Rapturous!

If you're ever offered a guided island tour, take up the offer. Our tour of Hiva Oa was worth every considerable penny. Our guide was a local who considered his job as much letting us know about himself, and by extension locals like him as showing us the sights and recounting the history. It was a whole day of improbable stories that were most likely true and rugged, precipitous landscape that matched his superhero stories. One story is too good not to share. Our guide introduced himself as Bligh, named after, of course, Captain Bligh from Mutiny on the Bounty. He told us that he earned this name as an infant. His father brought him and his mother home from the hospital three days after his birth in an outrigger canoe because there were no passable roads at this time to his tiny family holding. As they pulled up on the beach, the baby was propped up in the bow, almost vertical and someone said, "Ha, he looks like the captain!" The only captain anyone knew was Capt'n Bligh and so he won his name. His actual name is even more improbable. This Marquesian hunk of a man is named Brian O'Conner. His great grandfather was an Irishman from New Caledonia and the O'Conner name has been retained in the family. His mother had 19 children and he is the only one with a single Anglo first name. Most Marquesians have multiple first names. He blames his name for denying him a scholarship to study nursing because he wasn't 'native' enough. Three days later, we went across to the neighboring island called Tahuata. In the town of Vaitahu we met Jimmy, the owner of a cafe called Chez Jimmy. Jimmy is the provider of fresh fruit and wifi with a healthy spice of stories. Now, his mother had 20 children and her sister holds the Marquesan record for the most number of children at 25. Between the two of them , they have over 100 descendants. I recently read a novel (Happiness by Aminatta Forna) that elucidates the theory that when a population is decimated, the birthrate explodes. When Europeans arrived in the Marquesas 80% of the population died of disease and conflict. Seems to me another example of an excellent theory. Coming ashore in Vaitahu is fraught. The dinghy tie-up is against a concrete wharf unprotected from the ocean swells. The dinghy can take quite a beating so it is advised to drop a stern anchor to hold the dinghy off the wall. Unfortunately, the knot holding the anchor came loose and we lost our anchor in about 20 feet of water. At the same time, while dealing with the rope tying the bow to the wall, I knocked my prescription sunglasses into the sea. It was not a good day but the following evening, I noticed the village kids having great fun diving off the wharf. We quickly fired up the dinghy with snorkel gear in hand and went to join them. While Greg dived for his anchor I lent the kids our goggles and asked them to look for my sunglasses. Of course, they didn't find them but they were delighted to be able to use the goggles. Greg, however, did find his anchor and there was much rejoicing. The kids ranged from young teenagers to as young as about 7 years old and not a parent in sight. It was so fun watching uninhibited, strong, young children playing and laughing totally comfortable in this turbulent environment. Bligh has explained to us that in Marquesas, the children are taught early to be able to take care of themselves. It shows. These youngsters are very competent, including being able to go joy riding in a dinghy if you leave it unsecured.