4 days in a row at sea? Where are the Flat Friends going?

Our Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Timeline

1722: Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen became the first European to make recorded contact with the island! Because his ships arrived on Easter Sunday (April 5th), he cleverly (?) named the island “Paasch-Eyland” (Easter Island). He reported seeing great statues standing (Moai) and the inhabitants living their lives.

1774: Famous British explorer Captain James Cook visited the island during his second great voyage. His visit was brief. However, historically, it provides significant information. His logs say that the islanders were struggling, and, even more noteworthy, that many of the great stone statues (moai) had been knocked over since Roggeveen’s visit 50 years earlier. (Without his logs we would not know so much changed in just 50 years!)

1955–1956: Thor Heyerdahl brought global attention to the island— thanks to him Easter Island has captured the imagination of millions. First came his Kon-Tiki raft voyage. Heyerdahl sailed on a Balsa-wood raft, using no modern technology, with a small crew, from South America to Polynesia (he overshot Easter Island!). He wanted to prove a possible, historic, connection between the island and the continent 2,000 miles away. Heyerdahl was a Norwegian adventurer and explorer who also led the first major, modern archaeological expedition to Easter island. His team dug into the history (really!) and, famously, performed practical experiments with local islanders to demonstrate how the massive statues could have been carved and “walked” into place. His best-selling book, Aku-Aku, brought immense global attention to the island’s mysteries.

1967–Present: Ships visited occasionally, but the island remained very isolated until 1967 when the first passenger jet landed. Rapa Nui was open to the world and modern tourism. Instead of just imagining Easter Island, it was now reachable for more people!