THIS WILL ONLY HURT A BIT: The doctor will tattoo you now/Kevin Raub
There are lots of intoxicating things about Easter Island, which, clocking in at 1180 miles from the next nearest stoplight, is one of the most remote spots on earth.
I wont get into it, but suffice to say the stone dudes lying about the island are about as mysterious as it gets, as is how the locals turn a flower called Tipanie into one of the tastiest ice creams Iâve ever had. The cultural exchange between Polynesia and Chile that takes place here is exciting as well, but I digress.
I actually came here to check out the new explora en Rapa Nui lodge, not to get inked. But while here, I couldn’t help but notice everyone had these fantastic and intriguing tattoos. They are somehow different than the Polynesian-style tats you normally see in Hawaiâi, Tahiti, or Fijiâ¦they are sexier and somehow more powerful. Thus began the mission.
I quickly sussed out the excellent mangai art (a wood-and-bone fishhook resting on mahute fiber, encased in glass) that adorns the walls in the lobby of explora was made by a local tattoo artist named Mokomae. Off I went.
Mokomaeâs door was all locked up, but a quick knock brought him out from under the adoring (and adorable) female fans that were swarming around him when I showed up.
I asked about travel symbols, and within a minute heâd drawn a Hoe (âpaddleâ) Vaka (âseaâ), a sort of half canoe, half sail that is the traveling symbol of the Rapa Nui navegantes, or navigators. Within five minutes, it was on my right foot.
Mokomae Tattoos, Av. Atamu Tekena, s/n, Hanga Roa, Isla de Pasqua; 56-32/9293-1591
— Kevin Raub