Greetings from Taiohae, Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands. These islands are part of French Polynesia and are northeast of Tahiti. Unlike much of the South Pacific, they are not surrounded by reefs, so the sand is volcanic. Not great sand and an abundance of midges/noseeums make beaching here a low priority. Additionally the islands are arid, so there’s not the lush greenery. Nuku Hiva is the largest of the Marquesas Islands, with about 2700 inhabitants and Taiohae is the center of the Marquesas Islands government. French is spoken and few understand English.
We did get off the boat this morning and walked about a mile and a half around town—Betsy without her boot, wearing low hikers. There’s no air conditioning and all the buildings, including church and school are open to the outdoors. One of the highlights this morning was a visit to the Notre Dame Cathedral of the Marquesas, shown in two of the pictures. The interior is simple, but full of magnificent carvings. One picture shows a carving of the Virgin and child, with Polynesian features, and above their heads, the Polynesian cross.
For the literary types, this is where Herman Melville was inspired to write “Typee”. His characters, however, had to sneak away from the island to avoid cannibals.
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