MM's: Tahuata

HAPATONI

Our first stop at the island of Tahuata was Hapatoni, a small village rarely visited by cruising boats. We felt welcomed by everyone!

Potpourri: an older concrete wharf enhanced by a new breakwater and solar-powered lights; the main village of each island had one of these landing places. Tied up alongside is a motorized vaka, our dinghy, and two typical motorboats used by villagers for fishing and transportation between islands.

I couldn't get over seeing phone booths in the middle of nowhere! Every village and even every hamlet (as in, 2 or 3 homes) had a phone booth--and yes, they work. The flat dirt road lined with walls of boulders is part of a 200-year-old royal road that ran along the bay.

The walls of this home are woven palm fronds, a traditional construction--though almost all the roofs are now of corrugated metal, to deflect (and in some cases collect) rainwater. The windows are covered with colorful fabrics--pretty all the time, and especially so when the wind blows.

islands.

This home is more typical in that it's tucked up into the foliage. Laundry is almost always hanging on a line outside. Some homes have washing machines, which are also outside! (Houses are small and it's always warm, so why not?)

No matter how small, every village has a Catholic church. This one is tucked into the woods, with a horse grazing outside (a common sight).

A family fishing from the shore with long bamboo rods; they were catching their dinner for the evening.

A traditional vaka pulled onto the shore. Vakas are narrow canoes stabilized by a small pontoon so they can handle the ocean swells.

The modern version: vakas with engines!

Wood carvers at work. Hapatoni is home to some outstanding artisans, one of whom showed us the intricate designs he had carved into marlin tusks (which no doubt would have been worth a fortune, literally, in the US art market).

Kids at play (a simplified game of marbles their parents were playing down the road)

Quintessential street scene along the royal road: pigs roaming in the foreground, adults playing a highly skilled and animated game of marbles in the background.

 VAITAHU: Few people visit Vaitahu either, but it has many nice features, including a lovely anchorage and an impressive church. Note the Polynesian influences in the design of the stained glass window...

HANAMOENOA photos: This is where the cruisers come! There aren't many beaches in the Marquesas, but this is one of them, and it's as idyllic as it looks.  

Manta rays visit the bay regularly, and they don't mind swimmers nearby. I got to swim with a couple of them right next to our boat! 

In an anchorage with a lot of boats--there were 18 here--someone often organizes a potluck picnic on the beach. In this case, the potluck was organized by the local resident, who lives alone on his ancestral land growing coconuts and other plants for sale at nearby Hiva Oa. He didn't want his photo taken, but he didn't mind photos of his "hangout" and his cooking!

The entree choices were seafood, seafood and seafood: marinated raw fish, crabs boiled in coconut milk, and grilled fish--all smoked over a wood fire (his only cooking facility). Scrumptious!