09:48.22S 139:01.88W at anchor Atuona Port, Hiva-Oa
We arrived in the Marquesas yesterday morning and we given flower leis on the dockside. Hiva-Oa is not disappointing. There are towering green mountains with clouds around their summits; tropical flowers everywhere and very few signs of tourism.
Yesterday we stretched our legs and paid respects at the grave of Paul Gauguin and Heike got us all pareos to wear so we could go native in suitable style.
We rented a 4WD jeep today and bounced all over the island along scrapings on the sides of the near-vertical mountains that they laughably call roads. Fantastic scenery and nice black sand beaches but we were mainly on a hunt for 'tiki' archaeological sites. We found one on the northwest coast with the help of our very own 'tiki' - the handheld GPS.
The forest is just stuffed with fruiting and flowering trees. Everything tropical you can think of and many unrecognisable things. We collected a bagful of mangos straight off a tree on the way back.
We are aiming to leave for the Tuamotu islands tomorrow if our laundry comes back in time.