Arrived in Hiva Oa Sat 24 March just in time for the welcome dance and fruit buffet which was excellent. Local dancers dressed in colorourful costume entertained us and invited Peter to join in with several other crews! Whilst staying in Hiva Oa we discovered a very good Hotel the Hanakee Pearl Lodge which has fantastic views from the top of the hill and from their infinity pool which we had to take advantage of before a very good dinner shared with Phil & Andrea (Anastasia). Stayed in Hiva Oa to welcome Caroline & David (Peat Smoke) when they eventually made it in to the anchorage around 4pm on Friday afternoon to a fanfare of fog horns!! We whisked them away to the Hanakee Pearl Lodge and a sumptious dinner was enjoyed by Pete & Jane (Trompeta) Phil & Andrea (Anastasia) Jonathan & Heather (Matilda) Mark & Janet (At Last) and of course Caroline & David (Peat Smoke) who were joined by their friends Robin & Kathy who had been awaiting their arrival and were staying on island.
So Saturday morning saw us preparing to depart to Nuka Hiva the largest of the Marquesas islands and around 100 miles away so we left after a light lunch to sail overnight and arrived very early on Sunday morning and in fact it was a bit too early as daylight had not broken so we slowed the boat down by reducing sail and eventuallu made our way in to set anchor. Like Hiva Oa the recommendation is to lay a stern anchor so this was what we did to secure Trompeta just in front of Glamourous Galah . Went off exploring and discovered there is another Pearl Lodge here - yipee!! So guess where we had dinner last night? The Hotel Keikahanui Pearl Lodge laid an excellent spread on for us and we were joined for dinner by Corinne & Lew and daughters Kathryn & Audrey from Brizo along with their crew Hubs and Diane. A few of us decided to take a swim before dinner which was lovely and the view from the pool over the anchorage is amazing. What was also amazing is we were the only people having dinner! So today it is more island exploring although this time shops will be open - everything closes on Sundays.