After another 5 days at sea, we woke up to a beautiful site this morning, land! Although, it was calling for thunderstorms today, we only had a few sprinkles while we were walking along the shore. We did not have a tour today, as there was only one excursion option. The island is about 127 square miles with a population of just over 3000. After avoiding the long lines to get onto a tender we did get to the tender dock on shore. We were greeted at the dock by some traditional Polynesian dancers (see the picture).
We noticed, and we were told that no one swims in the bay because of the sharks. Although we did not see any sharks, we were told that earlier in the day some locals were at one of the piers feeding the sharks. Needless to say, I did not walk into the water.
Vaipo Waterfall is the highest waterfall in French Polynesia but we did not see it because it is off the beaten path (about 10 miles from the tender pier) and they said you need a guide to find this site. It has a drop of 1148 feet and reportedly if you can find it, it is beautiful.
In case you do not remember, Nuku Hiva was the site for Survivor Marquesas the fourth site for Survivor, the CBS reality television show. Author Herman Melville is reported to state that Nuku Hiva is a “country that no description could fit the beauty.”
We can’t argue with this statement. A good stroll down the shoreline led us past some nice black sand beaches and past a few stone statues similar to the ones on Easter Island that represent ancestors or deities. We came to the street that went to the renovated cathedral. This renovation was completed after four years in 1977. All that remains of the centuries old cathedral are a couple of bell towers and arches.
One statue we saw on the way back to the ship is called Tiki Tuhiva and stands 12 meters high on the hill to overlook and protect Taioha ‘e Bay. (see the picture)
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