As Marquesan people like to share their culture with all visitors, they invited guests from National Geographic Orion to join them. The most famous Marquesan dance is the “pig dance.” The men imitate the grunting of this animal and simulate daily activities such as making copra, taking a shower, or fishing in a canoe. As in the old days, a group of young Marquesan men and women entertained guests with songs and dances. After this archaeological exploration, we all walked down to Hikokua, an ancient festival place in the valley. Besides human figures and faces, many boulders show animals like dogs, fish, and turtles. Archaeologists studied these rock engravings over many years. Hatiheu also has the best known petroglyph boulders in the Marquesas Islands. A gigantic banyan tree protects the most sacred area, the me’ae I’ipoka. Numerous paepae, stone platforms for house foundations, and tohua, ceremonial sites, are found throughout the valley. Hibiscus flowers in many different shapes and colors ornament the street. En route, they passed through the lovely village. What a fantastic sight! The second group of guests, the hikers, enjoyed a walk up to the archaeological site of Kamuihei. And there they spotted not one, not two, but eight imperial pigeons sitting in one single tree. They were looking for the endemic Upe, one of the biggest pigeons in the world. All-terrain vehicles waited on the pier to take the first group, the “birders,” high up in the valley. From far away, our guests could hear the traditional welcome song, “Mave mai”. Once we approached the island, the impressive landscape of Nuku Hiva overwhelmed every single person onboard: steep cliffs rose out of the ocean, and spectacular rock formations towered over the tiny village of Hatiheu. Tropicbirds and petrels soared through the sky, and flying fish jumped out of the water to escape their predators. In the meantime, guests enjoyed time on Deck 6 looking for wildlife. Winds and swells delayed our arrival in Nuku Hiva. We had to be very patient today to catch our first glimpse of the Marquesas Islands. National Geographic Orion Hatiheu, Nuku Hiva So it’s quiet on board this evening as we all head to bed to rest up for whatever tomorrow has in store. Before recap, undersea specialist James Hyde gave us a condensed history of the natural world-starting with the big bang! Tomorrow will be a busy day for us as we transit to some islands we have never visited before. At tea time, the hotel team put out 13 different sweet treats, not to mention the sandwiches and fruit. We began with a presentation by our guest speaker Tom Ritchie about the most useful plants in Polynesia. The swimmers launched from the snorkel platform into crystal water where they poked around the coral heads and grew even more comfortable swimming with reef sharks. The hike ashore was full of birds and plants to observe and photograph. The rest of us split into two groups: the hikers and the swimmers. On their way back to the ship they even found some manta rays and jumped in the water to snorkel with them. They enjoyed a healthy coral reef, some sharks, and large fish. With winds and currents to contend with, our divers found a beautiful site to spend some time underwater. The water here is some of the clearest our staff have ever seen in this region. This morning we arrived at Tahanea, a small island with no permanent population. National Geographic Resolution Tahanea Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago, French PolynesiaĮntering the pass of an atoll in French Polynesia is always a beautiful way to start the day.
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