As you can tell from the title of the blog, my humans did another one of their ‘Lets see what is over there’ that turned into a major hike. No great distances this time, but a pretty steep accent. But, I get ahead of myself. Let us start from the beginning.
FINDING THE TRAIL TO THE VILLAGE OF HATIHEU
A little morning shower to wet the pallet
We had just arrived in Anaho Bay and, in true ‘avoiding work’ fashion, the humans decided they should do a little sight seeing before they got stuck into boat jobs. Another cruiser told them that if they needed any basic supplies or internet they only had to hike over to the village in the next bay. Sounds easy enough right? Kevin, who runs Nuku Hiva Yachting Services in Taiohae, also told the humans that the little restaurant near the shop made the best breadfruit fritters. I need not remind any of you that one of my humans just loves anything made with breadfruit. So the humans were off on another one of their great adventures.
They packed a bag with plenty of water, bug spray, sun protection, some money (for the fritters or course) and they were off. They really had not been ashore yet, so that was the first place to investigate. There were a couple of small homes to the right. The humans did not want to invade their privacy without invitation, but there appeared to be a public area ashore just in front of the main channel through the reef. They found a portable water faucet and a shower block with public toilets. Very nice! Stuck to this block was a big notice in French and English stating that cases of CIGRATURA POISONING had occurred in both Anaho and Hatiheu Bay and to avoid eating any reef fish here.
The cruising guide stated that the route to the village of Hatiheu was a ‘clearly marked track’. But where this track started was any ones guess. The humans choose left. They followed a trail through green well kept gardens in the shade of coconut trees. The bushes either side the usual Marquesan mixture of ornamental, scented and fruiting. The ground below littered with over ripe limes and paupamouse. They passed a very nice group of fenced in buildings with lovely shaded entertaining spaces. Then more gardens, this time with horses, the small Marquesan breed, tethered to a line and grazing in the shade of the palm trees. At the end of this they found a dry gravel river bed and a muddy trail heading up beside it. ‘This must be it’.
The trail along the shore line through wonderful gardens
The start of the walk, entering the lower joungle reaches.
UP, UP AND UP
Now the humans had assumed that the trail to Hatiheu must go up and over one of the lower hills in the northern end of the valley here. But no. The trail goes straight up and over a small break in the spine of the much higher ridge at the back of the valley. What starts out as an easy enough climb through the rich tropical forest becomes a much steeper accent. Or so the ‘overly’ dramatic humans would have me believe. They did admit that most of it was well shaded and there were lots of spots with great views. Pictures coming when we next get internet. But hiking in the Marquesas is always an adventure and there is always fresh fruit to eat along the way. On this hike the trail was littered with copious amounts of ripe mangoes.
The trail gets steeper as you work your way up
Do not worry, there are lots of nice spots to take a break
And it is worth it as the view gets better. There is little old Spirit of Argo all alone in the anchorage
MANGOES, MANGOES, MANGOES
Mangoes seem to be in season all year round here in the Marquesas. Just when one tree finishes fruiting the tree beside it starts. Every village you go to you can smell the fruit before you even see them. You would think with this much fruit the ground would be littered, but not the Marquesas. It seems everything eats mangoes. The locals pick up the unbroken fruit and indulge in a little break in the shade of a tree. If the fruit breaks open on impact, the local chickens are on it. I am told Marquesan ‘mango fed’ chicken are very sweet and delicious. I have even seen the local dogs working hard to peel the skin and eat the tender flesh inside. I personally like it. What the domestic animals miss during the day the local wildlife take care of by night. It is usually only the left over pips that have to be regularly swept off the streets. With the long term cultivation of these two bays, it is no surprise that the trail between them should be so full of fruiting trees.
GREAT VIEW
The top of the ridge is open and you get a great view over the entire bay of Anaho.
From this height you can really see the shallow reef that rings the bay and even onto the next sandy bay east.
But you can not see the bay of Hatiheu to the west. You have to climb down the other side of the ridge if you want to see this bay. And that is what the humans did. They had not realized until now how cut off the people living in Anaho were. To get anything in they would either have to drag it up and over this ridge or by sea. That seemed to explain the horses they had seen grazing back in the gardens. And what about tourists that wanted to visit the bay? Just as the humans thought this, along came a guide and two tourists on horse back acceding the trail. ‘That is how they get them in’. I could not see most ‘tourist types’ acceding that trail just to look at a pretty beach? And my silly humans were going the wrong way!
THE VILLAGE OF HATIHEU
For such a scenic valley, it is a shame you do not get to see any views of it until you hit the bottom. And the silly humans have to reverse that to get home! The first thing you notice about this valley is the stark pinnacles of basalic rock on the western ridge.
A white statue of Mary has been hoisted 300m to the top of one of them. It has a big black beach backed by palm trees, shaded benches and lovely flower gardens.
Marquesans always keep their villages so pretty and clean. There are some cool tiki, a lovely church a scenic cemetery, post office and town hall.
Tiki
Church
It was lunch time so the humans made a bee line for the restaurant. They could smell the aroma of cooking food, but it appeared not to be open. It looked very nice and clean with table cloths and even a menu board written in ENGLISH. They seemed to have a good selection from mixed seafood to goat, no breadfruit fritters, and prices starting at $20 a plate and up. The humans decided the owners might not be to happy to open just for a plate of fritter that were not even on the menu. The store next door did not have much for sale. Definitely nothing that could equate a lunch. Thankfully they found a group of ladies selling baked goods and pizza slices outside the town hall. This fortified them for the accent back out of the valley.
You have to climb all the way back up there!
ILLUSIVE WILD LIFE
Now the Marquesan island are not really known for their wild life. They are ‘fairly’ young volcanic islands and most of the indigenous wildlife did not survive the migration of the Polynesian people. Coming to the islands the Polynesian brought with them all the plants and animals they needed to survive. Cultivation, over grazing, dogs, cats and stow away rats have all forced much of the original island species to extinction. But there are a few ‘endangered’ examples still remaining. One of the humans had read there was a rare green lorakeet indigenous to the Marquesas islands.
On the accent back up one of the humans mentioned they should be looking out for it. When they got to the top and took a break to enjoy the view, guess who paid them a visit. You got it. A bright green small parrot like bird. ‘It’s the endangered lorkeet!’ Of course the human that had read all about the bird missed it. But 5 minutes later another flew overhead. Then two more came fluttering by. Then three more. Now that is a coincident or what?
The silly humans have just learned how to reverse their phone and do selfies.
So there you go. I managed hopefully to entertain you again with one of the humans silly adventures. At least they did not get lost this time.
Mary Poppins has arrived in the Marquesas
END
