Main port of Entry and lots of local facilities - airports - resorts - etc
1st Day, Taiohae, from east to west
Petit Quai dinghy dock (pronounced “per-TEET KAY”), in order of appearance:
Chez Henri (Henry speaks English and can help solve most any problem the Marquesan way) (meals $8-$10): Internet WiFI with food purchase, mostly Marquesan menu, including the classic Marquesan poisson cru (lime-marinated fresh fish in fresh squeezed coconut milk), fresh squeezed fruit juices or citronade (lime-ade), and bananas you pull off one of the bunches hanging along the tent’s edge to eat with your meal (just as Californians eat tortilla chips with Mexican food). For dessert: gateau beurre (butter cake), ice cream, or firi-firi (French Polynesian donut). No alcohol served (BYOB from Kamake, see below).
Boutique selling nice shirts, skirts, caps, and Hinano stickers.
Dive store, filling tanks and taking you out, but no classes.
Yacht Services Nuku Hiva, Kevin can help you check in and/or with boat problems (the American way). He sells Marquesan courtesy flags, souvenirs, and houses one of the island’s premiere tattoo artists: Moana. YSNH can also set you up with one of their many island tours. Laundry and WiFi are just some of the services he offers.
Trash and oil dump.
Fresh fruits and vegetable stand, daily 6am-3pm except Sundays. (4 a.m. Saturday if you want tomatoes!!!)
Chez Celina, in the market place at the end of the quay, serves local dishes, ($6-$10), cold beer, and Wi-Fi with a purchase. Serves standard Marquesan fare as well as Marquesan dishes with international spiced variations
Quay restrooms are now payable ($1, or free when you eat at Celina’s), but not yet well maintained. We “lobbied” to improve this circumstances, asking that they have toilet seats, doors, toilet paper, soap and drying towels. Would also like to see the showers working too. There’s a place to hand wash clothes behind the building near the toilets. During rains, the non-potable water is brown with sediment and stains clothes. Currently no potable tap water in Taiohae, except one of the three free filtered water stations. None close to the quai.
Communal artisan center, more active when a cruise ship passes through. If you see something you like, buy it. It might not be there tomorrow. When larger cruise ships pull into port, Ua Pou arrives to sell inexpensive black pearls.
Tourist office, with maps and information about the Marquesas. Speak English. Can set you up with tours: Richard Dean and Jocylene speak English. Average tour cost $65 pp plus lunch. Tourist office has the best public restrooms on Nuku Hiva!!!!
Saturday morning flea market (marche de puce), 5-6:30am, fresh seafood and prepared foods. Tuna, wahoo, etc. $5/kilo. Live lobster, $15/kilo (out of season Feb-April).
Magasin Kamake and Magasin Larsson Stores.
Taiohae has 5 general stores and 2 hardware stores. Larssons, next to Kamake sells higher-end items like curries, coconut oil, etc. The store furthest away, past the pharmacy, is open 7 days a week. The one behind the bank, across from the stadium field, is open during lunch, Monday-Sat.
Cold anything, including soft drinks, beer ($2.50-$3/can), wine, chocolate, meats, cheese, and ice cream
Fresh baked baguette bread ($0.70) and pastries daily except Sundays and holidays. Kamake open 5:30-11:30am Mon-Sat, 2-6:30pm Mon-Fri, Larsson’s opens later.
Fresh vegetables and inexpensive casse-croute (sandwiches) sold in front of Kamake until 11:30am.
These stores offer free truck rides to the Petit Quai if you have a heavy or large purchase, but you have to ask.
Kou’eva - Inland ceremonial grounds, restored for traditional cultural festivals. Turn right up the center street, between Magasin Kamake and Magasin Larsson. Walk about a mile up, super small sign on the right side of street marks right turn toward Taiohae’s reconstructed ceremonial grounds. It’s further than you think and not evident which way to turn . . . ask.
Walking back to the seafront. As you descend, Chez Bigo hardware store is to your right, just before the bus stop, across the small bridge. They serve cold drinks and packaged snacks like candy bars.
Moana Nui Restaurant, Pension, and Car Rental - More European than Marquesan menu ($12-$30). Great steak. Serves French-style pizza, beer and wine and mixed drinks. More expensive than Petit Quai “Snack” cafes, less expensive than Pearl Lodge.
Cathedral Taiohae - Ask permission to enter building. Strict protocols. Rose Corsair, on the westside of the bay, sells a guidebook for Nuku Hiva that includes descriptions of elements within the cathedral. Beautiful woodcarvings inside and out.
Sunday mass begins with meditative chants at 7am, regular mass at 8am, ends 9-9:30am.
Look for the Marquesan version of the Christian cross (previously Marquesan symbol for southern cross, I think). Butted together, the Marquesan cross looks like a pattern of men.
Tohua Temehea - Seaside ceremonial grounds, built for traditional cultural festivals since 1989. Read the informational sign on-site (in French and English) for details
Melville Monument - Tucked in on the shore side, neighbouring the western cemetery.
Wonderfully carved tree stump with weathered roof top and missing elements, shows the path he hiked out of Taiohae and over to Taipi Vai. This is where Melville reportedly jumped ship and headed for the hills.
Joel’s Bella Pizza
Great pizza, ($12.50-$18; $3 delivery to Petit Quai), a less expensive alternative to Moana Nui Restaurant’s pizza. The “Indian” and “Petit Quai” are our favorites. Better than the pizza are the desserts, tiramisu and cheesecake ($4, large slices)
Restaurant and Marquesas Museum at Chez Rose’s (American cruiser, arrived in 1972, moved here in 1977.) Far west side of bay. Never know when it’s open. Knock. Great exhibit. Sells a great Nuku Hiva guidebook in multiple languages. Restaurant serves an excellent hamburger.
A more casual Friday night happy hour than Pearl Lodge, Kevin sometimes sets up a taxi from his YSNH shop to transport cruisers to and fro.
Free WiFi, password free (some anchor their boats at this side of the bay to closer to her wifi).
Pearl Lodge - Nuku Hiva’s gorgeous (expensive) bar, restaurant ($18-$40), hotel ($225/night). Very nice! Beautiful view of Taiohae Bay. Friday evening Happy Hour, half off beautiful $14 cocktails (or as I see it, two for the price of one!)
Swimming
Remember in the Marquesas, beach equals no-no’s. They breed in the sand between fresh and seawater. Usually, the whiter the sand, it seems, the greater the no-no’s.
Kouvea beach to the east, in front of the French Administrator’s residence
Beach to the west, in front of Rose’s place, but more no-no’s than Kouvea
Colette’s Bay, see “Hikes” below.
