It does seem to keep getting better. This morning we have gone ashore on the far side of Hiva Oa, at Puamau Bay, which is where ancient Marquesans erected chiefly statues using red and grey basalt, huge figures of important chiefs that are the largest outside of Easter Island. The temple platforms where they were raised, are up on the mountain slope and just below a striking tall pinnacle. It's a very captivating place and it doesn't hurt that its in a spectacular bay and that it's a treacherous landing. Quite a feeling of adventure and spookiness.
I hope to put a picture here, of the tikis....
One of the best things we've done is wherever we come to with the group, high in a mountain or in the back of a town, when the group heads back to town to see handicrafts or explore the beach, we walk higher. The woods are beautiful, here are many horse trails and hidden springs and secret bathing pools and beautiful plants. Vanilla orchids wound up around the palms. It's so worth the extra little climb, to get into the natural world even more so and to hear the birds and feel what it may be like to live here.
In addition to the traditional plants and breadfruit and fruit trees and vanilla and noni, Coffee is also grown here, but the locals don't drink it as coffee! They prefer Nescafé, and, for that natural coffee buzz, they take the leaves of the coffee plant and use them to make 'tea.'
The Aranui is again welcome here. The local roads go steeply up the hills away from the shore and are only one lane wide. You have to have a good strong motor! Well today someone overestimated things, they loaded their new refrigerator and their other new supplies in their pickup, got two thirds up the slippery steep road.... And ran out of gas. So we find two strong marquesan guys transferring the freight from one steeply sloped pickup, into the other. Phew!
The shore here has a great surf rolling onto a black sand/pebble beach. And on the shore were a few good looking local teens... With big noses and sun bleached hair. On a whim we asked them: we've heard some people here are Paul Gauguns descendants, are you? Yes!
After we all got off the slippery dock into the passenger barge as it surged, and onto the Aranui steps as it surged, we got another great Aranui lunch. A platter of crudités including celeriac with traditional French mustard dressing, a roast chicken, and profiteroles. Overeating again, we felt like napping through the afternoon, but the coast that we steamed by was so dramatic. We slipped into a gorgeous valley that goes back for miles, called Hana'i'apa. The Aranui anchored close to a blowhole.
This stop not much boat work happened. Mainly it was a chance just to get out and walk, In a lovely village and valley. Down along the bay along the wide curving black sand bay were tall peaked sheds for the many outriggers, and along the sides of the bay were tall cliffs with caves in the bottoms with many chickens in them and high above were many precipitous shelves above with goats and rams and kids all bleating. Also there were open walled buildings, hale, where folks were hanging out enjoying the breeze wi each other, sitting on the low walls. Here, a was woman teaching a little girl how to play checkers with little grey beach rocks.
As you wound back along the river from the shore there started to be houses, though scattered, and a church with a service going on with lovely harmonies. the valley was not only exquisite with its plants and horses, and local homes, and outriggers, and the lovely river, but also, the valley floor, which goes back several miles, seems to be full of old stone house sites, big solid stone platforms, reminding us of how many people were living here before the Europeans came. Also well inland, there was a house labeled as the "yacht club". Go figure. We didn't see any yachts...
I don't have a lot of photos I can put here til I have a link to Craig's ipad, but here a few from my ipad
The coast from Aranui with our crane in front:
The mouth of Hana'i'apa valley:
The Aranui next to the blow hole:
The child playing checkers with stones:
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