Photo Update - The Best of the Marquesas

Our landfall in the Marquesas early in the morning on the 9th of July was a joyous occasion!  We had all been trying to imagine what it would be like to see land again after spending almost 3 weeks at sea.  When the outline of Fatu Hiva became clearer and bigger on the horizon, we knew we had made it!  Once again, we have way too many photos, but I've tried to gather a few of the best of the Marquesas, to give an overview of the wonderful time we had there:

Landfall!  With a rainbow to boot!

Land Ahoy = Happy Family

This was the first view of the anchorage, "Bay of Virgins" on the island of Fatu Hiva, Marquesas.
 Even with the clouds obscuring the top of the mountains, you can see the scale of them compared to the masts of the boats

We walked around the tiny settlement of Hanavave, marveling at the lush, green foliage and huge mountains 

Our walk took us to a lovely waterfall, falling down a sheer cliff face about 200 feet high.  

On a dinghy ride around the corner from the anchorage we discovered this hole in a rock.  It was amazing how the erosion had actually formed an archway.

Just another view of Cool Runnings in the anchorage at Fatu Hiva

You almost expect dinosaurs to be roaming around on the cliff faces, so raw and untouched this place is!

Thanks to Kristi on Cheeky Monkey for this picture and the one above.
Cool Runnings in the Bay of Virgins, Fatu Hiva, Marquesas Islands

We then moved on to Hiva Oa.  This was taken in the town of Atuona.  The tikis can be seen everywhere.

The art lover in me was delighted to find the Paul Gauguin museum in Atuona.  Paul Gauguin called the island of Hiva Oa home after moving here from Tahiti.  Many of his later works are Polynesian themed.  He died here in the village of Atuona on 8th May, 1903 at the age of 54.

After our bananas all ripened at once, we didn't have much fresh fruit save for a few sad apples on our crossing, and even those didn't last too long.  So stocking up on fresh fruit was a top priority when we finally hit land!  Here we have papayas (paw paws), pampelmousse (both gifts from locals), and lots of apples and oranges!!

We enjoyed Bastille day celebrations in Atuona on Hiva Oa - July 14th, 2016.  There was a huge parade through the town, culminating in dancing and feasts at the waterfront community center.

Taking a tour of the island allowed us to explore even the most remote parts and see the rugged beauty from every angle!

More of Hiva Oa.  This was our lunch stop on our island tour.

Our final stop on the island tour was the Iipona archaeological site near the village of Puamau.  This tiki is estimated to be about 2,000 years old!

You may notice that the head of this particular carving is very small compared to the body of the tiki (you can see the other tikis in the background for comparison).  We learned that the head of this particular tiki is on display in a museum in Berlin, so the locals put another (much smaller) head on the body!  They are apparently fighting to get the head back on its rightful body.

An overall view of the archaeological site

We then moved on to the island of Tahuata and anchored in Hanamoenoa Bay.  I was previously able to post some pictures of this stunning bay, so I'll keep it short

Cool Runnings, Hanamoenoa Bay, Tahuata, Marquesas
Saturday, July 16th, 2016

The following day, Sunday, July 17th, we pulled up anchor and left the stunning Marquesas islands behind us and set sail for the Tuamotus chain of atolls arriving in Rangiroa on Thursday morning, July 21st.  I've been able to post pictures and updates on our visits to the atolls, so I should be largely caught up in the picture department (except now for our stay in Tahiti)!

Dave has downloaded and posted a few of his short videos that he takes on his cell phone or GoPro.  The reason they are so short is that it takes so long for them to upload.  Even a 30 second video can take up to an hour to download, even here in Tahiti, where the internet has been the fastest we've had since Panama.  But hopefully even these short clips can give you a feel for what we've been up to, and enjoy sharing with you all!

Tomorrow we will leave Papeete and Tahiti and sail the short distance over to Moorea.  That will be the stepping stone to the exploration of the remaining Society Islands, Huahine, Raiatea and Tahaa, Bora Bora and Maupiti.  We are eager to see what lies ahead in the weeks to come!