Nuku Hiva Welcome

ANGEL
David & Valerie Allen
Wed 5 May 2010 02:20
08:55.09  S    140:05.99 W

Sunday, April 18,2010

Today was a day of festivities!  In the morning the local people invited us to a welcome party on the Petit Quai.  There were speeches of welcome and appreciation for the Blue Water Rally oraganization for bringing everyone to Nuku Hiva every other year.  We were given leafy necklaces (aka leis in Hawaii).   (This is the dry season and there are not enough flowers for floral ones!)  We celebrated with drumming and dancing.  All the women were given bags of woven palm fronds.  The children received hats.  The serving dishes (also woven from palm fronds) were also distributed after the festivities.  The spread of local fruits was delicious!  Everyone had a wonderful time.


Fabulous Marquesan drums!


Marquesan dancing- performed only by the men- is amazing.  It is highly energetic and tells a good story.

In the evening, we all made our way over to Rose Corser's for a traditional hima'a or pig roast.  This is similar to the Hawaian luau.  The two pigs were put into the coals of the fire around noon, then covered with palm leaves and a tarpaulin.  We watched the chefs uncover them just before the feast.

After the tarp was removed, the chefs had to remove several layers of palm leaves.



Removing the crate holding our dinner from the pit.


After a wonderful dinner of pork, fish, salad, fried plantain and sweet bananas, we were once again treated to a display of dancing and singing.  The performance concluded with a spell of audience participation......



Another great day!!!!!