Hiva Oa
19 September 2012
C. Farias/overcast
We spent just a few days in Hiva Oa, another spectacular Island in the Marquesas. We had to check in and get some fresh fruit and veggies. And, most important, I wanted to see an archeological site in Puamau, a small village in the northeast part of the Island. We rented a car and drove the longest 35km of our lives. Think the road to Hana in hormones and as stunning. Some parts of the road were so steep that we couldn’t see what was ahead. It is definitely the narrowest, steepest and twisted road I have seen. For many miles we drove thru groves of old mango trees, all in bloom, making us mango lovers to dream of what it will be in a few months. The scenery changed from rich forest and serene valleys, to a rugged, dry, volcanic looking one, the road running at the edge of steep cliffs that hover above the sea. After 2 ½ hours we came to the small village of Puamau where we saw the largest tikis in the French Polynesia. The site is reasonably preserved and we were all glad that we ventured to get there. Not many people attempt to drive that road. We had called ahead of time to have lunch made for us at a house that has the only accommodations available on the village. Lunch was local cuisine, poisson cru (raw fish in fresh coconut milk), rice, breadfruit, fried plantain, goat in coconut sauce (goats are a problem in the Islands as they are in Hawaii), pork, coconut cake and star fruit juice. It was truly a feast.
Next day we got 2 stalks of bananas we really needed one and we are still flooded with bananas. The freezer is loaded with banana bread, frozen bananas and we even made banana jam. We also got 5 large papayas, 12 pamplemousse (pomelo) which are sweet as honey and 4 pricey small jars of local honey. And of course a load of French baguettes which are baked daily in town.
We decided to move on to the Tuamotus as the anchorage in Hiva Oa was not good and the water was really muddy due to the recent heavy rains there. And I was anxious to look for Adrienne, a lovely Puamotu lady that I met in the Takaroa Atoll 5 years ago. She has a small pearl farm and gave me a beautiful pearl necklace when we met then. So we left the majesty of the mountainous Marquesas to the low lying atolls of picturesque turquoise waters. Au revoir and Aloha to all.
Nos passamos poucos dias em Hiva Oa. Fomos la para fazer o check in e comprar frutas frescas. E mais importante e que eu queria ver um site arqueologico onde se encontram os maiores tikis da Polynesia Francesa. Alugamos um carro e nos aventuramos a ir a Puamau, no NE da ilha. Foram os mais longos 35km que eu fiz na vida. Algumas partes da estrada e tao inclinada que nao dar para ver o que tem pela frente. Com certeza foi a estrada mais estreita, inclinada e cheia de curvas que ja vi. Por muitos kilometros, passamos por bosques de enormes mangueiras, todas floridas, fazendo nos os amantes da manga sonhar como vai ser daqui a poucos meses. A paisagem e lindissima, mudando de florestas magnificentes a um terreno pedregroso e arido na beira de penhascos que caem no mar. Depois de 2 ½ horas chegamos a pequena vila Puamau onde visitamos o site. Valeu a pena sem duvida ter enfrentado aquela estrada. Poucas pessoas se aventuram a chegar la. O almoco, que reservamos com antecedencia no unico lugar que oferece acomodacoes para pernoite, foi delicioso. Comida tipica: poisson cru (peixe cru com leite de coco), rice, fruta pao, banana frita, cabra no leite de coco, porco, bolo de coco e suco de carambola.
No dia seguinte, recebemos 2 cachos de banana, na realidade so queriamos um, e ainda estamos inundados de bananas. O freezer esta cheio de pao de banana, banana congelada, e ja ate fiz geleia de banana. Nunca mais quero ver banana na minha vida. Compramos tambem 5 mamoes grandes, 12 pamplemousse ( e um citrico enorme, doce como mel), e 4 vidrinhos de mel de abelha local. E claro tivemos que comprar varios baguettes (pao frances) que e feito todos os dias.
Nos haviamos decidido de prosseguir para Takaroa no arquipelago Tumuatu. A ancoragem em Hiva Oa e ruim e a agua muito turva devido as chuvas recentes. E eu tambem estava anciosa para encontrar Adrienne, uma jovem de la que eu conheci a 5 anos atras quando la estive. Ela tem uma pequena producao de perolas negras e me deu um belissimo colar com perolas. Todos esses anos eu nao a esqueci. Assim nos deixamos as belissimas e montanhosas Ilhas Marquesas e fomos para os baixos atois de aguas turquesas. Au revoir e ate a proxima.