Saturday, May 27, 2006

New Easter Island boardgame for August 2006


Gone Cardboard News: Easter Island - Pictures and Rules

Posted by Rick Thornquist
Boardgame News
05/25 at 06:13

Twilight Creations has posted some more pictures plus the for their upcoming game Easter Island. Check out their Easter Island page to see the pictures. Here are the Easter Island Rules (in PDF format).

Read the full article:
from the Twilight Creations site:

This game speculates that the statues were, in fact, beam weapons created by two very powerful wizards. These wizards used the statues in a giant game, with the island itself as the board. You are now one of those wizards...

Read more:

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Rapa Nui is 'loneliest place on earth' according to Google

Google is a Travel Agent
jaunted.com
Tue May 23, 2006 at 05:52:51 PM EST

Since Google is the all knowing and all powerful master of our domain, we figured it was time to use her algorithmic powers to answer all of our travel questions.
We asked our new travel agent to find us
the loneliest place on earth--figuring some alone time can do everyone a bit of good.

Click here to read the full article.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Rapa Nui tourist support?

A Times reader asks about support for her dream trip to Rapa Nui.
Daily Doc: Easter Island
'Doc Holiday'
Times Online
May 23, 2006

It's my long-term ambition to visit Easter Island. The island website seems tourist friendly, but I'm nervous of travelling so far without support. Do you know of any specialist tour operators I could use, without needing to commit to a tour of South America?

Read the full article:
http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,18409-2192741,00.html

Saturday, May 20, 2006

National Geographic Expeditions to visit Rapa Nui

National Geographic Expeditions offers two trips to Rapa Nui: one, a circumnavigation of the world by private jet and two, an 18-day cruise to Tahiti and Rapa Nui, with several stops along the way.

Around the World by Private Jet

Join National Geographic on an unforgettable expedition, traveling in ease and comfort by private jet. While circling the globe, explore the natural and cultural wonders of the world's most treasured and legendary places—Peru, Easter Island, Samoa, the Great Barrier Reef, Cambodia, Tibet, India, Tanzania, Egypt, and Morocco.

More details:

Follow in the footsteps of explorers and seafarers aboard the National Geographic Endeavour on an epic voyage from Easter Island, home to the intriguing moai statues, to tropical French Polynesia. Along the way, discover the uninhabited atolls of the Pitcairn Islands, snorkel and kayak around the Gambier Islands, and explore the flowery slopes and stunning beaches of Bora-Bora in the Society Islands.

More details:
http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/494.html

United Nations exhibition displays ancient Rapa Nui art

Presented in celebration of the 5th Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, an exhibition in the UN Visitors’ Lobby (New York) features a Rapa Nui display. The exhibition runs until 15 June 2006.

United Nations Press Release
Note number 6011Department of Public Information
News and Media Division
New York
16 May 2006

An art and photographic exhibition, featuring indigenous people from around the world, will open with a formal ceremony and reception on Tuesday, 16 May, at 6:15 p.m. in the Main Gallery of the General Assembly Visitors’ Lobby. The joint exhibition, entitled “Indigenous Peoples: Honouring the Past, Present and Future”, is presented in celebration of the fifth session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. It consists of a display of artworks by the ancient Rapanui islanders, along with carving, weaving, quilting, painting, drawing and printmaking by contemporary indigenous artists from different countries, who represent both the traditional approach, as well as a fusion of old and new.

Read the full press release:
www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/note6011.doc.htm

More details:
www.un.org/depts/dhl/events/2006/may.htm
http://www.un.org/

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

More about Rapamycin (Could it cure cancer?)

ON CHILE’S EASTER ISLAND: FUNGUS PROVIDES A POSSIBLE CANCER DRUG
SOURCE: LA NACIÓN
By Cristina Dunn (editor@santiagotimes.cl)
Santiago Times
May 16, 2006


The drug was first discovered in 1975 as a product of the bacterium “Streptomyces hygroscopicus” in a soil sample from Easter Island, the small triangular island located about 3,760 kilometers off the Chilean coast in the South Pacific Ocean. The fungus was discovered to have antibiotic properties and was originally developed as an antifungal agent.


Read the full article:

Monday, May 15, 2006

QE2 to visit Rapa Nui in 2008

The following bit is from a press release, which features announcements for luxury cruise provider Cunard Line.

QE2 Journeys to South America, the Pacific and the Orient
CNW Group
May 15, 2006


The most experienced world voyager afloat, QE2 will, for the first time in more than a decade, tour South America and the Pacific in a 90-day odysseythat will leave New York on January 13 and make stops in 17 countries ... Port calls will include Easter Island, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Singapore,Hong Kong, Shanghai and Honolulu. After transiting the Panama Canal, the ship will return home to New York on April 12.

Rapa Nui fungus drug, Rapamycin, may help against tuberous sclerosis

Fungus drug hope
Daily Telegraph
(Filed: 15/05/2006)


A drug isolated from a fungus found on Easter Island is offering new hope to sufferers of tuberous sclerosis.


Click here to read the full article.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Polynesian exhibit in Norwich, UK includes objects from Rapa Nui

The newly refurbished Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts is set to launch a huge Polynesian art show, with objects from Rapa Nui, from May 21 until August 13, 2006.


A taste of Polynesia over a century
Norwich Evening News 24
12 May 2006


... for the first time, important Polynesian material from British and other collections will be brought together for a major exhibition which will substantially extend appreciation of one of the world's great art traditions. Presenting rare and visually stunning god-images, sculptures, ornaments, textiles and valuables to a wide audience, this exhibition will explore Polynesia during the early period of contact with European voyagers, missionaries and settlers.


Click
here for the full article.


Visit the Sainsbury Centre's website for more details:
http://www.scva.org.uk/exhibitions/forthcoming/index.php?exhibition=75

Click here to read a review of the exhibition.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

'Sumptuous' hotel planned for Rapa Nui

Overlooked too long
With a sumptuous new hotel in the pipeline, Easter Island is set to become a hot destination, says Paul Miles.
(Filed: 10/05/2006)
Daily Telegraph

Explora, a Chilean company with fabulous hotels in the Atacama desert and Patagonia, will soon open a sumptuous sea-view hotel on Rapa Nui ...


Read the full article click
here.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Rapa Nui travel info from the New York Times

Easter Island Visitor Information
By HILARY HOWARD
New York Times
Published: April 30, 2006


Situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Chile and Tahiti, Easter Island, known locally as Rapa Nui, is arguably one of the most difficult places to reach in the world.


Read the full article:

Rapa Nui on the verge of tourism boom?

A holiday on the ocean wave - Sunday travel section digest
by Oonagh Shiel
Cheapflights.co.uk
Tips and Views
May 7, 2006

Easter Island (or Rapa Nui), "a speck of land adrift in the empty South Pacific" famous for its giant stone statues (moai), is a ghostly type of place with a dark history, but is on the verge of becoming a popular new destination.

Read the full article:

Sunday, May 07, 2006

New Museo Andino in Chile features Rapa Nui exhibit

NEW CHILE MUSEUM SHOWS INDIGENOUS ART, CULTURE
By Matt Malinowski (features@santiagotimes.cl)
May 7, 2006
Santiago Times


The museum has two huge halls, one devoted to the cultures of northern Chile and Easter Island, and the other to the Mapuches in southern Chile. The material on display—there’s a lot, but not so much as to intimidate—is explained in ample Spanish and English captions.

Read the full article:
http://www.tcgnews.com/santiagotimes/index.php?nav=story&story_id=11249&topic_id=1

Friday, May 05, 2006

Administrative independence for Rapa Nui?

Easter Island to Gain Autonomy
Constitutional reform will give Chilean province administrative independence
Margot Hotus S. (margoth)
OhmyNews
Published on 2006-05-05 10:54 (KST)


The Chilean Senate has approved a constitutional reform giving Easter Island the status of "Special Territory" apart from the regional, provincial, and municipal designations


http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=289863&rel_no=1

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Children's computer game features moai on Rapa Nui

The Great Journey
Game Zone
May 4, 2006

5 chapters full of adventure and more than 30 locations from all over the world. Start from the old port town, then sail to sandy Africa and later visit lush, tropical jungle at Crocodile Island. Next, find your way to the mysterious Easter Island and eventually prepare for a dramatic finale on icy Antarctica!

http://pc.gamezone.com/news/05_04_06_07_27AM.htm


Rapa Nui sea kayaking slideshow in Wyandotte, MI May 4, 2006 at 7pm

Kayaking Antarctica, Easter Island
Source: Michigan DNR
Detroit Free Press
Outdoors
OUTPOST: Outdoors news & notes
May 4, 2006

Kayaking Antarctica, Easter Island: Today [May 4, 2006], 7 p.m., Riverside Kayak Connection, 4016 Biddle Ave., Wyandotte [Michigan]. Slide presentation by Stan Chladek on his sea kayak expeditions. Free. 734-285-2925.

Riverside Kayak Connection website:

President of Chile visits Rapa Nui - casino debate continues

CHILE PRESIDENT MICHELLE BACHELET TRAVELS TO EASTER ISLAND
By Steve Anderson (editor@santiagotimes.cl)
SOURCE: DIARIO SIETE
Santiago Times
May 4, 2006

President Michelle Bachelet travels to Easter Island (Rapa Nui) today, Thursday, to inaugurate “Month of the Sea” celebrations on Chile’s Pacific Ocean territory. Traveling with the President are Defense Minister Vivianne Blanlot and Interior Minister Andrés Zaldívar.



Earlier this week, Bachelet and Zaldívar hosted a group of Rapa Nui folk dancers at the La Moneda palace. After their presidential performance, the folk dancers, accompanied by Sen. Nelson Avila, presented a petition to Bachelet and Zaldívar signed by 1,200 islanders who oppose the proposed construction of a US$13 gambling casino on the island.

http://www.tcgnews.com/santiagotimes/index.php?nav=story&story_id=11226&topic_id=1

Monday, May 01, 2006

Rapa Nui and Hawai'i share similar "lizard goddess" legend

Canoes expand horizons of Maui public education
By Gary T. Kubota (gkubota@starbulletin.com)
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Vol. 11, Issue 121 - Monday, May 1, 2006
There is a legend of a lizard goddess, or moo, who lived in the pond -- a story that is also mentioned in the oral history of islanders of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island in the Southeastern Pacific.

17-photo Rapa Nui slideshow on IHT.com

New York Times photographer Tomas Munita's photographs from Rapa Nui are featured on the International Herald Tribune's website. Click here to check out the slideshow.

Easter Island Marathon June 11, 2006

Running away from home
Getting away to do a marathon or 10K run is a popular trend
by Jerry Kooymans
More from this author
Yorkregion.com
Apr 30, 2006

Popular destination marathons include Reykjavik (Iceland), Stockholm, Mt. Everest (the official Guinness “world’s highest marathon”), Honolulu, Easter Island, Bermuda, Paris, Berlin, Sydney (Australia) and Antarctica (the latter two being popular with those wanting to join the Seven Continents Club).

The fourth annual Easter Island Marathon, half-marathon and 10K is scheduled for June 11, 2006. In addition, there is a Sprint Triathlon June 9 and a Mountainbike race June 10.

Follow the link to learn more about this event: