Pitufa.at

We’re still in Nuku Hiva, waiting for the cyclone season to cool down. The latest predictions suggest that another cluster of cyclones will hit the South Pacific mid February and we hope to leave the Marquesas after that to spend the rest of the season in the Gambier.
In the meantime we’ve settled in in the bay of Hakahaa off the friendly village Taipivai. This village got famous in the 19th century, because the writer Herman Melville deserted his ship here, lived among the locals for a while and wrote a book called ‘Typee’ about his experiences. Despite the friendliness of his hosts he lived in constant fear, as they had a reputation for being fierce warriors and cannibals. It seems he suspected them of just fattening him up for a feast with him as the main course at some point, but nothing ever happened
At high tide you can take the dinghy up the river directly to the village, so we docked there and walked into a minimarket (the middle one of the 3, Simon’s the owner) with just a short list of groceries to buy, asked whether they knew where we’d be able to find internet, were offered a table in the rear of the shop to use their internet connection and left with a big box of avocados, mangos and pamplemousse and a stack bananas–everything for free. If we were as paranoid as Melville, we could have gotten similar fears The hospitality of the Marquesan people keeps amazing us.