Haka Hau, Ua Pou, Īles Marquises

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Haka Hau, Ua Pou

View of Haka Hau anchorage below

Ang overlooking the anchorage below

Cross landmark on the hill east of the anchorage

Layered colors of rock guide your eyes to the Ua Pou spires

1 May 2003, Thursday -

Ua Pou anchorage

Famous spires of Ua Pou

Playing a game of elastic with kids

We arrived today at 8 AM after making a night passage to the island of Ua Pou. En route, we saw the most bizarre thing in the water. It looked as if beach-ball-sized flashes were going off all around us about 4 to 10 feet below the surface. Picture what you would think a strobe light would look like going off a few feet below the water. This was happening all around us for about 15 minutes. Our stern wake wasn't even really lit up from bioluminescence, so we were really confused (still are) about what that was. Eric woke me up to see and check on his own sanity. As this happened around 2AM, it really did feel like you were seeing things... but we BOTH saw it as did some other boats that came in the next day. Weird. We are going to have to find out the story on that one. Will let you know if we do! :)

We are now here in Ua Pou in the bay of Haka Hau. It is a great anchorage and a cute village with about 1000 people in it. The people have been really nice. The school kids are on a week-long vacation right now, so we have been able to meet many and play with them. As with all other towns here in the Marquesas, the French baguettes are great and also cheap - one of our favorite combinations! We went ashore very early each morning for fresh baguettes made on the island. We even found a place that served fresh ice cream... sometimes we miss a freezer!

Looking down to bay from the west

It's been 4 years now, so we should be used to the lack of ice and other frozen treats, but we still find them very fun!

Anchorage
Haka Hau, Ua Pou
09^o21.53' S
140^o02.86' W

Cruiser Potluck

Eric and friends at a cruisers potluck we organized on the quay

5 May 2003, Monday -

Several cruisers showed up to enjoy each others company and cooking

There were several boats in the anchorage that we either knew previously or met around town that were really interesting.

If we hadn't met them in person yet, we had heard them checking in on the SSB or HAM radio while making the crossing from Mexico. It has been fun as we move through anchorages to finally meet the faces that go with the voices we're so familiar with!

Some of our new friends include Steve and Laura on Moonshine. They stopped by one night for a wild game of Mexican Train Dominoes. We had seen several people playing this while in Mexico, but never got into it ourselves. It is actually a very fun game! We had a great night meeting the two of them.

Marquesan festivities & feast at Chez Rosalie

Marquesan dancing

Rhythmic drumming and singing

6 May 2003, Tuesday -

Marquesan food

The large cruise ship called the Aranui that sails from Papeete, Tahiti through the Tuamotus to several of the islands in the Marquesas pulled into the harbor today. For this area, it was BIG! It took up most of the harbor as it pulled in! When it arrived, swarms of its occupants piled onto the pier looking for the location of the next item of interest on their itinerary. A local market opened up for the first time in a week and displayed several locally-made handicrafts, such as wood and stone carvings, tikis, necklaces, etc.

The advantages of them flocking into the small village is that it not only brings an instant surge into the otherwise quite quiet economy, is that there is also a large welcome celebration put on for them. Since they already plan to accommodate almost 200 people, they let cruisers show up for a relatively small fee. We decided

Bright colors and fast movement

to treat ourselves to a nice meal and join in. Friends of ours from several other boats did the same. There are few restaurants that are reliably open, so most of us do not often go out to eat. This was a real treat! We called it our "Cook's Night Out" - a meal onshore after our passage to celebrate a successful voyage and also to just have a break from the galley. The festivities started out with some typical foods like breadfruit and other fruit goodies

Feast of Marquesan food

served on large banana leaves for plates, accompanied by fresh coconut juice. Yum! Next, several of the islanders that we had seen around town showed up to perform some Marquesan dancing. The costumes, some made of tapa cloth, were colorful and fun. The dancing and music was very

Friends from Wings, Keeshond, and Patriot at a Marquesan feast

rhythmic and active. It was great entertainment! Our legs were sore just watching the dancers!

After the dancing, we were all escorted down to a restaurant that only opens up for the cruise ship. The money they bring in every few weeks from this one feast is enough to sustain the business the rest of the time. Several people in the village participate in preparing and presenting the food. It was excellent. The best Cook's Night Out that either of us could imagine. There were even table cloths and napkins!!!

Flowers of the region

Beautiful flowers were the norm

Everywhere that we went,

All flowers were vibrant and very aromatic

we were escorted by the most amazing sights and smells of the local flowers. Each flower we've run across in the Marquesas has been vibrant and beautiful. The aromas have no comparisons! If any one of the flowers' smells were accurately available in a bottle, I would buy all of the perfume! Local women would often have sprigs of flowers in their hair for church or special occasions. Nothing could smell better!

The perfect pasture

Horses grazing by the beach

When we saw these horses grazing

Ang couldn't resist

peacefully by the beach, we knew that Angela's mom would want to visit! Their could not be a more idyllic way to live as a horse! Pretty fun! The youngster wasn't tied up, but just followed mom around the pasture. He was quite shy at first, but he slowly warmed up to Angela. It helped that she happened to walk past him several times a day!

A culture known for its carvings

Wood carving at the Ua Pou museum

Beautifully carved wood pulpit at the church

Everywhere throughout the town, the amazing skill of local carvers and craftsmen could be witnessed. The detail in stone buildings, wooden doorways, and every large and small structure reflected the care and quality of work put into things. The church could have been a stone and wood carvers museum. The pulpit at the front of the church was made of one large piece of wood carved to represent the bow of the ship, with nets, fish and other perfectly-carved details surrounding its base.

< Tahuata : Haka Hau, Ua Pou : Daniel's Bay, Nuku Hiva >