Taura’a on Easter Island

On Easter Island, Hotel Taura’a (Atamu Tekena s/n, Hanga Roa, Easter Island, Chile; phone [56] [32] 210 0463, fax [32] 255 1310, www.tauraahotel.cl) has 10 delightful rooms and serves delicious breakfasts. The surroundings are beautiful.

Our lovely, spotless room cost my husband, Joe, and me approximately $115 per night. (The costs I give here are based on the November ’08 rate of 620 pesos per US dollar.)

We took two all-day tours given by the hotel that we highly recommend. Hotel co-owner Bob Howe conducted the “South Island Tour,” which had seven participants, and a staffer, Helen, ran the “West Island Tour,” which had 13 participants. Each tour cost $48 per person and was outstanding.

The hotel arranged for a car rental for us for one day. All the arrangements were very casual — nothing in writing, and no inquiry about whether we even had a driver’s license! The cost of the 24-hour rental was $81. There was no additional charge for fuel, etc.

The owner and staff went out of their way to help us any way they could. Co-owner Edith Pakarati is an Easter Island native and related to half the population. When we were unable to reach an archaeologist we had planned to meet (his phone was out of order), she took us to his home.

We had originally planned to rent bikes. They were available to rent but would have been practical only in or near the town. Roads and paths outside town are for skilled mountain bikers only.

We spent lots of time hiking up and down mountain paths. Rain? On one day for three or four 4-minute periods only.

When we signed out to leave Easter Island, we were asked if we wished to make a tip. We said ‘Yes’ and added an optional tip of 10% on the entire bill.

Most visitors seem to go to Easter Island for three to five days. We were glad to have stayed for eight days. We never ran out of things to do or places to explore.

NANCY LOGAN

Jamestown, RI