Hatiheu Bay, on the northern coast, was a favorite of the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson. At the top of one of the green peaks bordering the bay is a statue of the Virgin Mary (984 ft) above the sea. In the valley is the Naniuhi "tahua", a meeting place for the pre-Christian Marquesans, including a dance platform, ceremonial stones and petroglyphs carved in boulders. Taipivai Valley is one of the largest and most fertile valleys in Nuku Hiva. It has numerous waterfalls, a long river and one of the best preserved archeological sites in the Marquesas including several tiki. Anaho Bay with its golden sand beach and great swimming is one of the loveliest spots in the Marquesas Islands with only half a dozen families living in the valley. Perhaps the smallest Catholic Church in the Marquesas islands is built in Anaho. Don"t miss the works of the sculptors of Taiohae. Whether it is wood or coconut, they are unquestionably the most skilled crafts-people in French Polynesia and do produce genuine works of art.