2023    Fatu Hiva

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	We made landfall in Fatu Hiva, the most Easterly of the Marquesas Islands.  It is not an official port of entry, but landing for a while before going to the first official port is common practice and is tolerated by the local officials.
Our anchorage	First surprise when we went for a swim was the productivity of the Pacific waters.  This type of growth occurs on most boats making this passage.
	We attended Easter service.  It was conducted in a 50/50 mixture of Marquesian and French.  Another sailor who was there 15 years ago said that services were entirely in French at that time.  This is one of many signs we saw of the resurgence in Marquesian culture, which had been largely extinguished when the population was decimated by disease and the missionaries brought in by colonisation.
	The locals make some of their living by carving/sculpting tikis and other traditional objects ranging from pocket size to substantial statures in wood and in stone.  These back-to-back tikis are about 3 metres high. Some ancent, weathered,  tikis are still standing, although the missionaries had many destroyed.
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