December 10th 2019

We were up early this morning as it was our day to leave Nuku Hiva for the other island we are to visit Hiva Oa. We finished packing and left the big bag outside the door for collection. As we were dressing the s.s. Amsterdam of Holland America Line entered the harbor and anchored. She is quite large, 780 ft long, over 105 ft wide and carries 1,380 passengers. She anchored in the bay and soon the tenders were taking passengers ashore for their excursions.

s.s. Amsterdam arriving in Nuku Hiva

We went down to breakfast and I checked out leaving a communal tip for all the staff to be divided up at the discretion of the Manager. I also met William who apologized profusely for not showing up last night but I told him that I understood entirely and that he was busy, etc. 

We bade Jerome, the Manager and as many of his staff as we could find farewell and loaded up our transfer car to leave for the airport. It was our same driver as on the way to the hotel a few days ago!! The drive took about one and a half hours and followed the steep and winding roads over the mountains and down the valleys, through all sorts of different kinds of woodland, past small farms, horses and cows by the roadside and different rock formations at every turn. The views are just magnificent. The trees are especially interesting and there were some very strange types, some which looked like ‘bottle-brushes’, fir trees, deciduous trees, palm trees, banana trees and many with very bright colored blooms. This is such a diverse place for flora.

We arrived well in time at the airport and checked in for our flight. There was also a small Twin Otter plane which was leaving just before us and going to Ua Pou, the small island where the festival will be held from 15^th December. We waited and had an espresso for the incoming plane to land and disembark its passengers and baggage. We boarded (after being weighed!!), and took off only a few minutes late.The number of flights in and out of this small airport will increase significantly during the festival time.

Our plane to Hiva Oa and the rather strange refueling ruck.

The flight was only about 40 minutes and we passed over a couple of islands on the way before landing at Hiva Oa. We were soon in the terminal and met M. Jean-Jacques Boillet who is the Director General of the hotel Hiva Oa Hanakee Pearl Lodge, who decorated us with a wonderfully fragrant flower wreath. We got our bags and loaded up the car for the short journey to the hotel which only took about 15 minutes and was up a steep approach road. The hotel was similar in styles to the one we stayed in on Nuku Hiva and after check in we went to our room which is bungalow No 10. After a short freshening up we went up to lunch and learned about the various trips we can do. We have already booked the day trip to see the Giant Tikis of the Puamau Valley and decided to add the shorter trip to the Taaoa Valley as well. We later found out that we will do the longer day trip on Thursday and the shorter one on Friday thus giving us Wednesday as a rest day!!

After lunch we decided against having a guided tour of the village (!) and took the free shuttle into town and were dropped near the bank so we took the opportunity to get some more cash from the ATM. Then we walked across the road to the Artisanal Center and browsed there before buying a piece of local artwork on the kind of vellum pounded from tree bark called Tapa or TapoA. 

“Tapa used to be produced in all Oceania. This kind of vegetal cloth is obtained from the bark of a tree and it is used for clothing as well as for some rituals. Today, the nicest pieces are encountered in the Marquesas (especially Fatu Hiva) and if you are lucky at Papeete municipal market.

 To make tapa, you start by collecting the bark of young trees (mostly breadfruit tree and banyan) and you let it soak in water for 2 or 3 days. Then you scrape away the outside bark with a seashell to keep only the internal layer. The strips obtained are laid out on an anvil to be hammered with a wooden beater. Once the piece of tapa is thin enough (several hours are required), it is dried and dyed.”

The tapa can then be printed or painted and very attractive wall hangings are available of the traditional Marquesan symbols.

Then we decided to go to the Gauguin Cultural Center but managed to miss it on the way through the center of the village and so thought we should go up to the cemetery to see the graves of Jacques Brel and Paul Gauguin. The cemetery was reached up a steep road and it was very hot so this was a tough ‘pilgrimage’ but breathless, hot, sweaty and exhausted we made it ands soon found the graves of the two famous men. Descending was easier and we soon found the Gauguin Cultural Center we had managed to miss before. We paid the entry fee and enjoyed the ice cold water they offered free. The center has an extensive history of Gauguin’s work from his early days in France to Tahiti and finally the Marquesas. All the paintings are reproductions of his works, the originals being distributed in museums around the world. Although the reproductions are not perfect, they do give a strong impression of his work and its development over time and location and the center is well worth a visit to see an artist’s life’s work in perspective even without the originals. Leaving the center we walked to a supermarket and bought some cookies and cold drinks before sitting on a bench by the roadside to await the shuttle from the hotel to take us back.

A tribute to Jacques Brel, poet, songwriter and troubadour

The grave of Jacques Brel and his partner.

This is a catalog in chronological order of Gauguin's  work

Scenes from the Paul Gauguin Multiracial Center where there are reproductions of his work

The obvious place to go then was to the pool where we enjoyed a cooling and relaxing dip before coming back for a shower and dress for dinner. Dinner was very nice with a different menu from Nuku Hiva. Following dinner we were soon back in our bungalow and ready for a good night’s sleep after our day’s exertions.