WaterWorld II - Rapa Nui, Anakena

Let’s go back a few years, January 1969; my father was transferred to Eastern Island (Isla de Pascua, Rapa Nui, Te pito teje nua). He was the Commander of the Chilean Air Force base and was also named the governor of the Island. There was also a U.S.A. Air Force/NASA base for tracking satellites and Apollo missions.

Funny story: My father’s last name is a nightmare for English speaking people, you see, is a compound last name “Perez de Tudela”, so the American people just called him by his initials “PDT”. If you go to Eastern Island you will find a discotheque that is named after my father, it’s called “PiDiTi” (just pronounce PDT in English and you will know what I mean!!), and is the best of the island.

Here we are, a 11 year old boy in a beautiful South Pacific Island, average temperature 80°, temperature of the crystal clear water 75°, dimension of the island 22 km. by 18 km. by 14 km. YES!!! Is almost a perfect triangle in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

I already told you that I loved water, and this was/is the perfect place for me.

First weekend in the island and the family goes to one of the two sand beaches Anakena (the other is called Ovaje).

It’s a beautiful cove with the whitest sand you have ever seen, and once you get into the water a fantastic new world opens up. It’s transparent, full of colours, full of life!!!. You can spend hours in it, because the temperature is great, and the water is so clear that you can see everything.

I know that Love gives everything, and this place doesn’t hide anything from you, so I fell in Love…