We have left Nuku Hiva and are going to the Tuamotus.  Each of the Marquises Islands that we visited had something very special to offer.  Hiva Oa was the first island that we visited so it struck us most profoundly.  Tahuata was most remote and least populated, so it gave a feeling of greatest distance from any population.  Ua Pau had the most beautiful mountains and rock formations.  Nuku Hiva was a slightly more civilized blend of all of these.

Nuku Hiva is the administrative center of the Marquises Islands. It has the most stores, hotels, and bakeries (five, two and two, respectively). We went to shore on numerous occasions to shop, tour, and ride bicycles.  The people were as friendly here as any of the other islands.

One reason we went to Nuku Hiva was to receive two packages that were shipped there for us to pick up on arrival.  One package was necessary to reduce the threat of Scurvy 2001 and the other was to quiet a noisy bearing.  The packages were shipped to Rose Corser at the Keikahanui Inn.  The day that we arrived, I called Rose and she said that she had received one of the packages.  The crew went to dinner that night at her hotel and the package turned out to be the movie software for my laptop DVD.  Thank you for seeing that we got it.  Now that the crew is able to watch movies on the boat, the threat of "2001, A Sea Scurvy" has subsided.

The other package had not arrived. It contained new bearings for the wind/water generator.  The original ones had quickly started making noises.  The supplier was happy to send new ones via airmail.  But the supplier did not know what Rose told us and that is that air mail comes to the Marquises on a boat that takes six days to get from Tahiti to Nuku Hiva and makes the trip only once every three weeks.  Rose also told us the next boat was due in four days.

We did not suffer by having to wait for the boat.  Nuku Hiva is a beautiful place.   We enjoyed ourselves by touring the harbor and town, shopping for the few supplies that we needed, and looking for souvenirs.  The best souvenir shopping was at a pavilion set up for the tourists that came in on the supply boat.  Very few people visit the Marquises by airplane.  Most come on the supply boat that takes six days to get here from Tahiti.  The boat appears to be mostly for supplies, with lots of cargo on deck and large cranes to load and unload, but the stern has two or three stories that must be rooms for travelers.

Before we left Cosmos for the pavilion, we saw one dive boat and two sail boats leave with passengers.  We got to the pavilion as the tourists were being loaded into four wheel drive vehicles for tours of the island.  I suspect about two or three dozen tourists came in on the supply boat that day.

We were fortunate to discover Rose's lovely Inn early and visited it twice.  Once for dinner, and once to watch Marquisan dancers.  We were lucky to be able to see the dancers.  Pierre, the manager of the Inn told us that a Japanese couple had hired the dancers to perform in front of all of the guests.  We were fortunate to have met Rose, because she invited us to this special event.

There were four male drummers, four male dancers and four female dancers.  The dance contained some hula, but much more aggressive war dancing by the males.  The character of the dancing seemed to proceed from male only war dancing, to male and female courtship, to more settled hula dancing and then guests were pulled onto the floor to dance with the Marquisans.  The war dancing was very threatening, the courtship dancing was very sexual and the hula dancing was very social.

The supply boat contained my other package in addition to the tourists, so we had no excuse for staying on Nuku Hiva any longer.  The morning (July 8) after the dancing, set sail for the Tuamotus.  We expect the Tuamotus to be totally different than the Marquises.  The Marquises are mountain islands that rise right out of the ocean.   The Tuamotus are atolls.

I'll write more about the Tuamotus after I have seen them.

Joe Dorr