Here's the Skipper, standing on the dinghy landing.
The landings in the Marquesas are just stone steps and, since there is usually a big swell
coming into the anchorages, getting on and off the dinghy is a matter of
timing the swell and moving REALLY quickly.


The harbor at Atuona, Hiva Oa.


Its about a mile and a half hike from the harbor to the town of Atuona,
which is where the stores, bank, post office and gendarme are.


And speaking of the Gendarme, this is his office.
He is the French official that you must check in with when you enter the Marquesas.


As we were sitting in front of the Gendarmerie, waiting for our turn to check in,
a Good Friday procession of young Marquesan girls marched by. They were kinda
camera-shy so we had to sort of sneak their picture.


While in the anchorage, three boats from Spain showed up.
Apparently, Good Friday is a REALLY BIG THING in Spain.
These Spaniards dressed up in costumes (they assured us that they WEREN'T
members of the KuKlux Clan) and cruised around the anchorage banging on a
"drum" and singing weird songs.


After spending about 5 days on Hiva Oa, we moved over to the island of Tahuata.
This is a photo of the incredible Hanmoenoa Bay.


And this is the beach at Hanamoenoa.


And yet another shot of Hanamoenoa. The water here is crystal clear with 30-foot visibility.


While on Tahuata, we took the dinghy down to the next bay, called Vaitahu.
Its a fairly deep bay with a beautiful village nestled in the valley beyond the beach.


And here's the village and the valley.


This is the reconstructed Spanish church in Vaitahu.


Along side the church was a copra facility. Copra (dried coconut shells)
used to be the main export of the Marquesas. Of course, this was before the
French took over, gave everyone a guaranteed income,
and exporting no longer became necessary.


A couple of the local Wise Guys in the town of Vaitahu.


After we left Tahuata, we sailed to the island of Oa Pou.
The first anchorage we visited was Hakahau. Check out the volcanic spires in the background!


Apparently, the major sport on the island is canoe racing.
There are many competitions between the villages and islands and, in every bay,
there is constant practice by the teams.


Hakahau at sunset.


This is the catholic church in Hakahau. One Sunday, the Skipper attended church
in order to record the singing on minidisc.


And here's the outside of the church.


The pulpit in the church, from which the sermons are given, is single log,
carved into the shhape of the bow of a ship.


About once a week, the supply ship from Papeete, Tahiti comes into the harbor at Hakahau.
This is a BIG DEAL because this is the only way anything or anyone comes or goes to the island.
This particular ship also carried about 80 tourists who paid for a 10-day tour of the Marquesas.


The next harbor we visited on Oa Pou was called Hakahetau. Here's Gumbo lying at anchor in the bay.


While in Hakahetau, we were invited by Etienne, the former mayor,
to attend a potluck dinner and a tour of the village.


Here we are doing a pre-dinner hike up the road to where a local stone carver lives.


And this is Tony, the carver, standing in front of some of his smaller pieces.
He also carves huge scuptures that display the "mana" or spirit of the different Marquesan islands.


Here we are chowing down with about 7 cruisers and about 20 locals.
The octopus casserole was splendicious!


After leaving Oa Pou, we sailed 30 miles to Controleur Bay on the island of Nuka Hiva.
Gumbo was the only boat anchored in this really wild bay. Lots of wildlife here:
mountain goats on the hills, pigs on the beach and manta rays in the water.


PIGS ON THE BEACH!!


A view inland from the beach at Controleur Bay.


We took a short hike inland, along the road to the main village.
Lots of private homes here surrounded by wild fruit trees. We traded 2 Bumbershoot T-shirts
for a stalk of about 100 bananas and a bag of about 20 limes.


Since the locals are more or less supported by the French government,
they all seem to be able to afford fairly nice 4-wheel drive vehicles. This driver isn't quite legal yet.


And finally, here are some really strange looking things that we THINK are some kinda coconut.
But they could also be really big orange spiders!