It was nice to see land, Atuona, Hiva Oa – The Marquises Islands, in morning light. It was very mountainous and green. One view looked like English countryside and another view looked like Kauai, a Hawaiian Island.
Weather you spell it Marquises or Marquesas it is correct. Some of you may have noticed the Marquises spelling in my first posts and Marquesas spelling in more recent posts. Those that know me well know that I am notorious for poor spelling. You probably thought I discovered a misspelling and tried to cover it up. Now how could you think that of me? The Marquises is the French spelling and Marquesas is the American spelling; that is my story and I am sticking to it.
We had a quick breakfast and launched the dinghy to go ashore and check in at the Gendarmerie. In maps in the guide book it was a short walk from the anchorage. Getting into the dinghy one foot on Bella Donna and one in the dinghy, being bounced by the surge in this bay, was acrobatic. I scored a 4; well, I did make it dry. Getting out of the dinghy on shore was not easy either. The surge moves the dinghy in and bumps, then out leaving you with a split decision. I did score better than on of the French whose split decision left him with half his body in the bay hanging on a mooring line.
On shore it felt so good to just walk for the first time in over 2 weeks. We stop at the French Army Garrison thinking it is the Gendarmerie. John and a French soldier speak Franglase to each other to get directions. Seems the Gendarmerie is a white building down the road on the right. A short distance further on, there are Marquesan men on the side of the road looking out on Bella Donna. The men look Hawaiian. As we are taking pictures, I ask if I may take theirs. A very large man with a Hawaiian shirt and Hawaiian looking flower lay around his neck says, "sure". As he is preparing, holding in his tummy and adjusting his shirt, I take the photo. As I thank them and walk away the big man is ready and says "Hey, you already take picture"?
After a greater than 2 mile walk into the village of Atuona we find the Gendarmerie. When it is our turn, we learn we need to post bond, money they keep until you leave, to pay for your ticket home in case they want to force you to leave, so on to another line at the bank. Half a dozen signatures and several thousand dollars lighter later we are told to come back after the 2 hour lunch break for our fully prepared papers at 1:30. On the way out I notice the bank opens at 7:30AM; they start early here. With a couple of hours to kill we have lunch, but we shop until the lunch place opens at 11AM and the guide book's pick, Snack Make Make, is closed today, maybe permanently. We manage a long lunch which is easy; the French do not present your check until you ask. The bank opens a few minutes late and there is already a line. Not bad, we get our papers pretty quick.
Don and I go to Tahiti Air to buy our tickets, but they are not open. After asking, we discover they have moved. Finally there, another line to wait in, the tickets are relatively easy to get. The limit on all checked and carry on luggage is 20 KG per person. We may have to leave more than we would normally have.
John comes in just we finish; he has our visas; he was able to get them without our attendance. We head for the Gendarmerie to finish the process, but alas they are locking the door; they close at 2:30PM, come back tomorrow please. The long walk home was not welcomed with the same level of enthusiasm as the walk to Atuona his morning.
We get to bed relatively early. Remember Nicky Noodles are underware.
God Bless Bella Donna.
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