren\u2019t able to join us then and requested a second opportunity, here we go. It\u2019s this coming Summer: \u00a0August 14-27, 2019. For those who regard our planet as endlessly fascinating, there are few places […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":366,"featured_media":24004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[10223,10224,10217,10212,10213,2476,10221,10214,10207,10219,10210,10218,10215,10222,10225,10220,10228,10226,10227,10229],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/image8-6.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23996"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/366"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23996"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29135,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23996\/revisions\/29135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23996"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=23996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}