Still here enjoying Hiva Oa!
We are waiting on what? Yes, weather, again!
We are going to attempt a trip south to Fatu Hiva and then we will move on to Makemo or Fakarava in the Tuamotus.
Right now there is good weather, tomorrow, and when we check tomorrow, the good weather will arrive…tomorrow. We are fairly confident there will actually be fair enough wind to depart late tomorrow.
Until the good wind arrives we will sit here, enjoy the scenery and stuff ourselves on baguettes and cheese!
The island is mountainous and the Polynesian people are very very nice, so if you need a ride just stick out your thumb! Sometimes you don’t even need to stick out your thumb, they just stop. Nothing like a sunny day, fresh baguettes and a ride in the bed of a pick-up!
They have huge grapefruit called pamplemousse, super sweet and tart at the same time. Absolutely delicious and half is about all I can eat at once:
We rented a car and toured most of the island, mainly the north side:
The south side of the island is lush and green: 
The north side is quite dry and rocky but still beautiful:
Small villages dot the bays:
Roads cut into the mountains:
Tanya talking me away from the edge of the sheer drop off:
Some of the more rural roads are one way with a drop off of several hundred feet:
Another village in another bay. The entire island is kept up very well, no trash in sight anywhere. 
Every village and town has a church:
Lots of these coconut drying tables everywhere:
This was one of our favorite bays, calm clear water, small beach, nice village:
This is the road in/out of the village:
More scenery:
The lower altitudes are lush and green:
When you climb to a certain altitude the tropical foliage is replaced by pine forest, like back in Maine pine forest:
I don’t remember seeing these on the side of the road back in Maine, well not randomly placed by the side of the road…
Lots of beautiful flowers and fruit trees:
We drove to the very east end of the island to see these tikis. This was the site of a very important Marquisan Chief hundreds of years ago. If you had a bunch of tikis evidently you were somebody. The presentation was mostly in French with some poorly translated English:
Dea Latis:
About a dozen of us went to a local youth music and dance presentation at the Culture and Arts Pavilion one night, it was great:
We are enjoying our time here but are anxious to move on. Our plan is to depart tonight for Fatu Hiva and then on to the Tuamotus. Internet is challenging so we will update when we can…
