Land! I see land!

After 11 days straight with only 1 (very stormy) day in port, I was sooo happy to step foot on dry land! We arrived in Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia around 7 a.m. Being a small island, a large cruise ship is unable to dock there, making it was necessary to tender in. Everyone on the ship was ready to get on, as evidenced by the wait inside hot tenders to carry us back and forth to the island.

 

At only 127 square miles, Nuku Hiva  is the largest of the Marquesas Islands. This island was the inspiration for 2 of Herman Melville’s novels, one in which he summed up Nuku Hiva as a “country that no description could fit the beauty.” I must agree with him – the island is gorgeous! Hot and humid, but gorgeous! 

 

lots of color

lush and tropical vegetation

We did not book an excursion there, but were happy just to walk around and take in its beauty. Upon the arrival of our tender, we were greeted with plumeria blossoms for our hair, local dancers, drummers and ukulele players performing. 

 

friendly native dancers

4, 6 and  8 string ukuleles

 

From there we went through a small market where locals were selling their arts and crafts, along with local produce. Some offered wood carvings while others offered an array of handmade jewelry and souvenir type items.

 

 

Regarding the locals diet, it tends to be breadfruit, taro, manioc, coconut and many kinds of fruit which grow there in abundance. Goats, fish and (more rarely) pigs are the main sources of meat, but there is a growing amount of local beef available. By the way, Ronnie learned in trivia that the most fattening fruit is….guess what? Coconut!

mango tree loaded with fruit

 

acai berries on palm

 

Once on the island, we weren’t sure whether to turn right or left, so we ended up walking both directions. First we turned to the right and climbed Tuhiva Hill, where we saw many large stone carvings. 

 

The largest, which overlooks the bay of Taiohae was the Tiki Tuhiva. It is a 40 foot sculpture of 2 Tiki people, the female and tallest of the two representing the guardian of tradition and knowledge and the male representing a warrior imposing his power. 

 

side view, Ronnie under Tiki warrior

front view, female guardian of wisdom and knowledge

Coming back down and heading back the other direction, we walked at least a mile (felt like more) to see the Notre Dame Cathedral of the Marquesas, an open air church known for its unique Polynesian architecture. It is famous for its massive wood-carved pulpit, local stone statues and wood from all 6 of the Marquesan islands. Of course I took lots of photos.

entrance to Notre Dame Cathedral grounds

large carvings stand on either side of front doors

 

elaborately carved pulpit

Between the heat and perhaps a little dehydration, I had to take several rest stops on my way back. Ronnie, on the other hand, seized the opportunity to run on land back to the tender dock. 

 

Vista from my shady resting spot

Worrying about what was taking me so long, he came to meet me with water. I was so thankful that we took one of the earlier tenders because there were still people arriving as we were leaving. I can’t imagine how they handled the mid-day heat!

I forgot to mention that Survivor Season #4 was filmed on Nuku Hiva.