Not Our Best Moment Yet

On the agenda for today was a horseback ride along the relatively unexplored north coast of the island. We hired Cabalgatas Pantu, which proved to be a costly decision.

We were picked up at our hotel by a staff member of the Rapa Nui outfit and driven to Pikera Uri Hotel, which also owns the horseback riding operation. We paid for our tour and shown to the horses. The owner paired each of the guests with a horse. He simply asked us one question, "Have we ridden before?", to which we responded "Yes, one time and for one hour or so." There was not an attempt to evaluate our equestrian skill level and whether or not we were comfortable with horses. Shame on me for not thinking to inquire in the moment, as we were paired with animals not suited for our skill level. There was also no explantation of how to use the horses, nor the type of terrain we would be riding through.

Long story short, three of the four of us fell about an hour or so into the five hour ride. We were given a little bit of attention when we fell, but the service ended there. A vehicle was called to pick us up, but we had to walk to meet the vehicle as we were on land that isn't accessible by passenger van. We therefore had to walk about an hour to the nearest road; I cannot blame them as regulations are there for a reason, unless in case of emergency. We only had some scrapes and bruises so no, it does not qualify. However, I expected the guide to assist us down, but it was wishful thinking. Somewhat sore from the fall, we took our time walking to the nearest road and made a few stops along the way to rest before continuing, to which we were met with a terse "Don't stop. Keep walking. The vehicle is already there waiting for you." How about do we need assistance? Do we need to take a break, or do we need a hand?"

In the end, we are grateful that we are alive and well, relatively speaking. Accidents do happen, yes. Do we bear some blame? Of course. But to adopt a stance in which the operation bears to blame for assessing our abilities and skill level, well...

We arrived back at our hotel for showers and dinner. We won't let the day color our time on Rapa Nui though.

We begin our journey home tomorrow. More soon...

Closing Out

We had a slower start this morning following yesterday's accident. After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel we went for a final walk from our hotel to town, revisiting some of the moais we admired on our first day. And what a nice day it was to take the walk. A few minutes of on and off mist with peaks of sunshine produced a couple of rainbows at the site of the moais; we interpreted these as signs from above after yesterday.

Following our walk it was back to our hotel for a quick taxi ride to the airport. The journey back was long but comfortable and uneventful, thanks to the good service of LATAM Airlines. While the business class service from Easter Island to Santiago was top notch, even the economy class service from Santiago to the USA via Lima was better than what we've come to expect from most U.S. and European carriers.

Lastly thank you for joining us on this incredible journey. I hope you enjoyed it and that there may be nuggets of information that will be useful to you now or in the future.

Thank you again for sharing your wonderful trip. So sorry about the horse misadventure. I had a similar issue many years ago and will not ride horses under any circumstances. Horses take an instant dislike to me. Dogs and cats love me. Glad you made it home safe and sound.

Treesa, you're most welcome. Glad you enjoyed my report. I'm afraid we have reach the same conclusion as you when it comes to horses.

Hi TP! Sounds like a great trip. Like others I much preferred Valparaiso to Santiago. Also loved Isla Negra.

Didn't go to Easter Island do nice to read about it.

Yestravel, we had a great time. Thanks for checking out my report.