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Air Power - Mar 16



We been on the Island of Hiva Oa, Marquesas since Tuesday morning. There is one small town call Atuona which makes up the hub of this island. There are several small grocery stores whose stock is dependent upon the last supply ship. One came in yesterday, and most of the stores seemed well stocked. During the weekdays, everything seems to close between 11:00 & 2:00 pm. Except the few places to eat. Then at 2:00, then close until the next day, or maybe open for dinner at 6:00 pm. So, don't expect to sit down and drink some wine in the afternoon, unless you brought it yourself. There is a museum dedicated to Paul Gauguin and his burial site up on the hill. If you don't who he was, he was a starving artist who painted tropical island living. He died in 1903.

We went on a fantastic tour yesterday with an island guide, Pifa O'Connor. He is more than just an island guide. He is also a fireman, rescue specialist and part time social worker. His great grandfather came over as a 12 year old from Ireland and now the O'Connor clan makes up a sizeable portion of the approximately 2000 inhabitants on the island. Pifa takes his history and culture very seriously. With folks like him, their future is in good hands. The primary focus of the tour was visiting some of the Tiki sites. They all primarily sit on private property. It's good to have one of the heirs of the landlord as your guide. Hiva Oa boasts not only the only smiling Tiki in French Polynesia, but also the largest. It's hard to tell exactly how tall it was, because, thanks to some well meaning christian missionaries back in the 1800s, there was plenty of defacing and destruction of these historical artifacts. And we thought the Taliban invented meanness and stupidity.

We met up with Pifa's brother Brian, and their cousin Henry (with their tour groups) for lunch. Besides a fantastic meal of Marquesean delicacies, the three of them pulled out their Ukuleles and played for us. Not the "Tiny Tim" from the 70's TV show Laugh In, plinking away for laughs, but deep emotional ensembles. Pretty moving, pretty memorable.

Dave & Jill


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