Really, really annoyed! Making a pit stop on our hike to a 1,000-foot waterfall in Daniel’s Bay, Hiva Oa, Harriet and I were enjoying lunch thanks to our new Marquesan friends, Teiki and his wife, Kua. Grilled fresh tuna, just-plucked fruit and veggies, yummy smoothies, their picnic-bench café is lovely, a sunny wonder in the rainforest. It seemed like we’d happened upon the real Marquesas. But Teiki was really annoyed, and I didn’t understand why.
Teiki! Your trees are full of mango, papaya, breadfruit, bananas, oranges, lemons, avocados, pamplemousse. Your land is rich with taro, sweet potato, onion, peppers. The air you breathe is sweet with tiare blossoms. Your home has open-air walls and a tin roof, and a solar-powered, government-subsidized freezer, refrigerator, TV, and stereo. Everything is picture-postcard Paradise.…
