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| Ship in the harbor of Taiohae, Nuku Hiva |
As I write this, it is January 23rd and we are
sailing between Nuku Hiva and Tahiti.
Our thoughts turn to two wonderful men who shared a birthday, one of
whom we think of every day and miss dearly: our dad was as devoted as a father could be
and was a role model that we still strive to match; the other was someone we are truly honored to
be able to call “uncle”. They were born
105 years ago today, and both have enriched our lives tremendously.
Many people ask us how we tolerate so many days at sea when
doing a long voyage like this. We often
wonder how we can fit in all the things that we enjoy doing as the days are
packed with so many events that we have to pick and choose what we are going to
do. The days were filled with
interesting lectures, a daily talk show that allows us insight into the lives
of those working on the ship or the entertainers who share their talents with
us, walking the deck, visiting with friends, playing trivia, singing in HAL
Chorale (Paul and I), attending the evening shows, etc. We were almost sorry to see the “relaxed”
rhythm of daily life at sea come to an end when we arrived in Nuku Hiva.
One thing of particular interest happened one evening when
Pam and Paul were on an elevator with two other ladies from Illinois. Another couple got on, and some mention was
made of the “Illinois Elevator”. The
lady who had just gotten on said, “That’s okay.
I was born in Illinois.” So when
Pam said they lived in New Lenox, the lady said, “That’s where I grew up!” She had attended school in New Lenox and two
years at Lincoln-Way before moving to Mesa, AZ.
Chuck got in on the conversation when he arrived in the Queen’s Lounge
for the evening entertainment. The lady
said she would have graduated in 1962 had she stayed in NL, so Chuck wondered
if she knew our cousin Joan. When Chuck
told me, my immediate reaction was that I wondered if she knew our cousin
Ron! I went to talk with her, and sure
enough, she did remember Ron! I also
asked her about our friend Bobbie who still lives in New Lenox, but I couldn’t
remember Bobbie’s maiden name! For those
family members and New Lenox friends, this lady’s maiden name was Barbara
Beadles. I wonder if this will ring a
bell for anyone?
Despite enjoying our days at sea, our arrival at land after
so many days of seeing nothing more than hundreds of flying fish was a welcome
event! This was our second time to Nuku
Hiva, and we enjoyed it much more this time around!
French Polynesia is an overseas possession of France
consisting of 118 islands and atolls sprawled across 1245 miles. It consists of five island groups (two of
which we are visiting): Society Islands,
Marquesas Islands, Austral Islands,
Gambier Islands and the Tuamotu Archipelago, Papeete on the island of Tahiti is the
capital.
French Polynesia was one of the last places on Earth to be
settled. The great Polynesian migration
began about 1500 BC, and the Marquesas Islands were the first to be
settled. Europeans arrived in 1521 when
Magellan sighted land in the Gambier Archipelago. The British arrived in 1767, and the French
in 1868, both landing first in Tahiti. French Catholic missionaries came in
1834, and in1842 a French protectorate was established. By 1889 all of the various island groups had
become protectorates of France.
After World War II, (during which many Polynesians served as
part of France), the Polynesians were granted French citizenship and the
islands’ status was changed to an overseas territory. In 1877, French Polynesia was given partial
autonomy, and by 2003, they had full autonomy.
The government is a parliamentary representative democracy with a
multi-party system.
Of the population of approximately 270,000, about 2/3 live
on the island of Tahiti. About 87% of
the population was born in French Polynesia, with another 9% having been born
in France. French is the official
language. The main religion is
Christianity (54% Protestant, 30% Catholic, the rest being other Christian
groups).
Our visit took us to Nuku Hiva, the largest of the Marquesas
Islands. The Marquesas consist of about
15 islands, only six of which are inhabited.
Nuku Hiva is the largest of these islands and the second largest island
in French Polynesia (behind only Tahiti).
It is believed that the first settlers of the Marquesas arrived from
Samoa about 2000 years ago.
Western Nuku Hiva has a steep but fairly regular coastline,
while the north is indented by deep bays.
The center of the island is a high plateau covered by a tall grass
prairie. The population is now about
2600, though before the arrival of the Europeans, the estimated population was
50,000 to 100,000!
At one time cannibalism was practiced by islanders when food
supplies became scarce. Two famous
authors, Herman Melville and Robert Louis Stevenson, visited the island.
Melville wrote his book Typee based
upon his experiences in the Taipivai valley in eastern Nuku Hiva. He was only there briefly, and most likely
didn’t fall victim to the cannibals because his thin and emaciated body would
not have been a good source of meat.
This was our second visit to Nuku Hiva, our first being back
in the fall of 2009. At that time no
shore excursions were provided, so we were very pleased to find that there was
one shore excursion available this time.
We booked it very early so we wouldn’t be shut out.
I was somewhat concerned because Nuku Hiva is a tender port, and the last time we were
here, the climb up six or seven steps hewn from the rock (and no railings) were
pretty daunting. With my back and knee
issues, I didn’t want any issues that might later cause problems. But the tendering was very easy, and the
steps were five low-rise steps – very easy to maneuver.
We had been told that the vehicles were privately owned and
would accommodate four people. We teamed
up with Pam and Paul, and they and Chuck graciously allowed me to sit in the
front seat. Once I did manage to get in, I stayed put! It was a very high step, and I had to use my
bad knee to get in. Fortunately, though
the knee really ached, it didn’t seem to do any damage to the tendonitis. I contented myself to the thought of enjoying
the scenery when they got out and visited various sights.
I was pleased to be able to practice my French with our
driver, a delightful lady who knew some English and was very patient with my
forgotten French grammar and vocabulary.
We got our ideas across to each other, and I did my best to translate
for the others.
We traveled in a caravan with about 16 other vehicles and at
each stop one guide who was fluent in English gave descriptions. I didn’t hear her because I stayed put. But our driver did give me a good description
of two of the places. The first stop was
the Catholic cathedral that had been built in 1975 to replace another cathedral
which had been built in the 19th Century. The cathedral serves the Marquesas Islands
and has a private school associated with it.
Unlike most of the rest of French Polynesia Marquesas is predominately
Catholic.
A second stop was made along the coast where one could see
various icons in an open area. Our
driver explained that this was used for festivals. The Marquesas has huge festival in December
every four years. The festival rotates
between the various French Polynesian Islands, so it won’t be in Nuku Hiva for
several more years.
As we headed inward and upward, we marveled at all the
horses we saw tethered along the road.
Not realizing that we would see many more, we all snapped pictures of
the first horse we saw. Our driver said,
“That’s my horse.” She told us that it’s
called a Marquesas horse. We were amazed
when we saw so many horses. As we drove,
we also passed several cows and some goats right near the road – quite a
surprise for us!
Toward the top, we made a stop that offered a beautiful
panoramic view of the valley, the harbor, and the ship. Apparently this was the valley which inspired
Melville’s work. After another panoramic
view, we made a final stop where we could sample various yummy tropical
fruits. Breadfruit is a staple in the
Marquesas. We had always heard that
breadfruit wasn’t very tasty, but they had fried slices into chips, and they
really tasted good. We also had a choice
of coconut, papaya, mango, tapioca, and grapefruit. The driver parked the van right next to the
serving table and kept bringing me samples – especially the very tasty
mango!
As we headed back over the rugged terrain back to Taiohae,
we plied our driver with many questions.
She told us about the industry in Nuku Hiva – mostly fishing and
farming. Coconuts and breadfruit are two
of the major crops. When she is not
guiding tours (not that many ships come to Nuku Hiva), she works in the
agriculture industry. Her husband is a
fisherman, catching mostly tuna and another kind of fish which I wasn’t able to
translate. Living way up the side of the
hill overlooking Taiohae, she makes sure she takes time to appreciate the
beautiful scenery. She also pointed out a teak plantation and
some young mahogany trees that would take years and years to grow into mature
trees to be used for wood products.
We so appreciated getting inland and seeing more than just
the coast (though that in itself is breathtaking) of Nuku Hiva as we had done
before. We decided that it was the way
to go – many people who had planned to find a beach and swim had to change
their minds and refrain from swimming when the locals had the Cruise Director
announce that Nuku Hiva is surrounded by shark-infested waters – something that
our driver assured us was the truth. I
think we all appreciated getting into the interior of this small island
paradise to see how the people live!
As we spend a day at sea on our way to Tahiti, I feel very
fortunate. This is our fourth time
sailing the sapphire blue waters of the South Pacific – even though there is
nothing to see but water, the ocean is a beautiful thing to watch! … And it beats the temperatures in Chicago
at this time of year!
BT
P.S. For some reason, many times when we try to access our blog website, we get knocked offline. As a result, blogs may not be posted at regular intervals.
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