Our first view of the pine tree forests.

These are just two shots of the pine forests, they seem to go on forever, we did ask the locals about the forests and all they said was the wood rotted in one year, not good for fencing, homes etc.  You can see from the map that most of the island is just plantations, farmland and desert,  we did wonder as we travelled around where the cows and horses got their water, but they seem to be in good condition so they must bring water in their trucks to the animals

 grazing along the roads.  This island does have water so they have a very big advantage over the other islands.

Once again, lots of horses, we still don’t know what they are used for.

We never saw them riding them.

Below is a unique fence decorated with goat heads?  Goats are at a premium so they are sacrificed and eaten daily as they are in abundance.

I think everyone should have a skull fence.

The Pineapple Lady

This is the airport, where everyone is welcome…

We really needed to go to the bathroom so we travelled down the dirt road to the airport because we knew there would be bathrooms…this is the year of the drought, bathrooms closed.  Get out the Kleenex.

This young lady is drilling holes in the beads to make jewelry.  We are always struck by the beauty of the Marquesans, they are very friendly and helpful, even though our grade three French is confusing to them.  The Polynesians are very content with their lives…simple.  We see this over and over, the most positive view we have of the Pacific Islands is that the children are very content with the toys they have in front of them…the ocean, palm trees to climb, bikes that are too big for them without pedals, crabs to taunt, and chatting up the yachties that visit their islands and atolls.  They don’t whine and cry unless hurt, we have not seen a tantrum, hissy fit nor anything that we see back home.  The kids are very happy with what they don’t have and take advantage of their surroundings to ensure they have a really good day.  There are very few toys – no computers as no wifi.  When the children are not in school, they are fishing, playing just being kids but very different from kids in North America.  They are able to entertain themselves and also play out doors all day.