FP Final: NUKU HIVA (revised post)

The Marquesas: first and last stop in our tropical adventures. We’d come full circle—or at least wide oval—though this time we were not exploring, but preparing for the long passage to Hawai'i.

After our record slow 500 mile voyage from the Tuamotu, we made landfall at Hakatea (aka Daniel’s Bay) on Nuku Hiva.

Stretching our legs after the passage,
on a hike in the royal Hakaui Valley

Destination: Ahuei waterfall, over 350 meters high

Near the anchorage,
Kua cut a "hand" of red bananas for us

It was a powerful moment when we moved to Taiohae and realized that was our very last anchorage in the South Pacific. Sentiment aside, we got to work: provisioning, refueling, taking care of business (internet was inconvenient but at least it was finally available)--and fixing a stubborn fuel line problem.

Taiohae anchorage

Most things here are expensive,
but tuna fresh off the boat is less than $2.50 per pound

A rehearsal for the huge Marquesan Arts Festival.
held once every four years

After living for 5 years in a part of the world
where body art is an intricate part of the culture,

it was fitting for that culture
to become part of me

A symbolic full circle,
comprised of symbols

Stretching our legs before a passage,
we needed to ask for directions...

...in order to locate Koueva,
a site with ceremonial platforms and many tikis
(also pictured at the top of this post)

We watched the weather forecasts daily and made sure we were ready to depart when the winds turned easterly (from NE, since our initial heading is northerly). Plan A is to bypass the Big Island and Maui for now, and make landfall on Oahu at Honolulu. The route—not the rhumb line—is just under 2300 miles.

There is sadness in leaving these adventures behind; they have been--to borrow an ideal word--majestical, beyond anything we could have imagined. But other adventures await (albeit colder ones); and we feel ready to go home.