Iles Marquises
Monday June 1, 2009
We collected the sail slides today and met Rose Corser who wanted to whopping three dollars for all she did to help us. It was almost embarrassing to pay so little. It would have cost us an arm and a leg through an import agent. At least we will be able to use the full mainsail again once the new slides are sewn on. Michelle checked out the supermarkets which have no fruit or vegetables but you can find a little gem such as Kikkomanīs soy sauce. There is an enormous variety of tinned food which sadly seems to form the basis of the Polynesian diet. Understandable since you canīt eat the local inshore fish due to Cigaterra poisoning. The fisherman have to go out and catch Tuna, Mahi Mahi, Wahoo or Barracuda and there arenīt all that many fisherman. We miss seeing the Central American Pangas heading out to fish.
Tonight we had Rob and Theresa (Yohela) over for drinks. The weather has been nasty the last few days blowing 25 to 30 knots but with big rough 4 meter seas. They are chomping at the bit to get going to the Tuamotus but are stuck here. Hello World left today but radioīd back and said it was very uncomfortable out there and they were pulling in to Ua Pou and waiting it out. It was good news for us because we were able to enjoy another evening of their company before they went scampering off.
Tuesday June 2, 2009
We were debating what to do today when Michelle remembered we had to get a propane tank filled. Robin took it over to Polynesian Yacht Services and they said it wonīt be ready till tomorrow so we have another day to fiddle around. Yesterday when we picked up the sailslides Rose had mentioned that there was a French lady on the island, Jocelyn who does tours and if we are interested to let her know. We asked another Aussie couple on a boat called Honey Moon if they would be interested and they said yes. We wandered back around to confirm with Rose that we would do the tour tomorrow and then we checked out her little museum full of Marquesas artifacts, a very interesting display of old tools, beautiful carvings, history etc.
We wandered back over to the other side of the bay, a 20 minute walk and stopped to check how Philip and Leslie (Carina) were doing repairing their dinghy. Philip had a nasty accident the other day with a local boat TBoning Philip while he was dinghying ashore. The local boat hadnīt even noticed heīd hit anyone and it was all the people standing on the dock who started yelling and screaming. Philip emerged shaken but otherwise unscathed but their dinghy, a wooden affair, didnīt fair so well. They also lost all the things inside the dinghy like their anchor and chain, and an oar was broken. Their little engine was also completely swamped and isnīt running. So one small accident, major repairs and time spent doing them.
We stopped by a van on the dock which sells crepes and decided we would have one each for lunch. They were absolutely delicious. Then we indulged in a softserve icecream. What a treat. We headed back to the boat and Robin decided he couldnīt put up with the rock n roll one more hour so deployed the stern anchors. It was certainly a relief facing into the swell rolling into the bay.
Wednesday May 3, 2009
We were all on the dock at 8:30am this morning and were promptly bundled into Jocelynīs waiting van for a day of sightseeing. She began in earnest pointing out various buildings and their uses while heading out of town and this set the tone for the day. She was so full of information it is hard to recall it all but we will try to convey the little we remember. The first thing she mentioned was the town jail, a smallish building currently being renovated. You can often see the prisoners outside playing petanque with the prison guards, and in fact when we returned late this afternoon they were doing just that. They are let out at day break and locked up again at night. Afterall there is nowhere for them to go.
 |
| Your transport ladies and gents |
We made a pitstop at a lookout overlooking Taiohae Bay where we are anchored and of course took the necessary photos of Warrior behaving herself on the hook. Following a rough winding mountain road along razor-backed ridges, we made a few more scenic stops overlooking Controlleur Bay (apparently one of the sites where they filmed Survivor, a TV show weīve never seen) and then we drove down into the small village of Taipivai, crossing a low bridge with no safety rails. Apparently when it floods you just have to guess where the edges are and sometimes the locals get it wrong! Taipivai is the valley immortalized in the novel Typee written by Herman Melville. The story is a very melodramatic embellished account of his adventures jumping ship and hiding out with the locals. It does however possess keen observations of local culture, woodcarving, burial practices, marriage customs and natural history of the time. A good read.
 |
 |
| Overlooking Taiohae Bay and Controller Bay | |
We took in the new local church which again showcased local carvings depicting Marquesian interpretations of biblical scenes. We particularly enjoyed very polynesian baby Jesus holding a breadfruit and Josephīs woodcarving Marquesian tool. The red volanic stone, keetu, used in the plaque was originally used to carve tiki and often reserved only for village chiefs and dignitaries as it was considered very precious.
 |
Sweeping is still done with a local made switch. Cheap and practical. |
 |
 |
 |
| Jocelyn sharing a thousand tidbits of information | ||
On the church grounds was also an endemic palm, the Ehi ootahi, which has been on the endangered species list for the island although it is in no danger of being lost as it lives in thousands of Palmetiums around the globe. They have however been replanting it all over the island after a disease started to ravish it.
 |
 |
| At least there are a lot of seeds per palm | |
Jocelyn also pointed out a stone standing near the palm tree. This used to lay flat and was a work table. The round holes were used to grind various things from spices to ink for tatoos, the two long slits used for sharpening or making their tools and the half bowl shape you can see held water. These work benches were used into the 19th century.
 |
| Work Bench |
We climbed out of the Taipavai Valley to the Teavaitapuhiva Pass at 1,608 feet (490 meters) and stopped for a stunning view of the Teuakueenui Waterfall which is home to the new electricity plant. We canīt remember how high it was. On the opposite side you could see Hatiheu Bay where we would be heading for lunch and further over you could just catch a glimpse of Anaho Bay which we may visit by yacht. We havenīt decided yet. The only way to get to Anaho Bay is via a hiking trail or by sea which makes it very tempting indeed.
 |
 |
| Teuakueenui Waterfall and Hatiheu Bay | |
Next stop was the archeological site of the Kamuihei Ceremonial Center. The ancient village was situated near a small stream amid a forest of giant banyans, mape and candlenut trees. This was apparently normal and the existence of these giant trees have allowed archeologists to find a large number of these ancient villages with a tremendous degree of accuracy in the dense tropical overgrowth. The village center of Kamuihei consisted of two tohua, the ancient areas reserved for festivities, the meae Iipoka reserved for sacrifices and sacred doings, a large storage silo for breadfruit paste and some petroglyphs. Most villages were built around the banyan trees, and pits were carved in amongst the roots which held the tabu items that could not be touched again by mortal hands and bones of sacrificed victims. Cup like depressions that were seen in the rock back at the church are clearly evident and may have held offerings for the gods. There were pits that held victims ready to be sacrificed, and Jocelyn says they were kept in a dazed state from some barbituate substance. She went on to fill our heads with various facts and figures none of which we can recall with any sort of accuracy which would allow us to repeat it on a public domain website.
 |
 |
 |
Kamuihei |
 |
 |
 |
| The petroglyphs were quite readable | ||
We stopped for lunch in the beautiful bay of Hatiheu at the restaurant of Yvonne Katupa, who happens also to be the mayor of the village. Lunch consisted of goat in cocount milk, poisson cru, deep fried breadfruit balls, taro and sweet potato, rice, and bread. Thankfully the protein portions were massive as the carbs would have sunk a ship. The food was delicious. Looking up the three basalt mountain spires overlooking the bay we noticed a white statue. Jocelyn told us the tale of how in 1872, a catholic priest, Frere Michel Blanc wanted to build a catholic church but the villagers were at war with neighboring tribes and had no time to make limestone to construct the church. So inspired by the tall mountain peaks he decided on constructing the madonna to overlook the bay and bring peace to the people. Within the course of the following year he carted up a large log from a breadfruit tree and then limestone to fashion the statue. Finally he brought up pieces of coral to decorate the pedestal and fashion a crown for her. It was an arduous climb and every year some courageous citizen of Hatiheu climbs the peak and tend to her, keeping her clean and tidy. Apparently the story ends happily as the madonna did indeed bring peace to the area and Father Blanc got his church.
 |
| She really is up there |
We drove out along a track to the end of the bay where we took in the view and made peace with the cousins of the goat we ate for lunch then headed off to one more archialogical site, Hikokua.
 |
| But your cousin was so tasty! |
Hikokua consists of a huge central rectangular dance floor surrounded by low split-level terraces and stone platforms and tiki. Ancient Marquesans dug the entire site out of the hillside and piled up the earth behind high stone retaining walls. Artifacts discovered in various pits showed a continuous time line of use dating from around 1250AD through to the 19th century. Near the entrance were deep earth ovens. The low split-level terraces were apparently used for spectators to watch the public festivities. A large flat boulder supported by smaller rocks was used for solo dancers, and to display young chiefs and women who had received their first tatoos, indicating the entry into manhood or in the case of girls, puberty rites. At the north end of the dance floor is a large platform faced with cut slaps of the precious red tuff.
 |
| Hikokua |
Hikokua was restored in 1987 and Marquesan artist Uki Haiti carved three modern tiki for the site. One has a turtle shell for a head and human couples in coital passion carved on its sides.
 |
 |
| Modern Tiki which fit right in | |
We took a slightly different route on the way back taking in yet another spectacular vista and then headed back to Taiohae Bay. It was an wonderful day packed full of so much information we really needed to cart a tape recorder with us. We highly recommend anyone wanting to tour Nuku Hiva to seek out Jocelyn. And in fact Iīm going to give her some advertisement we appreciated her so much. You can find her at Jocelyn Henua Enana Tours, her website is www.marquisesvoyages.com.pf and email address is jocelyn@mail.pf.
We arrived back on the dock to discover Nick and Marls had arrived. We asked them if they were the sail boat we spied anchored in Controller Bay earlier today and it was indeed the wayward rascals.
Thursday June 4, 2009
Michelle worked on the website all morning for you all to read. We are heading on out today to Danielīs Bay, three or so miles to the west and then on to Ua Pou our final stop in the Marquesas before heading to the Tuamotus. We will have no internet access once we leave here until we arrive in Papeete.