As I write this post we are sailing away from the Marquesas. Our next stop will be in the Tuamotus where we hope to do lots of snorkeling and beach combing.
Our last two days in the marquesas were packed full of adventure on the island of Nuku Hiva with the first being an all day driving tour of the island and the second a 12km hike to a beautiful waterfall in Daniel’s Bay.
I was excited to search for the places photographed by my parents in 1987 and found some! I’m surprised by how much has remained the same: the main town of Taioha’e has not expanded much and the bays look the same (more crowded with cruising boats though).
Differences include more of the island being accessible by narrow and steep roads that connect the villages: everyone owns a 4WD truck here. And, unfortunately, there are so many cruisers coming through here, we are clearly a source of income and maybe even a nuisance. Imagine a balanced community for 9-10 months of the year and then suddenly thousands of cruising boats arrive that want to buy 10 dozen eggs each and buy fancy cheese and meats and go eat pizza. It’s hard to support that fluctuating demand. It reminds me of our community on Orcas Island and how it changes in summer.
Our final stop in the Marquesas was Daniel’s Bay, Nuku Hiva. Wow what a spectacular place with volcanic cliffs dropping into the valley. We walked with our friends off sv Impossible to a waterfall that I hiked to as a child. We even found a tiki that I posed with back in 1987, it hadn’t budged!
1987 left and 2024 to right. Interesting the forest of pine now on the ridge that was not there before.
Meet the Millers 