Being in the town of Nuku Hiva was a kind of culture shock for us with the noise, pollution (mostly burning garbage), activity, paved streets buzzing with vehicles. There sure wasn't an indication of much poverty here with the numerous brand new 4x4 Land Cruisers and Toyotas and the prefab homes. There were 3 grocery stores in town, although one of them always had empty shelves. No Laundromats, no take-out, no stores for shopping for souvenirs or clothing though. We walked to the far end of town where we visited Rose Corser's museum. She runs the hotel there with all it's separate bungalows overlooking the bay and renting for $250/night and is known by cruisers everywhere for her assistance. I was able to buy a rosewood ray there, carved with Marquesan motif.
Amidst the modern buildings and paved streets, there was still a feeling of the original primal nature of the village. Horses grazing along the side of the downtown streets, chickens roaming under your feet, locals playing their bocce ball tournaments on any dirt strip beside the road. The Marquesans are very large people, the men being descendants of warriors. The women are often quite plump, but usually have arrangements of flowers in their hair, making the whole effect quite lovely. There are flowers everywhere, in the bank, in the Air Tahiti office. It's great and smells fabulous. The whole island has a very different smell from Mexico, very lush, verdant and clean. And of course the overwhelming appearance of the famous Marquesan tattoos on the men and even the women everywhere. Many of the cruisers made a visit to the local tattoo artist and ended up with permanent reminders of their Marquesan cruising experience. The tattoos are really a work of art, unsurpassed by anything I have ever seen anywhere.  
| Angela (left) and KT proudly display their new Marquesan tattoos |
From the anchorage, we could hear the primitive beat of drums at night so we were impelled to take the dinghy through the inky darkness and follow the sound. We found a group of locals beating their traditional drums ... a powerful sound that vibrated through your soul and provided the music for young dancers practicing for the Festival in Tahiti.   
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