Nuka Hiva

We left Oa Pau about 9:30 on Monday & arrived in Nuka Hiva around 2:30 in the afternoon. We are at Taiohae Bay in the town of Taiohae. Taiohae is the capital of the Marqueses and the most populated village.  Yesterday we had an official welcome from the town's people 

Complete with lays & ceremonial dancing. 

Later we were allowed to choose between learning how to make a bead necklace or weave with coconut palm branches. 

U can see I was into the weaving in a big way. I was determined to replace the woven hat I was forced to leave behind in St. Lucia oh so many years ago so I convinced Jocelyne our teacher to teach me how to make a hat. I also made a bag & a serving tray. 

After Jocelyne made a hat for me I had to make another 

Later we had a traditional Marquesian dance this time with men and women. 

This was followed by our farewell dinner for those boats that won't be part of the Blue planet odyssey going forward. These were boats that signed up for the Pacific Odyssey only. 

On Tuesday we had a talk on the Tuamotu Islands which we plan on visiting on our way to Tahiti. We have a talk this afternoon about weather in the South Pacific. A good part of today was spent cleaning the hull of the boat.