I received a sweet new GoPro for Christmas (thanks, Mom!) so I took it with us to Easter Island and used my spankin’ new mini tripod to take a video of the Moai at sunrise at Ahu Tongariki, just one of the numerous sites where Moai can be found on the island.  I’m the opposite of a morning person – you’ll never catch me up before the sun unless it’s for a flight or an important event – but this was one of the items on my bucket list when we booked our trip to Easter Island, so I dragged my sleepy butt out of bed for this at five-something in the morning, praying I wouldn’t regret it.

We arrived at Ahu Tongariki in the pitch blackness and used our iPhone flashlights to guide our way down the hill from the small parking lot, over the grassy field with scattered rocks here and there, and perched on one of the larger half-submerged boulders in the field. We waited there, whispering in the dark, facing the sea and listening to the waves crash. Then suddenly, the sky began to lighten, almost imperceptibly, then faster and the Moai emerged from the darkness, almost like ghosts from the sea. It was nearly spiritual.

At first I was a little peeved by the tourist laying around in the frame and posing for photos, but I have to admit now – it’s pretty hilarious.

It’s a shame that it wasn’t a more clear day, but as you can see, it is still pretty magnificent. It was definitely one of those moments that makes you sit and marvel at the world – how lucky we were to be here at this moment to see this and wonder how many people have seen this before, what they were doing at the time, what it meant to them, and who will see it in the future?  It’s one of those things that I think I’ll always remember. At least, I hope so.

Read more about our time on Easter Island here.