Story Info

Custer
Felipe Custer
Rapa Nui, Easter Island, Chile
2013

Story & Experience

Despite the inclement weather and busy schedule, we did manage to do our Global Earth Exchange event in Rapa Nui. We opted to not do it at the dump site, given that we were with our 7 month old son, Kai, and figured it would be best to not expose him to the noxious fumes at that location. So instead we went with a small group to a forgotten place on the island that was once a very special site for spiritual rites. It’s a small gully where there are many petroglyphs and a small cave (that I peered into and saw the remains of a human skull). Few tourists ever see this place and what was once considered a place to communicate with the spirits is now part of a horse path and the horses (and some humans) are actively destroying the petroglyphs. 

So we went to the site, talked about its previous significance, it’s current state of abandon, did a brief meditation, and made a bird out of the local rocks. Unfortunately, some of our group members were reluctant to appear in the photo due to the fact that some people might take offense at seeing them in a picture at a sacred site like that one (even despite its abandonment!). Shows some of the ignorance that persists with regards to these places. In any case, Carla, myself, and our son Kai were happy to represent the group. We hope to get more people in future events, but we’re happy with this modest beginning of Global Earth Exchange in Rapa Nui.

Despite the inclement weather and busy schedule, we did manage to do our Global Earth Exchange event in Rapa Nui. We opted to not do it at the dump site, given that we were with our 7 month old son, Kai, and figured it would be best to not expose him to the noxious fumes at that location. So instead we went with a small group to a forgotten place on the island that was once a very special site for spiritual rites. It’s a small gully where there are many petroglyphs and a small cave (that I peered into and saw the remains of a human skull). Few tourists ever see this place and what was once considered a place to communicate with the spirits is now part of a horse path and the horses (and some humans) are actively destroying the petroglyphs. 

So we went to the site, talked about its previous significance, it’s current state of abandon, did a brief meditation, and made a bird out of the local rocks. Unfortunately, some of our group members were reluctant to appear in the photo due to the fact that some people might take offense at seeing them in a picture at a sacred site like that one (even despite its abandonment!). Shows some of the ignorance that persists with regards to these places. In any case, Carla, myself, and our son Kai were happy to represent the group. We hope to get more people in future events, but we’re happy with this modest beginning of Global Earth Exchange in Rapa Nui.

Rapa Nui, Easter Island, Chile

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