Rapa Nui (isla de pascua, easter island)

We’re currently settled in a cabin on the island of Chiloé in Chile for the next 10 days. We decided to spend some concentrated time away from a city months ago and just chill in one spot. Creatively, I feel like I’m having the chance to flip a switch and dig deep into some fundamentals. Some goals this year include defining the type of film I want to pursue (subject, genre, themes, commercial content, etc.), film education (LOTS of movies, reading and studying), and defining what my business will look like for the next 5-10 years. What the time in Chiloé has really looked like is spending my time baking bread, sleeping in, watching movies, writing and petting a stray dog that visits every day (his name is Mago - wizard in english).

Regardless, I’m savouring this time as something that doesn’t happen very often in one’s adult life: 3 weeks of self-imposed un-structured time! I created the intentions of how to structure my days at the beginning, but that quickly became a bit more muddled. It’s all good. So here’s a blog post about Rapa Nui (Easter Island) that’s been in my drafts for some time now. Hope you enjoy!

Not initially on our list of places to visit, we got a hot tip from fellow travellers to go to Rapa Nui. A little skeptical at first because of its reputation for being costly, we lucked out and found some flight deals and cheap accommodation. In our little concrete bungalow (sans wifi), we woke up to the sounds of roosters, horses, cows and dogs. Rapa Nui felt like a Hawaii pre-development and if it was colonized by the Spanish instead of the English. It was definitely a little slice of heaven.

Literally in the middle of nowhere, Rapa Nui is one of the most remote places on the earth. 3,500 km from the coast of Chile, it sits in the Pacific Ocean. We rode our (very loud) Yamaha scooter around the island, observing Moai (giant heads) and avoiding the roaming horses and cows. Adventuring around the island was interrupted by periodic tropical showers and afternoon naps. A combination of internet speeds from 1999, a snails pace of life and not much going on, left us with plenty of time to just be.

Being on the island was a stark contrast to back living back home in a hectic, errand-filled, eat at my desk, scheduled life. I don’t think that life on an island is easy at all, but I feel like priorities are a bit different on Rapa Nui. Being in Latin America is definitely reflecting the values that already exist in me that I want to bring home. Things like closing shop on Sunday to be with family, long-ass lunches & siestas and a passionate expression of life.