I was awoken by the very persistent rooster which lives on this complex. This morning it was also competing with a colleague rooster a bit further away. The island seems to contain multiple roosters and rather fewer hens although we don’t know if the roosters are just so much more conspicuous and the hens are back at home doing the housekeeping while the roosters strut their stuff out in the open. The roosters are not the only ones to make themselves known in the early morning at around sunrise as many other birds chime in for a dawn chorus. We do not see the sun rise from our bungalow as theatre is a large rock mass on the other side of the bay which obscures the sun until it is quite high in the sky. The rock formation is thrown into very sharp relief by the rising sun behind it giving a very dramatic effect until the sun breaks free from its hiding place. The constant soft sounds of the sea we can hear all the time from our bungalow are very soothing.
Today we will have breakfast and then at 8.30 a.m. we will leave for our expedition to Anaho Bay on the north shore of the island, a place mentioned very favorably and at length by the author Robert Louis Stevenson in the late 19thCentury when he visited the Marquesas.
We went down to breakfast and joined those of the wedding party who had passed the night here including the very pretty bride and handsome groom and some of their relatives. Everyone seemed in good shape after the party and as usual with the islanders there was much laughing and joking.
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| The bride from yesterday's wedding looking very good for the 'morning after the party' |
At 8.30 we met our guide for the day’s outing in the lobby and also picked up our large backpack which contained our lunch and water supplies. We set off in a truck with space for passengers in the back but we sat in the interior. We called at the fish quay to pick up an Italian man and Australian lady and four French visitors, eventually needing a second car. Leaving the city we drove over the winding roads through the mountains with spectacular scenery at every turn. I soon lost count of the hairpin bends that we negotiated as we snaked our way us and then down the sides of the mountains. We passed the village of Hakapaa where there was to be a rehearsal of the dance and song troupe who will represent this island at the large four-yearly festival to be the held this year on the island of Ua Poa one of the smaller islands to the south of Nuku Hiva from 15th December for one week. We will return here later.
We then moved on to the small village of Hatiheu which is in a large bay at the north coast of Nuku Hiva. From here we were joined by a new guide who would take us on the hike across the hills to Anaho Bay. The trail is well marked but steep and stony in places. It climbs for quite a long way (or so it seemed!!) until reaching the peak of the hill where the views were stunning of the bays and wooded areas below.
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| Our barefoot guide |
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| The trail up.... |
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| The stunning view from the top |
Then we started to descend down to the beach. This was quite long, quite steep and quite dry with loose stones making footing sometimes tricky and both MAC and I fell, although only lightly. Our sure-footed barefoot guide was sympathetic to our slow and labored progress!
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| The trail down, it was steeper than it looks here. |
On the way down we passed an orange tree from which our guide plucked a fresh orange, not quite ripe but tangy and refreshing. At the end of the hike which took about an hour at our pace, it would be quicker for younger and more nimble people, we saw the beautiful Anaho Bay which I had heard and read so much about. It is a truly beautiful and tranquil spot. We decided to have a quick swim to cool off and set up our things at a small rustic picnic table on the beach. Changing facilities were somewhat rudimentary but as the beach was deserted this did not really matter.
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| The lovely Anaho Bay. |
The sea was beautifully refreshing and the beach sandy with some small rocks just offshore. Later we did see a small shark swim by but they are of the harmless variety and will not bother anyone as they are inside the reef. Refreshed from our swim, we sat down to eat our packed lunch and MAC shared her huge tuna sandwich with our guide. We sat and digested our lunch for a while before walking west along the shoreline to a small restaurant and five tiny bungalows which are available for tourist to stay in if they really want to be off the beaten track, the only access being either by the trail we had taken (impractical with luggage) or by boat from Hatiheu. We did have the option of continuing our hike in an easterly direction to another bay Haatuatua which was a further half to three quarters of an hour further on with the same time to get back. Tired from our hike to get here we decided not to do this extra leg.
We passed various houses and a small chapel on the way to the restaurant where we sat and enjoyed the view, the song of the birds, a beer and MAC had a coconut full of milk. Ewe met three French people who spoke good English and had a very pleasant conversation with us. They told us about the tree under which we sat which is called tamanu and the fruit of which, when prepared by drying and pressing produces and wonderful healing oil. This oil seems to have almost miraculous qualities according to our French friends and some research on the internet shows that the oil is called Calophyllum Inophyllum. It seems to be excellent as an anti-inflammatory, for cuts and wounds and many skin conditions. We will try to obtain some here in Polynesia, the best variety being the organic kind. Our new friends also told us of a book which is very informative on the subject of the techniques of medicine in Polynesia and the book is called ‘Pearl Petri’ or ‘Pearl Petre’ which we will have to check out when we get home. We sat and enjoyed the pleasant afternoon breezes by the beach. In the tree under which we sat sang a Marquesan Monarch bird which has one of the loudest and most persistent songs I have ever heard. We were visited by a very friendly male cat and by a couple of very skinny puppies who were looking for any food that any of us might spare.The boat that would take us back to Hatiheu would leave at 3 p.m. and would cost us FPC 70,000 or roughly $70 but this was the cost of the boat not per person so when we were approached by two young French ladies who offered to contribute if they could hitch a ride, we agreed although we told them that as we would have already paid for the boat, they did not need to pay anything. One was from Marseilles and her on vacation and the other, a friend, was working temporarily in Tahiti. Both were medical students.
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| The beach |
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| The rather bumpy boat ride back and our intrepid seafarer |
The time came for our boatman to get his boat ready and we waded the short distance into the water to board it. Then we set off and as soon as we got out of the bay it became quite rough with a lumpy sea and the boat moved around a lot!! I was concerned that MAC would be seasick but she had taken her Phenergan before we left and seemed vey unconcerned by the, at time, quite violent movement of the boat when we were out in the open sea. We passed a couple of headlands before heading into the bay of Hatiheu and pulling alongside the small quay there. Waiting there was our guide/driver and we drove off towards Hakapaa, stopping on the way for some scenic views overlooking the bays from which we had just come. News came that the rehearsal for the festival by the ‘team’ from Nuku Hiva had just begun so we hurried on to Hakapaa.
We arrived at what seemed like a sports field where the performances were in full swing with large men dressed with grass skirts and grass anklets and armlets and ladies dressed in similar fashion were dancing and singing their traditional songs and dances. They were accompanied by an amazing ‘percussion section’ which consisted of multiple drums of many different sizes and also what appeared to be ‘bamboo xylophones’ which make a rhythmic clicking sound which interplay’s with the drums making quite an intoxicating and exciting rhythm. The male dances were mostly aggressive and warlike, while the ladies more gentle and sinuous. The group is led by a sort of ‘chief’ who is dressed more elegantly and carried a staff with what appears to be horns on the end of it which seems to be a symbol of his authority. His status is marked by the number of tattoos he has which are earned and a mark of his status as a performer or hunter. He calls out instructions to the group and there are ‘call and response’ songs and chants by the men. Women and sometimes both. The singing is lilting and very intoxicating. It may not be so for everyone but I find this a very moving experience when these people put so much efforts and genuine emotion into their cultural heritage. This was not a show for the tourists who are visiting from a cruise liner, this was the real thing which they will put before the judges at the four yearly festival to be held on Ua Pou in less than 10 days time. They are representing their island and this injects a pride and energy into their performance. It was good to see a number of young people in the group which hopefully shows that they will continue these traditions and not become immersed in Facebook and Instagram.
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| 'One day son, you will be doing this....." |
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| Scenes from the rehearsal of the Nuku Hiva troupe who will perform in the festival. This was not a 'performance for cruise ship passengers' but the real thing as this performance at the festival will be in front of their peers from other islands so this has to be authentic. |
We stayed until the performance was over and then rejoined our driver for the drive back to Taiohae and our hotel. We ere pretty tired by this time and I had some difficulty dragging MAC down to the restaurant for dinner after we had showered and cleaned up. But we did make it and afterwards we were soon in bed and asleep after a long, most enjoyable, interesting and rewarding day.
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