"The first experience can never be repeated. The first love, the first sunrise, the first South Sea Island", Robert Louis Stevenson
After a 40 hour journey across the South Seas, we finally made our first destination, the island of Nuku Hiva. If you've ever read Herman Melville's first novel, Typee, then you will have known about this island. It was here that Melville, in this apparent autobiography, jumped a whaling ship with his friend, Toby, and escaped over a mountain to the valley of Taipeevai. Here he lived for 4 months with the Typee tribe, known cannibals, trying to escape but never quite managing it. Of course, he thought that they were going to have him for dinner, literally. Finally, he sees a ship in the bay and is able to escape his benevolent captors.
Many readers think this is all true, but really only the part about jumping ship, climbing over the mountain, and hanging out with the Typees is true. He was there for three weeks and was able figure out a great story.
We docked in the capital of Taiohae and the 200 Aranui passengers piled into 40 four wheel drive trucks. After stopping at a church which honirs the bishop who has helped the marquesans recover traditions, and hearing some of the truck drivers playing us some music,
We all headed up the main road, pretty much the way Melville wrote about. From here, we had a fantastic view of the port town of Taiohae.
From here, we drove into Taipeevai valley and up and over another mountain to,the next valley, Hatiheu. There is a beautiful ruin here, an ancient sacred banyan hangs over it, apparently both ancestors and sacrificed enemies helped nourish this tree, it's pretty big isn't it? There were tikis in the walls... Petroglyphs.... Amazing site
After, we had a nice lunch of the local version of kahlua pig (cooked in an imu for 6 hours, much less then the Hawaiians do) (needs to be longer for that great crispyness! But no matta). . We also had goat with a white sauce, the best thing we ate. From the beach in this valley, Hatiheu, you have a view of some amazing volcanic pinnacles.
After lunch, we went back to Taipee Valley and did a nice 20 minute hike to an ancient site, with many tikis and platforms that originally were the foundations for buildings.
It was now time to go back to the ship, anchored in Taipee Bay. Which in addition to being the famous site of Melville's escape.... An utter fiction.... Is exquisite. The Aranui was far out in the bay and her sailors went back and forth ferrying copra in, cement to port, on their barges as night fell and the southern cross came out.
Check out the arm of our barge driver...
That evening, Amy and I had a blast, playing our ukuleles with the Aranui band. One hour straight of fast Tahitian and Marquesan tunes can take a lot out on a wrist and arm!
Tomorrow it's off to Ua Pou, reported to be the most beautiful of all the islands here. This is the home of our friend and tattoo artist, Moana.
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