Anaho Bay is surrounded by classic Marquesan geology. 

Oa Pu, Northern Marquesas

Does every passage include a sunset or sunrise? You know it does! If we are entering unfamiliar bays and reefs from the east then the morning sun is usually optimal - there is less sun reflecting off the water as you enter and you can see underwater obstructions better. So, here we are traveling to the Northern Marquesas.

In the Northern Marquesas the geologic formations are as fascinating as the rest of the Marquesas. Here we are on August 9th, 2005 coming into Oa Pou.

There was a paddling club on the beach at our anchorage. The designs on the building are traditional Marquesan designs. You can see that one of them is the Marquesan cross.

Scott was particularly intrigued by this inter-island war canoe that we saw on Oa Pu. We saw more of these canoes as we traveled around the islands. In particular, Raiatea was one location where the locals expressed a great interest in inter-island travel. 

There seems to be a fair amount of prosperity in the community. I also thought it was interesting to see the geologic formations behind the construction site.

These ladies are painting the fence around the school. There's a lot of community pride in all the islands.

We sailed around the island and saw an airplane land on this air strip. The airplane landed uphill into the mountain.

We got our anchor down just before the sunset! This was one of the more beautiful anchorages that we stayed in. We did do a little swimming around the boat, but as the sun sets we get close to shark feeding time!

Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, Northern Marquesas

When you get to Taiohae, Nuku Hiva there are all kinds of fresh vegetables available. The trouble is you have to get up at 4:30 a.m. to get the vegetables. By 5:30 or 6:00 everything's sold out! So, if you have a person onboard that doesn't mind that hour of the day AND who likes vegetables then they're probably the one to talk into going ashore for the goodies! In this case Scott got up and went ashore! What a guy!

There's fish, baked goods and fruit. You can see how dark it is!

The local artisans were displaying their wares. I got a pretty necklace and Maria got some very nice gifts for family and friends.

The kids were fascinated by Mark's camera. And he didn't mind showing them.

Here we got Scott to sit down in the shade and rest a bit.

Another view along the main road. Some of these photos are simply views as you walk along the road. As if you were walking along with us.

I hiked a little up the hill to try to get my website uploaded. (TRY is the operative word!) But I discovered that there wasn't a fast enough connection to get all my photos transferred. Therefore, I probably only succeeded in creating junk!!! However, I was gratified to have these great tropical floral scenes.

This is just another scene (left) on the way to the computer shop in Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas. The truth is that I was having so much trouble trying to get my web site running that I was becoming distraught. In the end I had to change my host from Yahoo to Outfront - which I highly recommend for anyone that uses Frontpage. Also, Tom Brunt, who runs the service is very helpful to beginner and intermediate webmasters.

This village of Taiohae is very neat with a park all along the water. It's comforting to be able to see your boat when you're in town. In case the wind comes up or some other problem occurs you might be able to get out and take care of things.

We decided to have lunch at this very nice restaurant. Unfortunately, as we turned around we found that Marie had twisted her ankle. It was a good thing we were planning to stay awhile.

You could just get your hair braided at the beach!

Can you believe the view all around the boat? You can tell that we lazed about this village for a while. For one thing there's an airport on the island of Nuku Hiva and it was very convenient for people to come and go via that airport. When I say convenient I mean it's only an hour and a half bus ride to the airport up on top of one of the mountains.

I thought this was a neat old municipal building. All these shots are of Taiohae. The people here really appreciate living the laid back life in a smaller community. Many of them told us that they had lived for a while in Papeete and much preferred a more rural (and picturesque) lifestyle.

Lunch was so good we decided to return for dinner... ...with the crew from Lazy Bones! That's Mike and of course, Jean, Scott, Marie and Mark. Lazy Bones was heading off to the Tuamotus the next day, so we were glad to have some time with them.

This is one of Scott's "art" shots of the moon rising in Nuku Hiva. This gives you an idea of what a wonderful anchorage we had there in Taiohae. These night shots require a bit of a stable base for your camera and if the boat is rocking at all then you're in trouble.

Another view at anchor in Nuku Hiva.

Baie de Taiohae in Nuku Hiva.

Everywhere you turned in Taiohae there were beautiful scenes. You can see trees that have been planted along the ridge of the mountains. This tree-planting program was seen throughout Polynesia for the purpose of erosion control.

Daniel's Bay, Nuku Hiva, Northern Marquesas

This is a protected bay called Daniel's. It has a white sandy beach and the water is clear. Oh, and it quite protected with an "S" curve entrance. A bit disconcerting as you approach in your boat. You'd have to know that an entrance is there or you wouldn't feel safe to proceed.

The other side is a sheer cliff face. (left) What is not immediately obvious is the height of that cliff and also the erosion on the right side especially. One of the big contributors to this erosion is a population of goats that inhabits most of the Marquesas. The issue is a ready supply of food. The locals don't want to give up that food supply. You can hardly blame them. We saw a small herd of goats up on that mountain to the right. We needed binoculars to see them. When we were in Oa Pu one of the local people were kind enough to find a haunch of goat that we prepared on the boat and enjoyed for two meals.

Here's Jean getting the anchor up. (right) We had spent several days here hiking, paddling the kayak and fixing the dinghy.

Maria and Mark were with us here in Nuku Hiva.

Anaho Bay, Nuku Hiva, Northern Marquesas

No trip to exotic places is complete without beautiful ladies! We got Cheryl to pose for us as we entered Anaho Bay!

Anaho was just another beautiful bay in Nuku Hiva. The only coral reef in the Marquesas is in this bay. Nice sandy beaches and clear water (to scrub the bottom of your boat and replace zincs!). We availed ourselves of the opportunity for both activities. Cheryl scoped out the reef for us also.

While investigating ashore in Anaho Bay Cheryl scoped out a place for dining locally. This "establishment" was not officially open because we were late in the cruising season. In spite of this our chef delighted us with a meal of goat and octopus (two separate dishes!). We were able to procure a bottle of French wine and enjoy a centerpiece of beautiful fresh flowers.