  We explore the connection between chaos, thermalization and ergodicity in a
linear chain of $N$ interacting dipoles. Starting from the ground state, and
considering chains of different numbers of dipoles, we introduce single site
excitations with energy $\Delta K$. The time evolution of the chaoticy of the
system and the energy localization along the chain is analyzed by computing, up
to very long times, the statistical average of the finite time Lyapunov
exponent $\lambda(t)$ and of the participation ratio $\Pi(t)$. For small
$\Delta K$, the evolution of $\lambda(t)$ and $\Pi(t)$ indicates that the
system becomes chaotic at roughly the same time as $\Pi(t)$ reaches a steady
state. For the largest values of $\Delta K$, the system becomes chaotic at an
extremely early stage in comparison with the energy relaxation times. We find
that this fact is due to the presence of chaotic breathers that keep the system
far from equipartition and ergodicity. Finally, we show that the asymptotic
values attained by the participation ratio $\Pi(t)$ fairly corresponds to
thermal equilibrium.
