Nuku Hiva is the main island of the Marquesas and has been Frenchified to within an inch of its life

Of course so have a lot of the villages on other islands but I realise I am tending to use pictures of the more traditional places

So here is the true picture of the Marquesas. Everyone seems to own late model trucks and 4x4s and when we asked why there was no car mechanic in the town, were told, maybe in jest, that they just got a new car if it broke down

A traditional house but with the obligatory vehicle and here there is only half a mile of track between the beach where it must have been landed and impassable cliffs!

Le Téléphone. Solar powered and satellite linked

Back to the more usual views- bananas in a garden with a lovely backdrop of cliffs

The start of a walk up to a waterfall

We thought it must be a very large waterfall as the river crossings got quite interesting as we went up

In fact we crossed a watershed as we climbed higher. Most of the water was coming from a different source and our waterfall was just a trickle. Apparently it is 2,000ft high though which is quite impressive

What made it worth the walk was that if you swam under the rock fall at the foot you emerged into a different pool and could swim right round into the huge fissure where the water actually fell

This was Foss swimming back out but Erik is so chilled by his swim that the camera is shivering in sympathy

A very eroded tiki beside the 

very eroded old road

Back in the main harbour we found an agricultural show in progress. 
Bet you didn't know there were this many sorts of banana.

The show included a build-a-canoe competition, not using traditional tools or even it seems, modern health and safety practices 

This guy looks the part and is using an adze now the main shaping is finished

Final touches before the final proving in the water

Laurie Taylor, single-hander on Suli, visiting with new tattoo and Argentinean tea

Oh well, back to the boat and the constant hull cleaning. Foss' turn this time

Now our new auto helm has arrived in Tahiti we should get it soon and so we are almost ready to leave with just a visit to the dentist if we can arrange it and then off to

THE TUAMOTO ISLANDS