Marquesas

Too cold and murky for a swim though
The view from the house at the end of the road
Rob wants to live here
Just beautiful valleys everywhere
No caption necessary
Walking back into town
The local neighborhoods
A big nut or flower hanging from the plantins or bananas
Local housing on Fatu Hiva
The roofs slide over the copra when it rains
Nice life with a house and big truck
Almost downtown
The local school
And the church
Back to the harbor with the boats on anchor outside
The local freighter and cruise ship unloads
But score here is a pampelmousse tree
A local cleaning the days catch
Jeff goes aloft on Nemesis to rerun some halyards
Us and our little boat below
Baie Tahuku on Hiva Oa
Packed in tight with Carina nearby
Loading racing canoes
Yohelah in the middle of the pack
Looking down into Atuona Bay on Hiva Oa
The town of Atuona on Hiva Oa
The view back into the harbor from town
Anchored bow and stern to pack us in tight
Wild horses grazing after their soccer game
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Panorama of Atuona Bay on Hiva Oa
Tikis along side the road
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This tree looks to me like it belongs in Africa not the Pacific
Baie Paumau on the north shore of Hiva Oa
We stopped with Carina for a picnic
Ceremonial platforms
The site was restored in 1991
Archeological site named Meae Iiopona
Ancient stone tikis
Two wild chickens fighting over something
What are you looking at there Phillip
Another restored tiki
View of the site from above
Which one is Rob and which is the tiki
Bad girl riding the ancient tikis
Mystery fruit growing at the site
The whole site from below
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Rob and Phillip harvest us some pampelmousse
More bays on the north shore of Hiva Oa
A stop in another small village on Hiva Oa
The little breakwater and dock at Motopu on Tahuata
The road along the water in a very tiny little village
Locals gather on the pier to clean the days catch
The soccer field in the village
Our little boats on anchor at Motopu
Every village no matter how small has a post office
Local houses in Motopu are all so clean
Noni fruits reportedly taste pretty bad
The main road across Tahuata
A window in the church
Every village also has a church
Really who needs doors and windows
The main street in Motopu
The locals on the pier cleaning fish
Messy work but lots of good food
Local Marquesan and the catch
Traditional canoe with modern propulsion
The little harbor at Hapatoni with the anchorage beyond
Breakwater and dock at Hapatoni on Tahuata
The road into Hapatoni village
The beach at Hapatoni
This is where I want to live
Buying a carving from the artist
Drums for tourist dances
The cemetery and church at Hapatoni
The cemetery at Hapatoni
The community center in Hapatoni
The main street in Hapatoni
A little shrine outside the community center
Walking out of town for a hike
Behind the cemetery at Hapatoni
The view of Hapatoni Bay from above town
The shrine and cross and things on sticks
No idea what this is at the shrine above town
The anchorage at Hapatoni
Our little boat down in the anchorage
Hapatoni Bay and our anchorage beyond
The carver working on another piece
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Sunset at our stopover on Ua Pou
Wild goats come to the water at sunset to drink
Interesting coloring and formations in the rocks
An obelisk outside the little bay of Hakaotu on Ua Pou
Looking back at Ua Pou from Baie Hakaotu
Taiohae Bay on Nuku Hiva
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Panorama of Taiohae and Taiohae Bay
A lone boat in Controleur Bay on Nuku Hiva
Another look in to Controleur Bay
A bay on the north shore of Nuku Hiva
A little flower along side the road
Looking across Nuku Hiva to Baie Hatiheu
A wood tiki at the site
A very old Banyan tree at Te Iipoka Meae
Who knew Homer Simpson was Marquesan
Dont know what the multiple faces signifies
A tiki at the site
The site at Te Iipoka where they made sacrifices to the goddess Te Vanauaua
I suspect these are newer tikis for a 1989 festival
More tikis at Te Iipoka
The same triditional shapes in the newer carvings
Side view of the same carving
Another interesting carving
Axel makes friends with the tiki
Another site named Hikokua Tahua nearby
At least it looks like a turtle on the top
We think this is a turtle tiki
Mother and child tiki
Looking across Hatiheu Bay
The little dock at Hatiheu on Nuku Hivas north shore
Brit finally climbs a coconut tree
The main road in Hatiheu
The church at Hatiheu
Looking across the church lawn towards the bay
A little tiki on the church lawn
Another pretty shot of the church lawn and spires outside of town
More tikis along the beach
North shore Nuku Hiva
Agricultural clearing on the top of Nuku Hiva
Dense and lush green jungle everywhere
Terese from the boat Coquillicot gets ready for a new manta ray tattoo
Starting work on the stencil
Taking a break an hour later
The finished product
Tikis at a little waterfront park in Nuku Hiva
There is apparently some story here we do not know
Very weathered old stone tikis
Pretty little church grounds
A little local church along the road in Tiaohae Bay
Yohelah resting on anchor in the foreground
Rolly rolly Tiaohae Bay in Nuku Hiva
I think this was the second place team
Definitely working hard for their big win
Here comes the leading team paddling hard in the relentless sun
Some had a longer course inside the bay around buoys
Support boats followed each team
Then they paddled four laps around the bay for another hour in the Marquesan heat
They started at 8 am and went outside the harbor for 2 and a half hours
We had a front door seat as they raced right around our boat
One holiday they had canoe races in Taiohae Bay
Closing in on the finish line
The support fleet went inside our boat and the racers outside
More lush valleys amid high mountain peaks
The beach in Daniels Bay
Another incredibly beautiful view of Nuku Hiva
Motoring over to Daniels Bay for a nice waterfall hike
The road out of town
A little community center in the village
The river alongside the village we walk past
Our trusty dink waits for us while we hike for 5 hours
The mouth of the river in the village at Daniels Bay
Luckily we hike mostly under the lush jungle canopy out of the hot sun
Another house along the way
A little Marquesan house along the road out of the village
Heading into the mountains as we hike
We swam across the poll into a little cavern where the waterfall is
A very narrow canyon with an hour of full sun daily
Looking back out the valle from the waterfall
Scenes along the hike
Chugging through the jungle heading home
After our swim and picnic lunch this is the trail back out
But theres not much to see during dry season
Reportedly its the worlds third highest waterfall
A lovely light air sail the next day to Ua Pou
It ties up to the dock to unload freight and tourists
The Aranui motors into Ua Pou harbor very early in the morning
Notice the tattoos on the dance leader
The girl in red was one of the leaders
The flower in the right ear means she's single
The girls are all beautiful Polynesians
The Marquesans perform dances for the tourists
Concentrating hard to remember all the moves
The girls team mid dance
Beautiful costume and lovely movements as she danced
Four guys in the dance troupe in traditional costume
The missing Belushi Brother dances with the men
The Belushi Brother is also a tattoo artist on the island
Concentrating hard on the dance
The men were pretty agressive
The girl on the right saw Rob's camera pointing at her
The dancers pose for the tourist cameras afterward
And another from the dance leader
A beautiful Marquesan smile for the camera
Notice he has a few tattoos himself
Rock formations near the little harbor
The local canoes near the rocks and harbor
Local at the grocery at Oa Pou
It wanted to adopt Axel
The road at Hakahetau on Oa Pou
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