Day 18 – January 22, 2015

Well, after eight days at sea, we have finally come to land. This is a port that we tender into.

We are in Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, which is one of the Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific. This where the 2001 Survivor was filmed. Some of the islands have remained nearly untouched since the first European exploration many years ago, and the area’s isolation had created an intriguing culture. The primary language spoke here can be traced directly to the ancient dialect of the Maohi. Huku Hiva, which is one of the two primary islands, is known for its scenery. There are also a wide variety of ancient religious sites here, the most poplar of which is Paipival Valley, which is home to many temples and large tikis. In the villages of Hatiheu there are sites of Kamuihei and Hikoku, both known for their petroglyphs and ruins. The island is famous for its wood carvings. The captain’s wife was telling us that if you get a wood carving to put it in the freezer, as there can be bugs in there and will eat the carving if you do not kill them.

We had a marvelous tour today. It was not through the ship but a private tour arranged by someone on Cruise Critic. Cruisecritic.com is a web site that is organized by cruises where you can share the upcoming cruise with other people on the cruise. I got so much great information from it for this cruise.

We went all over the island and saw the island from the top. This is where Merman Melville wrote Tepee and Omoo. We saw the valley where he was held prisoner. The island is very clean and the people are super friendly. But, everything is very expensive in the French Polynesian Islands. You will see in the pictures many of the flora and the views from the mountains. The ones that have ruins are from the old houses that were built on stone. There are also a couple of pictures of their Cathedral. It is not like the ones in South America, it is very simple and beautiful. I learned from one of the gals on our tour to buy vanilla beans and paste in Tahiti and then make your own vanilla when you get home. I will try that. The beer was $8 a bottle so we skipped the beer today.