Nuku Hiva here we come...

Lat; 8 deg 59' Long; 140 deg 02' 09.30 local time June 6 2006

I'm listening to radio Meitai (101,3 MHz). Really nice modern Polynesian music. We are five nm from Taiohae bay Nuku Hiva. The observant reader may raise an eyebrow and think - wasn't it Ua Pou?? And yes, it was until we passed Ua pou in the middle of the night. Strong winds again, and reducing sail didn't help much. Maiken can only be slowed down so much! So we take Ua Pou on the way to Rangiroa in a week or so. The schedule isn't that tight. It was quite rolly last night due to huge swells. And we had a free passenger with us. When Fredrik were going to sleep he discovered a 10 cm long centipede on the bed. Company we most likely attracted during our "jungle expedition". I guess it hitchhiked in my backpack. Nuku Hiva is the largest of the Marquesian islands and Taiohae is the main village with approximately 1700 inhabitants making the largest village in The Marqueses so it makes sense to pay a visit. Taiohae bay, guarded by two sentinel rocks, is a large volcanic crater that opens to the south. Mt Tekao 1224 meters is surrounded by clouds today. Nuku Hiva also have a spectacular waterfall, the Akuii with it's 350 m fall height. Definitely a possible goal for a hike. Hopefully we'll find reasonably fast internet in Taiohae so we can upload some pictures.

Take care out there!

H�kan

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