Inland from Hanavave

One cool activity we did while in the bay of Hanavave was a hike up the mountain to reach a waterfall:

We did this hike together with our friends from sv Enough. Here we are, walking up the village towards the mountain’s footsteps:

The Marquesas are very lush islands:

And as we kept our hike along the village …

… the kids’ attention turned to the greenery around them:

We eventually left the paved road and followed a path into the forest:

Things were even greener now:

The path was sinuous into the woods:

But well marked all along the way by these cairns:

And we soon made it to the waterfall:

Now, none of us were expecting it to be this high, and beautiful !

The kids quickly got on swimming mode and jumped in the small lagoon that forms under the waterfall:

However, as Adriana and I were going in the water, we saw some stuff crawling at the bottom. Crayfish.

Not much after that we saw a big eel – not captured on photos. And not too much after this, an eel bit Raquel’s left foot. We thought she would call it the day, but instead kept on playing with the kids who, by now, were all keeping a safe distance from the water:

We eventually packed up and left. On the way back, Geoff (sv Enough) checked this beautiful native tree:

While Raquel used this large leaf for sunshade:

And I tried a rather direct approach to check if these things were some type of pepper (it wasn’t a successful trial though):

We headed back to our floating homes, again crossing the quaint little village of Hanavave, and accomplishing a very cool day !