Study Abroad in Santiago, Chile and Travels in South America 2013: Easter Island By Bike Part II

Hola todos,

The evening before when the Andys left, a few new members joined our hostel club including an American named Conor. He came along with us the next morning to the Orongo crater. We biked there and bought the tickets we needed to get into the park which costs CH$30,000 for internationals. However because I had a Chilean I.D. I got a discount and only had to pay CH$10,000! I felt special. We ended up leaving our bikes at the bottom of the mountain and just walked up it. At the top, was a crater filled with water and Lilly pad-looking plants over the surface. All around was ocean. There was a little island off the coast (Motu Nui) in which years and years ago, there was a ritual of a group of indigenous men who swam to the island and finding the first egg laid there by a manutara (type of bird), and then swam back to the mountain and climb it successfully. The winner was declared "Birdman of The Year" and secured control over distribution of the island's resources for his clan.
We went to the small museum up there to read about Orongo, and then we saw the tiny huts (I believe 54 in total) where the villagers lived. Everything was beautiful. Also, a dog we named Daisita (little Daisy) accompanied us the entire way. She bought tickets with us and then climbed the mountain with us, went to the museum up there with us, looked at the huts and came down with us. She was such a cutie pie!!
We then climbed back down and went into town to get something to eat. We therefore got natural juice of Guayaba which is a type of fruit and ate sandwiches. We were thinking about going for a boat ride afterwards, but it was getting late and looked like it was going to rain soon. Instead, we biked back to the hostel and relaxed and chatted with the other guests. Since it was John's last night, we had to celebrate the evening.
That evening, John, Conor and Dirk, the guy from the Netherlands, and I all went out for dinner. We went to a place right on the water and what did I get you ask? Yes, ceviche. We got pisco sours and chatted. Did you know, when you're attracted to someone, your eyes dilate? However, this is unreliable because it also depends upon the lighting so if it's dark out, your eyes are going to dilate regardless of whether you like them or not. Either way, I thought that was an interesting fun fact.
Afterwards, we went to a bar and had a drink. We met some very interesting people there. Very interesting.
It was a great night, one of the best during my stay.
The next morning, Conor, a woman from England (yet another Brit) named Karen and I were going to go horse-back riding!