Round and Sharp
27 August 2022
• Baie Hakatea Nuka Hiva, Fenua Enata
by robin
Today my pocket has two rocks, one round and one sharp. These very different pieces of basalt tell the story of the landscape and are embedded in the history of this valley. Ignoring the white beach famous as a Survivor location, we round the black promontory towards the black sand bar across the river. Our goal is a hike to the tallest waterfall in Polynesia but as we paddle into the village it becomes clear it is special. Behind Charlotte, the woman collecting the fee for walking to the waterfall is in big letters Vaekehu, the name of the last Marquesan Queen, she and many other Marquesan royalty lived in this valley.
We expected a winding narrow trail. The broad trail is lined with carefully tended plants, hibiscus, banana and pineapple. Exquisite stonework marks edges deep into the woods. The trail climbs and narrows but the stonework continues. When the trail meets a paepae the poipoi pits are huge. These mountain residents were powerful. Everything is constructed from a mixture of rocks river rounded and sharp-edged blocks that tumbled from the cliffs above us. The paepae is tucked in the woods in the shadow of the 900' cliffs. Giant boulders with angular edges decorate the hillside. First, I think glacial erratic but these are rockfalls. Charlotte, had warned us to watch for falling things, coconuts and rocks especially past the entrance prohibited sign.
We pass the sign, cross the river on a bridge constructed from two trees bound together with straps of palm and see more sharp rocks along the path. Walking quickly, we pass through a 50' gap in the valley to the bowl where the waterfall falls. Long tailed tropic birds dance in the mist. The waterfall has carved so deeply into the cliffs that you can only see parts of it. Your head spins when you look up. We swim in the pool. I think it is time to go. There are too many sharp rocks here, fresh grey ones. I made the mistake of mentioning my glimpse of an inner pool you might be able to get to. Karl heads out. I stay put. He disappears behind a moss-covered car sized rock. I yell I am ready to leave. He barely hears me. I realize the lumps I am standing on covered with thin vegetation are old rockfalls. I try to figure out how frequent they are by the age of the trees. I yell to Karl that if he dies, we cannot sail around the world. He cannot hear me because of the waterfall. I try If you die what will happen to the Mabel Rose? Still no answer. Figuring it would be bad to leave him inside a waterfall although he may be safer inside than I am here I stay and wait. Eventually Karl appears from behind the rock grinning from discovering a room inside the cliff. The 1882 map shows caves here. He offers me a slightly mushed banana and we leave the place with many sharp rocks. I grab a freshly fallen angular grey rock to save in my jar of Marquesan treasures. After we cross the tree bridge, I grab a rounded rock to remember the power of the water to round those angles making the black sand we landed the on.
The walk down seems quicker. We find a rounded old tiki on a paepae close to the open sided church. The angular Mary gazes down on the rounded basalt altar. We reach Charlotte's and eventually manage to arrange lunch. The tuna, grated mango salad and lovely salted plantains are perfect. Tehono, the English-speaking fiancé of a villager joins us. She lives in Taiohe where she teaches kindergarten but comes here for weekends. Tahia, her cousin who cooked our meal sits down too. We start with pre-conceptions. As Americans we must have guns to fight pirates. No, no guns. Surprised we move on to how empty the valley is and the struggle to preserve their culture and their language before it disappears. Tehono has intricate tattoos covering one arm from her finger tips to almost to her armpit but struggles with not having been raised speaking Marquesan. For the past 7 years teachers must include it in their classroom work and she pleads with parents to speak it, not French, at home. We learn more of the history of the valley and the royalty who lived here. Discussion of the skinny but sweet hunting dog lounging under the table I bring out pictures of Nara, snow, and Justin and Danielle's wedding. They notice immediately Danielle has a beautiful gown on in the snow and admire the dress. We invite them to visit and see snow. It is time to go. The tide has come up. Much of the edge of the village are now flooded. We paddle in between palm trees with cows and horses watching us. Happy to see our mast when we round the promontory, we make a beeline for the boat with rays and frigate birds circling.â
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