Day 5 · Nuku Hiva: Taiohae and Taipivai · 11 April 2007

Some days begin with a cathedral and end with your boat being pushed off a beach by a tractor.

That is a full itinerary.

Our first visit to Nuku Hiva was a busy one. We started in Taiohae, the main centre, and finished the day in Taipivai, after crossing the island by road, history, and heat.

A school bus carried us from the freighter terminal into town, where artisans had gathered with carvings, stonework, tikis, and polished pieces.

I spent part of my free hour walking the waterfront, filming the harbour and mountains. Taiohae Bay was beautiful, with green slopes rising high above it and two large stone sentinels guarding the entrance.

There were sailboats, cargo vessels, and even a millionaire’s yacht with a helicopter.

Subtle.

Internet at Marquesas Speed

I found a small computer store and managed to upload a blog post using dial-up internet.

Dial-up.

Fifteen minutes cost 250 CPF, about three Canadian dollars, and it felt like technological victory. The connection was slow, but because I had everything on a memory stick, I avoided spending half the day uploading one paragraph at a time while aging visibly.

A Cathedral of Stone and Carving

At 9:30, we joined the excursion. The parking lot was full of 4x4s, a minibus, and several local horses.

Horses were everywhere on Nuku Hiva: near churches, tied in town, and up in the hills. They seemed as common here as scooters in Papeete.

Our first stop was Notre Dame Cathedral of the Marquesas Islands. The old castle-like turrets remained, while the newer 1970s building used stone from the six inhabited Marquesas islands.

Inside, Christian stories were shown through Marquesan-style carvings. Wooden apostles had local features. Stone and wood came together in a way that made the building feel deeply rooted in place.

Lunch Above the World

We drove up Mount Muake on a paved road that twisted above Taiohae. The views grew wider with every turn.

At the top, we stopped for lunch under a shelter with picnic tables and flush toilets. These are the kinds of details you appreciate more deeply when traveling with children.

My son’s highlight was watching a French professional artist sketch the surrounding mountains. He showed us his book of drawings from Tahiti and the Marquesas, and it inspired my son to continue sketching harbours, churches, and mountains from the trip.

Travel souvenirs are nice.

Watching your child become more interested in the world is better.

Ancient Stones and a Stuck Barge

In Taipivai, we hiked about 20 minutes through coconut and mango trees to the Paeke archaeological site, where stone platforms and tall tikis remained. Some carvings were fading from rain and sun, but the place still carried weight.

By the end of the day, we were hot, tired, and ready for the boat.

Then the ocean had one more activity planned.

As we boarded the barge from the black sand beach, large waves pushed us so far up the shore that the boat got stuck. The crew acted quickly and asked a local man with a tractor for help.

He gently pushed us back into the water.

Because apparently even barges need roadside assistance.

We returned to the Aranui tired, covered in repellent against the infamous nono bites, and grateful.

Nuku Hiva had given us mountains, history, horses, art, heat, and a tractor rescue.

A very respectable day.