I do have to say that the Galapagos would have won the first prize for diversity of animals so far on this trip but I'm pretty sure Marquesas is going to score first for amazing landscapes! Not just that but also for over the top nice people.
Every single Marquesan we've met seems to be so special in one way or another. Any village we go to, they welcome us with smiles on their faces and always show us something special ; whether it's playing a song for us on their hand carved ukalele or selling us fresh fruit from their garden. Sometimes, we would bring a soccer ball in to play with the local kids and the children never showed off or laughed like they were better than us (although they were!) but instead they would high five us and make us feel part of the team. We also couldn't believe how clean, garbage wise, every place was (which actually seems to be a tradition of the French islands). The Marquesans know that working together as a team and keeping peace is the key to the ideal world we are looking for!
We have been to five islands (including the one we are at right now) and those islands are:
Fatu Hiva
The island we arrived at after our 19 and a half day crossing across the Pacific. All I can say about it is "WOW!!". Definitely my favourite island in the Marquesas! The view when you come into the anchorage is nothing like you would ever see anywhere else and walking in the tiny, 300 populated village under the towering mountain of endless green was inexplicable!
One problem though, we didn't have any Francs, the locals didn't accept Euros and there was no bank in that village. There was one obvious, simple solution: don't buy anything until we got to another island which had a bank. But then we realized that the locals wanted to trade their fruit and crafts for our clothes and other goods we didn't need but that they did.
We had run out of fresh fruit on about day 15 of our crossing so we were all for trading our old stuff we were just going to give away for free for good things we wanted that these people didn't need. Our first trade we did was for my old pair of crocs, three coffee mugs and my old old volleyball that leaks a bit, we got about eight big grapefruits, three little fruit called pomelos and two pieces of art painted on breadfruit tree bark! Another trade we did was for some walky-talkies, we got a beautiful carved wooden tiki which are their gods.
With the adults, we would normally trade but with the kids, we just stuck to giving. Either than my elastic bracelets, we also gave them shoes, clothes, toys and just because they're kids, little candies! Now, the kids on Fatu Hiva didn't have any stores in their village except a little gas station-like store and the several stores in the other town on the island, Omoa so they have to be quite creative in the activities they do to keep themselves busy. The first time I met the kids, they were swimming in the small stream before dinner while the adults played their daily game of soccer. One of the girls was fishing and when I asked her how she did it, she showed me a piece of palm tree leaf that was tied and made a circle at the end. She said that she would put the tied end underwater and when a fish or shrimp swam through, she would quickly pull it up and grab it. Another girl told me to collect the yellow flowers that were on the ground and fill a plastic bottle full of water so she could make glue. She would crush the flowers, which were sticky inside, with a rock and then add the water to make it even stickier! Another day, we walked past the river when we saw a dead, blown up puffer fish on the shore. The kids immediately rushed over cheering and clapping. Then, one of them took a stick and started wacking it as hard as he could! Then each of them did it until it popped which resulted in the most disgusting smell I have ever smelled but I guess something had to replace the candy for this piñata!
We also had the chance to go hiking on Fatu Hiva. If it weren't for the piles of rocks that marked the way, we would have surely got lost! The end view was spectacular! We knew we were hiking to a waterfall but I never imagined it would be as tall and beautiful as it was! It looked so much like a movie that the BBC South Pacific video theme song was in my head when I saw it!
One day, when coming back to the boat, we caught sight of big manta rays swimming right at the surface right near the boat so my mom and I jumped on in and came back with memories we will never forget!
Hiva Oa
Here are some pictures from our car drive around the island of Hiva Oa:
Tahuata (pronounced ta-oo-a-ta)
They say that the Marquesas are not a beach destination and I would definitely say that's right except Tahuata. It was nice to be back in crystal clear water with rich reefs, manta rays everywhere and a beautiful sandy beach perfect for boogie boarding!
The part of Tahuata we went to was completely uninhabited except three people including a man named Steven who we met. When he was younger, he lived in Hiva Oa but decided to leave so he swam away to the part of Tahuata he lives in now which belongs to his grandfather. He ended up arranging a potluck for basically all the cruisers in the bay and caught and cooked a delicious octopus which was extraordinary!
Ua Pou (pronounced wa poo)
After Fatu Hiva, Ua Pou was the most beautiful island in my opinion. I said it looked like a magical fairy kingdom in the clouds! Look in the picture yourself and see if you agree.
Nuku Hiva
Now, we are here on Nuku Hiva, the capital of the Marquesas.
The first bay we went to was Daniel's Bay. Daniel's Bay is actually just what the cruisers call it but the locals prefer we call it by their native name which unfortunately I don't know. Anyway, there is a river just beyond the bay and since it's too shallow to dinghy in there, my mom and I took the paddle board. It was one of those places where nothing could have been better. If you were to change anything, it would only make it worse. The water was so still it made a perfect mirror, there were herons fishing nearby, as we paddled in, the pine trees (yes, believe it or not there are pine trees here) would brush against our faces, there were little huts in the trees where some locals lived and just to top it off, when we exited, we got the whole view of the mountainous landscape!
I also found Daniel's Bay a great place to try my first attempt of stand up paddling (normally we just use the paddle board as a kayak) and to do some paddle board surfing near the beach.
As well as the Fatu Hiva waterfall, we also did a hike to a waterfall from Daniel's Bay. But this time, it wasn't just any waterfall, it was Vaipo: the third largest waterfall in the world!
Now, we are in the main anchorage in Nuku Hiva, Tabhae, and this is, unfortunately, our last island in the amazing Marquesas but we are looking forward to the beautiful water and spectacular reefs of the Tuamotus!
Again, hopefully I'll be able to post my April blog soon.
Bye bye!
P.S: Excuse the writing at the begining, I can't seem to be able to change the font.
Every single Marquesan we've met seems to be so special in one way or another. Any village we go to, they welcome us with smiles on their faces and always show us something special ; whether it's playing a song for us on their hand carved ukalele or selling us fresh fruit from their garden. Sometimes, we would bring a soccer ball in to play with the local kids and the children never showed off or laughed like they were better than us (although they were!) but instead they would high five us and make us feel part of the team. We also couldn't believe how clean, garbage wise, every place was (which actually seems to be a tradition of the French islands). The Marquesans know that working together as a team and keeping peace is the key to the ideal world we are looking for!
We have been to five islands (including the one we are at right now) and those islands are:
Fatu Hiva
The island we arrived at after our 19 and a half day crossing across the Pacific. All I can say about it is "WOW!!". Definitely my favourite island in the Marquesas! The view when you come into the anchorage is nothing like you would ever see anywhere else and walking in the tiny, 300 populated village under the towering mountain of endless green was inexplicable!
One problem though, we didn't have any Francs, the locals didn't accept Euros and there was no bank in that village. There was one obvious, simple solution: don't buy anything until we got to another island which had a bank. But then we realized that the locals wanted to trade their fruit and crafts for our clothes and other goods we didn't need but that they did.
We had run out of fresh fruit on about day 15 of our crossing so we were all for trading our old stuff we were just going to give away for free for good things we wanted that these people didn't need. Our first trade we did was for my old pair of crocs, three coffee mugs and my old old volleyball that leaks a bit, we got about eight big grapefruits, three little fruit called pomelos and two pieces of art painted on breadfruit tree bark! Another trade we did was for some walky-talkies, we got a beautiful carved wooden tiki which are their gods.
 |
| Some of the things we collected to trade with the locals |
With the adults, we would normally trade but with the kids, we just stuck to giving. Either than my elastic bracelets, we also gave them shoes, clothes, toys and just because they're kids, little candies! Now, the kids on Fatu Hiva didn't have any stores in their village except a little gas station-like store and the several stores in the other town on the island, Omoa so they have to be quite creative in the activities they do to keep themselves busy. The first time I met the kids, they were swimming in the small stream before dinner while the adults played their daily game of soccer. One of the girls was fishing and when I asked her how she did it, she showed me a piece of palm tree leaf that was tied and made a circle at the end. She said that she would put the tied end underwater and when a fish or shrimp swam through, she would quickly pull it up and grab it. Another girl told me to collect the yellow flowers that were on the ground and fill a plastic bottle full of water so she could make glue. She would crush the flowers, which were sticky inside, with a rock and then add the water to make it even stickier! Another day, we walked past the river when we saw a dead, blown up puffer fish on the shore. The kids immediately rushed over cheering and clapping. Then, one of them took a stick and started wacking it as hard as he could! Then each of them did it until it popped which resulted in the most disgusting smell I have ever smelled but I guess something had to replace the candy for this piñata!
We also had the chance to go hiking on Fatu Hiva. If it weren't for the piles of rocks that marked the way, we would have surely got lost! The end view was spectacular! We knew we were hiking to a waterfall but I never imagined it would be as tall and beautiful as it was! It looked so much like a movie that the BBC South Pacific video theme song was in my head when I saw it!
One day, when coming back to the boat, we caught sight of big manta rays swimming right at the surface right near the boat so my mom and I jumped on in and came back with memories we will never forget!
Hiva Oa
Here are some pictures from our car drive around the island of Hiva Oa:
They say that the Marquesas are not a beach destination and I would definitely say that's right except Tahuata. It was nice to be back in crystal clear water with rich reefs, manta rays everywhere and a beautiful sandy beach perfect for boogie boarding!
The part of Tahuata we went to was completely uninhabited except three people including a man named Steven who we met. When he was younger, he lived in Hiva Oa but decided to leave so he swam away to the part of Tahuata he lives in now which belongs to his grandfather. He ended up arranging a potluck for basically all the cruisers in the bay and caught and cooked a delicious octopus which was extraordinary!
Ua Pou (pronounced wa poo)
After Fatu Hiva, Ua Pou was the most beautiful island in my opinion. I said it looked like a magical fairy kingdom in the clouds! Look in the picture yourself and see if you agree.
Nuku Hiva
Now, we are here on Nuku Hiva, the capital of the Marquesas.
The first bay we went to was Daniel's Bay. Daniel's Bay is actually just what the cruisers call it but the locals prefer we call it by their native name which unfortunately I don't know. Anyway, there is a river just beyond the bay and since it's too shallow to dinghy in there, my mom and I took the paddle board. It was one of those places where nothing could have been better. If you were to change anything, it would only make it worse. The water was so still it made a perfect mirror, there were herons fishing nearby, as we paddled in, the pine trees (yes, believe it or not there are pine trees here) would brush against our faces, there were little huts in the trees where some locals lived and just to top it off, when we exited, we got the whole view of the mountainous landscape!
I also found Daniel's Bay a great place to try my first attempt of stand up paddling (normally we just use the paddle board as a kayak) and to do some paddle board surfing near the beach.
As well as the Fatu Hiva waterfall, we also did a hike to a waterfall from Daniel's Bay. But this time, it wasn't just any waterfall, it was Vaipo: the third largest waterfall in the world!
Now, we are in the main anchorage in Nuku Hiva, Tabhae, and this is, unfortunately, our last island in the amazing Marquesas but we are looking forward to the beautiful water and spectacular reefs of the Tuamotus! Again, hopefully I'll be able to post my April blog soon.
Bye bye!
P.S: Excuse the writing at the begining, I can't seem to be able to change the font.
 |
| Amelie in Daniel's Bay |
Meg, your blogs are SO well written that I find I have to respond to them in bits as I read it or I'll forget each question I had or comment I wished to make. You are THAT incredible of a writer, young lady, your skills far surpassing most anything one would see in a school essay of your age average. Obviously the things you're seeing and experiencing are so tremendously touching to your heart and life that you're pulling from the depth of everything you have to get the words just perfect for the memory. Absolutely exquisite and SUCH a pleasure to read!!!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, when I saw the photo of the island man holding one of your trades, I was touched to see such an incredible depth of happiness in him. Given, I would think your trade and his pride in his own workmanship and his god was a good portion of that. However I believe it goes deeper, showing what the simplistic life of the island can do for the soul of an inhabitant. Though the seas and oceans are beautiful, Uncle Lorne isn't too keen on water nor warm climates, so wishes to retire on a small quaint piece of bush property somewhere remote, but for the same reasons, I would say, as this fine fellow in your photo, just a different geographical location ; )
The puffer fish pinata ... you made me laugh so hard! When I saw my first puffer fish a year ago February on the coast of the UAE, I was simultaneously so enamored by his cartoon like adorableness while amusingly enough having to fight my inner urge to tap him back into the ocean like a soccer ball. I guess I"m not alone ; )
The photo of you drinking straight from the coconut ... young lady you have become JUST that, a grown up and stunning sea faring young adult! Again I say that these journeys are good for the entire lot of you from Matthew's freedom of a different kind of understanding and expression of all that is wondrous in him in a non-verbal way to your parents' and your writing, your exploration of the world and your growth as a family unit. A very grand part of me wishes that you never had to come home, that we could all just come to you over time but that your own journeys never had to end. Your father could utilize his skills to assist other sailors. Your Mom and you could write for travel journals and teach. This could become such a wonderful lifetime journey!
Octopus for dinner!!!! Prepared and served by a local!!!!! Oh that sounds SO divine!!!!!
Stand up paddle boarding is something I've always wanted to try if I could get over my fear of water. I love water from the top side especially the seas and oceans, find it reaches inside one's soul and pulls something out that nothing else can. However I've never quite been able to manage learning to swim properly without fear. Perhaps I just haven't met the right coach yet despite numerous attempts. You look like you did quite well with it by the photo, however. Did you enjoy it?
THE THIRD LARGEST WATERFALL IN THE WORLD?!?! Now seriously, there is no classroom on earth that could teach you all that you've learned, let alone take you to the THIRD LARGEST WATERFALL ON EARTH!!!!!!! Simply amazing!!!!!
Please keep writing along with your mom, Meg. You are both such wonderful writers that we live each moment right along with you as you describe them, even when your internet isn't well enough to upload the photos at the time, your writing is still descriptive and beautiful! So absolutely enthralled with all of this, we are : )
Sending our love from way up here to way down beautiful there ... hearts are great sailors, don't you know ; )
xoxoxo