Another island....Nuku Hiva

Dear Family and Friends,

At our next stop, Chuck decided to take a little hike up to the cross.  I gave him the camera and told him that I would decline, as it was very, very hot and as you can see it was quite a hike up the side of the hill.

On the way back down he stopped for a brew and took this artsy picture of the boat.

Later we met up for lunch and were entertained by the locals.

This little girl is just learning to dance right by her mother's side.

 

The out croppings on the island were beautiful.  

Especially so in the light of the setting sun.

Once again, we enjoyed a beautiful French Polynesian sunset.

Love,
Nancy

FOTO FRIDAY - 4/12/13

Dear Family and Friends,

This photo was taken in Japan in 2005.  It is new growth on a Cherry Tree.

Always reassuring to see a reminder that life is renewed.

Love,
Nancy

Marquesas Islands at last

Dear Family and Friends,

This is the first cruise we have ever had all the shore excursions included as part of the cruise.  When we arrived at the first island there were about 40 4X4's waiting to take us on an adventure trip of the island.  This is the most populated of the Marquesas islands with a population of approximately 2,000 for the whole island.

Here's the man!

We toured to the top of the island and had wonderful views of the bay.

A couple we all know and love.

Ancient sacred grounds....

Entertainment under the sacred Banyan tree.

Our English speaking tour guide.  We were divided up into three language groups, French, German and English.  Our group was the smallest which worked well for us....only about 30 people.

500 year old carved tiki.

Massive stone outcropping.

While we were being entertained, the cargo portion of the trip was delivering and receiving cargo.

Here is a tender boat coming to shore to start taking us back aboard.

Other than cargo, the boat also collected passengers along the way.

That evening we were treated to another incredible sunset.

Love,
Nancy

Blue Lagoon at first stop.....Fakarava

Dear Family and Friends,

It took us almost 40 hours to reach the Marquesas islands.  We stopped half way there to visit the island of Fakarava.  Actually it is hardly an island....it is just an enormous circular coral reef with a huge blue lagoon in the center.

As you can see the water is shallow and clear....beautiful blue waters.

Some boat passengers swimming in the lagoon.

 

 Since it was a Sunday, this island was pretty quiet.  We walked around, looking at arts and crafts that some of the locals were selling near the pier.

Our first night we treated to a the first of many beautiful skies at sunset.

Smiles,
Nancy

Aranui 3, cargo and passenger ship in French Polynesia

Dear Family and Friends,

Chuck and I spent two weeks on the Aranui 3, a passenger/cargo ship.  We sailed from the island of Tahiti to each of the Marquesas islands.  The ship supplies these remote islands with cargo once every three weeks.  For many of these islands, the ship is the only way they get supplies on and off the island.  While the cargo portion of the ship was supplying the people of the island, the passenger portion was enjoying preplanned shore excursions.

We had about 150 passengers.  Most of the passengers were French.  Many were German.  There were only 16 passengers from the U.S. and that included Chuck and I who actually live in Ecuador.  Other English speakers were from Britain, Australia and Canada.

The shore excursions were divided into language groups with a guide for each.  Ours was, of course, the smallest group and this was great for us.

Over the next few posts I will share pictures of our adventure.

When we first boarded the ship we were entertained by these drummers and dancers.

The passenger portion of the ship is not like the luxury liners most people sail on.  It was comfortable, but not luxury despite the fact that this is the most expensive cruise we have ever taken.

Here are some pictures of the passenger side of the ship.

This is the lounge area of the ship.  This is where we gathered to in the late afternoons to hear about what was planned for the next day.  We also had documentary movies and special informative talks about the history of sailing in the Marquesas islands.

Fresh coffee and tea was always available and other non alcoholic beverages at this bar.

Here are the boys behind the very, very busy real bar where they made many different cocktails and sold lots of beer.

We had a swimming pool on board.

and plenty of sitting out on the deck space.

We had one large dinning room with no assigned seating.  Our meals, a set menu, were delicious and always included all the wine you wanted.

So much for the ship, in future posts I will share about our adventures.

Love,
Nancy