Still enjoying Nuku Hiva

Monday 7th April

We are now on the north side of Nuku Hiva. We'll stay here for the night and then leave around 10 am back to base on the south side to fuel up. We received the duty-free permit for fuel too late this morning to do anything with it.

The journey here around the eastern corners of the island took about 4 hours of motoring, no sails up this time. All along the southern 1/2 of the east coast we had large & smaller dolphins playing, including one who kept doing 2 metre leaps clear of the water. He was having fun! We were rolling and banging along , not so much fun. This bay we are in is the same one that we drove to yesterday in the Mitsubishi. This way is more spectacular by far. Dinner this evening is in Yvonne's restaurant, very famous apparently (not for the prices I hope). Taiohae Bay had become quite rolly with a south eastern swell coming into the bay.

As we came into the bay here I pointed out to Val the extension to 2 Rock & 3 Rock, there is a hill that ends in 4 jagged, vertical peaks. The whole bay is surrounded by very vertical hills and overlooked by a 800 metre high hill that falls straight down to a narrow beach area. This is where the village is situated. On top of one of the other jagged vertical hills over the village is a white painted statue of the Virgin Mary. How the people got it up there I don't know. It's approx. 250 metres up a vertical wall.

After fuelling tomorrow it's off to Rangiroa in the Tuamotus and my personal nightmare - coral reefs