Nuku Hiva, Marquesas, Islands - 1st June 2011

Position: Taiohae; Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands

Today is Samoan Independence Day and we're celebrating it a little bit different here in Nuku Hiva. As today's the last day of provisioning and cleaning and the next couple of days are just for rest and recreation that is what we are actively working at: restocking and cleaning the va'a. Later this afternoonwe will have the closing ceremony for our time here in Nuku Hiva. The mayors of many other villages will be in attendance. With the closing ceremony only a few hours away we know that our time on land will end soon.

Yesterday was a good day. The district of Nuku Hiva gave the fleet a treat by taking us on a tour around the island, mainly to the north eastern side. The area is known for its paepae, valleys, rivers and good anchorage, just to name a few. On our way to the eastern side we stopped at an archaeological site called Kamuihei. The site was a gathering place for the people of Nuku Hiva and the whole Marquesas island group. The site is on the face of a mountain, and has stone structures in it. It’s as large as a Rugby field. There are structures made out of large stones that have been placed in a paepae format and then set up as terraces going up the mountain. The terraces are actually called paepae just like in Samoa. Aside from the paepae there are carved stone structures of animals: turtles, an animal that is in harmony with both the land and sea.

Later in the tour we were driven down to the village, Hatiheu, to where the local community there has just opened a museum. The mayor of the village, Ivonne Katupa, was there to welcome us. The museum is dedicated to restoring artefacts from the site as well as preserving their culture.

While some of Gaualofa crew were on the trip the other half stayed behind to give a few of the local kids a tour of our va'a. They had such a good time that more will be coming later today. The people here are as beautiful as their motu. W its lush forests and sheer mountains. their hospitality is never ending. We've eaten like kings here: taro, goat, pua’a, povi, moa, fai, manioca and more; it reminds us a little bit of home, lo'u Samoa.

Faafetai tele samoa mo le taupuaiga

Gaualofa