(expensive) civilisation
Ripple2
Thu 6 Jul 2006 07:30
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Well after all our time at sea and week or so in
the smaller more remote islands of the Marqueseas we are now in the "big "
island of Nuku Hiva.
It is still small, but there are supply ships and
an airport and a hospital and a bank and one or two RESTAURANTS!!!!! The day
after we arrived we ate a couple of portions of tomato and lettuce!!! Wow! In a
ceaser salad no less. Tonight we had wood fired pizza And we used money for the
first time since the Galapagos at the very beginning of June. And you need a lot
of money here. A beer is US$3.50 a can in the shop and US$6 in the restaurant.
US$10 for a large cabbage and US$5 for a dozen eggs. But at least you can get
these things. And the money itself is colourful and pretty. It almost seems a
shame to give it away.
We still have a language problem but amble around
town and make do. Actually the people in the bank and the police and the post
office and anything other than a very small stall or shop speak English so it's
not at all too bad. Speaking of the bank and post office, around the walls they
have benches. Polynesians apparently don't STAND in queues (or anywhere else for
that matter), they sit even if there are only 2 people in front of you. And the
buildings are air-conditioned.
We saw a lot of wooden sculptures of great detail
and beauty for sale. War clubs, walking sticks and various tools and weapons,
some with stone or shell pieces attached. I was very impressed by the
workmanship but I will not be bringing any home as they are expensive. Town has
a laid back feel (but any amount of vehicle traffic seems a lot when you have
seen none for months) and horses can be seen on the street with the 4WD
vehicles.
We are going on an island tour in a couple of days
so there will be a blog and hopefully pictures.
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