"Hiva Oa" Hiva Oa by drmjalba

Hiva Oa is the second largest island from the 12 islands of the Marchesas archipelago, after Nuku Hiva. The most northern island group in French Polynesia, (nearly a thousand miles from Tahiti), The Marquesas Islands are also called "Te Henua Enata" (Land of Men). The islands are divided into two groups, North and South. Only six islands are inhabited, with a total population of 6,000.

Hiva Oa is the biggest from the South group. It has an area of 318 square kilometers. Human settlement remains very discreet under the large tropical trees. The 2000 inhabitants live in only six of the island's forty valleys..

The Atuona Aeroport under Tropical Rain

I arrived on the Atuona aeroport on May 28,2006 at 9:15 am local time.
The official Marquesan hour is 30 minutes late compared to the Tahiti's.

Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette, self defined as "a living tiki" was in the aeroport, together with Henri Bernard, her husband. She has a guest house in the village of Puamau, near an archaeological site, and she is recommended on the web site of the company Air Tahiti Nui, for her traditional Marquesan food and the attention she pays to her guests, discussing with them in the afternoon, like in a family. She speaks her native language and French. However, this time she was sick and she took the plane to go to the capital.

She brought Etienne (indigenous name: Paktika) with her at the airport, a man from Puamau who owned a car, to give me a ride and to be my tourist guide on this island during my stay.