Melbourne, Australia

 

French Polynesia

First, I strongly recommend that you watch—or re-watch Moana, the animation that features Disney’s  colorful depiction of Polynesian people, Polynesian myths, and of course the Polynesian greenery and aquamarine water.  Fans of Lin-Manuel Miranda will enjoy the music.  Upon researching this, I found that Moana Part 2 is in the works.  Go figure.

Second, some items about French Polynesia found on a National Geographic website (5 Things You Didn't Know About French Polynesia):

·        The tiare apetahi, a rare version of the tiare flower (or Tahitian gardenia) only grows in one place on the entire planet: Mount Temehani on the island of Ra'iatea. The national flower is used in leis for greeting family and visitors, and many locals wear them behind their ear. Keep an eye on which side the flower appears: Tradition is to wear it on the left side if the wearer is in a relationship, and on the right if they’re single.  

·        In a drive around Tahiti, Mo'orea, and the rural islands of French Polynesia, you may start to notice an unusual sight: Long mailboxes. It turns out that instead of the mailman, the delivery for these boxes comes from the bakery; more specifically, a baguette, or two or three, or even a croissant or French pastry on occasion are placed here first thing in the morning.  Although no longer widely used, “baguette mailboxes” were once a staple of the islands for fresh daily bread delivery—baguettes were a food staple from the days of French colonialism. Even without a mailbox, visitors can still easily find the French loaves at local bakeries, usually for less than a dollar.  

·        Fakarava, the second largest of the Tuamotu atolls, is renowned for its incredible undersea. The unusual lagoon habitats here earned it a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve designation and the crystalline waters are teeming with multi-hued fish, gray sharks, crustaceans, and a spate of interesting coral. But on land there’s also something pretty special made with help from the surrounding sea: coral churches! These colorful places of worship were created out of coral blocks cemented together with special island cement made locally out of coral material. Inside, these unique buildings are further adorned with ocean offerings: shell necklaces and chandeliers dangle from above; black lipped pearl oyster shells and mother of pearl inlay line the altars; and a giant clam shell even holds the holy water.

·        The islands were inhabited as early as 500 AD.

 Our first two cruise ship stops in French Polynesia are NOT to the well-traveled and thus better-known islands of Tahiti or Bora-Bora.  I’m pleased by this.  We get a flavor of the area before we see the tourist areas.

Nuku Hiva

According to CNN Travel (https://www.cnn.com/travel/article), this South Pacific island is one of the world's most remote locations.  (To fly here, it is an 8.5 hour flight from San Francisco to Tahiti, then another 4 hours by prop plane).  Nuku Hiva is the capital of the Marquesas Islands, the largest island in the country, with a population of 3000.The main town is Taiohae.  There's a mystical allure that permeates through Nuku Hiva. Locals say it's a place where you can feel the authentic "mana" -- the spiritual life force of Polynesian culture. It's hard not to feel thousands of years of history, especially as striking Tiki and Moai statues depicting ancient gods or ancestors are proudly dotted around the island.

The ocean was roiling this morning as we approached the island.  Apparently, the trade winds blow through this area and blowing they were.  So much so that it actually slowed the boat down and made people question whether we would be able to anchor and run the tenders in the wild water.  We were cruising past the island, the spray from the wind whipped water causing a water fog of sorts.  I looked down and saw a relatively small motor boat pulling closer to our ship.  Boy the waves look wilder when you see a small boat in them.  I thought maybe they were trying to get a wind block or possibly have the large boat knock down the waves for them.  Boy was I wrong.  They moved past my position getting closer to the front of the ship and getting closer and closer to the ship as they went.  It wasn’t until one of the men in the boat got up, moved to the side and grabbed a couple of stabilization ropes sort of like a rope ladder without any rungs that I realized that they were sending someone to our boat, probably the pilot who would see to our safe entry into the harbor.  I couldn’t see the finish of the procedure, but the boat pulled off without the orange life jacket marking the man so I assume he made it.  It did not look easy or particularly safe.  Wow.  The wind had delayed us for almost forty-five minutes from our expected arrival time.  We got to the ticket line early and were able to get on the first tender even though we were going independently and not with a ship tour.

We were lucky today.  We and one other couple on the ship (married 57 years and living in Quebec half of the year and Florida the other), found a private tour given by a local in his Toyota truck.  We had 6 hours of photos and information as we took hairpin curves up to over 2400 ft on the island.  We will send facts as you need them, connecting them with photos if possible.

Our tour driver, Richard Dean(e), a local entrepreneur, was working at a local hotel in the early stages of the Survivor show) knew English from his grandfather, and was hired by the show April, 2002, to develop challenges and to translate.   From this job he had a chance to tour places in the western US including the Grand Canyon, Utah and Wyoming via Yellowstone. 

Nuku Hiva is 8 degrees south of the Equator, thus able to maintain a fairly even 30 degrees C.; Tahiti is 16 degrees south and therefore more tropical.  There are 118 Marqueses Islands in the archipelago.  12 are inhabited with a total of 6000 population.  Today’s village, the capital of the island has 3000.  Every 3 weeks, a cargo ship of sorts brings supplies to the island, including gasoline.  Many vegetables and fruits are grown on the island; there is plenty of fish that can be purchased at the main dock every morning for $5 US for a kilo of mixed varieties.  It has the largest hospital with 30 beds.

Economicallly, the #1 export item is coconuts, or cocunut juice or coconut milk.  1 Kilo sells for $1.40 US—sold in 25 Kilo bags.  The #2 exported item is Noni which is a juice used by the Mormons in US.

Regarding schooling, “primary” schools for ages 6-10 meet 7:30-3:30 each day,  In this capital city, there are 2 primary schools—one is public, one is private and Catholic.  Jr. High is for ages 11-15/16.  There are 3 Jr. High schools in the archipelago.  The High School is in Tahiti as is a university.  High schoolers go to boarding school and return home 2-3 times a year. Nobody seemed really thrilled about the absence.

Early in our tour/climb around this island, we met a tethered horse standing in the middle of our lane.  They wander at will or some are tethered,  Luckily  Most chose to graze off the road; they were introduced to Nuku Hiva from Chili via Spain.  We also learned about the Marquesan swallows that have no feet; they stick to areas like a bat. 

·         This pic is taken at 600 meters.  Tallest point is 1200 meters.

      We saw a variety of tree species:  bamboo, teak, mahogany, sandalwood, cashew, mango, pineapple, banana.  

      70% of the land is rented from the government. 

                                                                         

 This behemoth to your right is a banyan tree.

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·        On the photo of inlet bay, the rock formation above is called “the Comb”

·     Note the photos of lava rock piled up as a foundation for a village.  These date to the 12th Century. in process of applying to be a UNESCO site.  The flat middle area is called the “Toh HOO uh”-- the community place.  The 1st excavation was found in1957 by a professor from Univ of NY.  He discovered tombs and the body of a Frenchman who died of cholera.  The statues are from the 1989 2nd Marquesan Festival.  Included in the UNESCO site would be the largest sand dune in French Polynesia, the adjacent biosphere, and nearby lagoons. In this north bay area, there are 7 villages that were built; two have been restored.

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