Not to be outdone, the “Taporo IX” came into the bay two days after the “Arinui 3”. Smaller and drawing less water, she can get into a few places the Arinui 3 cannot. Commerce in the outer islands is a big deal and many of the locals order things like food direct from Tahiti and pick up their shipments “at the dock”. Needless to say, when these vessels arrive, the locals turn out in big numbers. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
Jacques Brel was a famous singer in France in the 1960’s and 70’s. He came to French Polynesia to live out the last of his days where he died from lung cancer. He is revered by the middle age and older in France even today. He was quite the iconoclast and is best known in the US for his song “Seasons in the Sun” which was about goodbyes to friends and family when he knew he was dying. It was covered as a hit in the mid 1970’s. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
Sharing this famous cemetery is the impressionist painter, Paul Gauguin. He lived most of the last part of his life here and was a true rabble rouser who tried to have the locals overthrow the French Government. Needless to say, he was more popular with the locals than the government. His great grand daughter still lives on the island. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
This is the view from the cemetery overlooking the second largest town in the islands. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
We took a land tour with friends from “Giselle” and “Ulliad”. We wanted to see the largest stone tiki’s in the islands and the Marae (ceremonial platforms) they were on. Thor Heyerdahl believed they were not the work of the most recent Marquesians, but of a people who had come from South America predating them. The Marquesians even today, do not carve stone, only wood. Recent evidence may add credence to Heyerdahl’s theories. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
Enroute to the Marae and stone tiki’s. hiva
This is Kathleen and Stephen (in the truck) from “Ulliad” with Cindy. David Wilson of “Giselle” is the handsome smiling chap with the hat between the ladies!…. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
This tiki (If I recall) had something to do with fertility. It was missed in early excavations and hence some of theories had to be modified in later digs. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
This is Cindy with the largest Tiki in the islands. Again, no evidence exists that the Marquesians of today or their known ancestors carved stone. When questioned by early explorers, the locals just said they were “old” and didn’t really know much about their past. Or worse, they made up stories to tell the explorers “what they wanted to hear”. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
This is the whole “Ulliad” crew including son Emmitt. They were the boat we saw 2000 miles after leaving the Galapagos. Stephen is an M.D. on sabbatical. They are planning on keeping their boat out of the water in Raiatea for the upcoming cyclone season. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
This is Emmitt with the female tiki. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
This scene is well known in Marquesian archeology. But no one is completely certain where it all came from. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
We see these serene scenes everywhere in French Polynesia and for some reason I’m fascinated with taking photos of them…. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
This is perhaps the single most common site one will see throughout the Pacific Islands. All flavors represented, however the Catholics got here first and are the most represented. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
Stephen and Emmitt took up the “backseat” on our way home. Along the way…we stopped to see the “Smiling Tiki”. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
No one knows why, but this Tiki was carved with a smile on his face. Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
Emmitt was quite photogenic…..Think he knew it?….:) Hiva Oa – Marquesas Islands
After our whirlwind tour of the island, we heard the weather was about to turn really windy so we headed for Fatu Hiva as fast as we could. This would be the most difficult trip in the Marquesas as it’s directly upwind from Hiva Oa. On the way, we passed the now uninhabited island of Motane. Motane at one time was lush and green like all the other islands but is believed to have been “slash and cleared” by the inhabitants forcing them to eventually leave the island. Motane – Marquesas Islands
This is the far southern end of the island. Photos never do big seas justice, but believe me when I tell you we had 10 foot waves on this trip and 30 knots of wind, mostly in our face. We felt like we were going up and down more than ahead!…. Motane – Marquesas Islands
Due to inclement weather and the fact that it was a spectacular place, we spent a week on this lightly populated island. Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
Here is David Wilson of “Giselle”. We had left the Galapagos just 4 hours after he and his lovely wife Mary had. We kept in radio contact the entire way. Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
The rain was on/off and we were wet/dry…. Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
Up to our thighs in the river. Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
Cindy mimicks the stone drawing we found enroute to the waterfall….. Maybe the character in the drawing was saying, “enough already, it’s wet and hot and why are we doing this?”….:) Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
Well here we are, the other two “wettables” Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
A few days later, David and Scott took the dinghy to the main town about 2 miles to the south. It seemed like a bit of a rough ride for the group, so we started to hike toward it the next day. It was a bit far and Scott and Cindy only went about 1/2 way. We were joined by David & Mary of “Giselle” as well as Graham and Karen of “Red Herring II”… Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
The French Navy patrol boat showed up here for a day. We suppose they make the rounds and show the flag? Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
This is the “Bay of Phalluses” at Fatu Hiva. The valley it is in is rimmed with these rock formations. In the heyday of the Church, they changed the Marquesian spelling a bit and changed the name to the “Bay of Virgins”…… Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
We watched a new bridge being built right next to these gals using very modern machinery. It was quite a contrast to watch them “husking” the coconuts in the traditional manner right next door. Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
Here’s about where Cindy and I started to poop out. We learned later that Graham had worked with “Outward Bound” and despite his triple by pass, was in great shape. Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
Mary and Karen of “Giselle” and “Red Herring II” Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
Here was our “pack leaders” enjoying the scenery from a few thousand feet up above The Bay of Virgins Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
You get a feel for how high up we are when you see “Beach House” at the bottom of this photo Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
As we did not complete the hike, we headed back when we were around half way…. The others didn’t finish either, but went on further we liked given the heat and the steepness of the trail. Oh did I mention that it poured rain on us right after I took this photo?….:) Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
The copra was all wet again after it had dried out. Such are the vagaries of weather in the South Pacific. Hang around for an hour and it’ll be bone dry! Fatu Hiva – Marquesas Islands
The weather was a bit MORE settled than it had been, but we still had a very fast sail with seas up to 10 feet on the way to our next Marquesian Island, Tahuata. AT LEAST THIS WAS DOWN WIND!… Tahuata Island – Marquesas Islands
There were three possible anchorages on the west side of this island, but we opted for the last one we came too which was shallow, sandy, beautiful and calm!…. Tahuata Island – Marquesas Islands
After moving from Fatu Hiva, we had another blustery sail, we arrived at Hana Moe Noe Bay on the island of Tahuata. This was considered by many to be one of the most beautiful in all the Marquesas. Tahuata Island – Marquesas Islands
Right before sunset, we all went ashore (Beach House, Giselle and Red Herring’s) for a sundowner and a pupu pot luck. Tahuata Island – Marquesas Islands
This is the sign that commemorates the discovery of the Marquesas by the Spanish Conquistador Mendana in 1595. This is also the sight of Captain Cook’s only landing in these islands in the late 1700’s. Fenua Enata in the Marquesian language means, “The Land of Men” which is their name for the archipelago. Tahuata Island – Marquesas Islands
The plaque in Vaitahu, Tahuata’s main town of a few hundred people. Tahuata Island – Marquesas Islands
Enroute to the eventual claiming of the Philippines by Mendana, the Marquesas were discovered by some of the earliest Europeans to the Pacific. Magellan had only arrived about 50 years earlier. Tahuata Island – Marquesas Islands
Baguettes are a very popular item all over French Polynesia and one wonders how they are made daily and in large quantity. Well, here’s the secret! Tahuata Island – Marquesas Islands
Wherever we go, Cindy enjoys the lush greenery. She literally loves to stop and smell the roses….or tropical varieties in this case. Tahuata Island – Marquesas Islands
Lovely, though a fairly large and modern church by Marquesian standards. It hardly seemed small enough for the local population. Tahuata Island – Marquesas Islands
Pronounced, “Wa Poe” by the locals. It is the third most populous island of the 7 inhabited islands. Ua Pou Island – Marquesas Islands
As in Hiva Oa, the Arinui 3 makes rounds to all the islands. It was truly amazing to watch this 300 foot ship come into this tiny port, drop anchor and swing on it safely to the dock in only 4 feet of water on her bows. If the anchor hadn’t held, all 7 of the cruising boats present would have been squashed against the beach!…. Ua Pou Island – Marquesas Islands
Here you can see how we all had to move toward the beach in very shallow water to allow the Arinui 3 “swing room” to make her entry. Ua Pou Island – Marquesas Islands
Many of the islands have a “Gendarmarie”, effectively police force. As we had checked in with the main Gendarmarie in Hiva Oa, we weren’t required to a second time. Ua Pou Island – Marquesas Islands
The locals turned out in force. You would have thought it was Christmas! You can see from the photo, when they made their turn, they were mighty close to the boats. “Ulliad” is on the left, “Beach House” in the center. Ua Pou Island – Marquesas Islands
Not to be outdone, Taporo IX came in the day after Arinui 3 left. “Giselle” had cozily squeezed in between “Ulliad” and “Beach House”. David on “Giselle” and Cindy on “The House” watch as Taporo re-enacts the tight turn at the breakwater feat! ua
This is the approach to Nuku Hiva’s “Taiohae Bay”. It is a large natural horseshoe shaped bay which could accommodate a flotilla. The sail over was a bit bumpy, but only took 3 hours. This would be our last Marquesian Island (visiting 4 of the 7 inhabited) during our month in these islands. Nuku Hiva – Marquesas Islands
This is the cruise ship Paul Gauguin. A luxury inter island cruise ship which we would see many times over the next several months. Tourists can book this luxury liner for tours of most of French Polynesia. Nuku Hiva – Marquesas Islands
With Nuku Hiva’s Taiohae Bay as the back drop, (there were at least 20 boats here), we pulled up to the fuel dock. As you can see “pull up” can mean many things. The sides of the dock were too high for us to fend off and the surge at the dock would have knocked us into it’s structure. This pier is really designed for large vessels like the inter island freighters. So we had to set an anchor, tie a stern line and dinghy out their 200 foot long fuel hose. This was our first big drink at the well since the Galapagos. We were able to jerry can some fuel out when we first arrived at Hiva Oa. Nuku Hiva – Marquesas Islands
In 1977 when I was first in Tahiti on “Triad II”, I met Frank and Rose Courser who had sailed their boat there too. They told me of their plans to build a hotel in the Marquesas!… Thirteen years earlier, we had visited Rose who told us that Frank had passed away. She stayed on and finally sold the Keikehnui Hotel to the Pearl Beach Hotel chain. She is planning on another hotel and we were glad to say hello and re-make our acquaintance. Rose also runs a gift shop and museum of Marquesian art. Nuku Hiva – Marquesas Islands
We had moved three miles from the largest town in the Marquesas to the small village with only a handful of residences “Daniels Bay”. Daniel also passed away a few years ago, but the hike here is legendary. Supposedly, the third highest waterfall in the world, the hike was…..well…quite a hike. You can see the waterfall behind Karen in the center of the photo. Daniels Bay – Nuku Hiva – Marquesas Islands
Trust me, the expression is, “What the hell am I doing this for?”, not, “hey how’s it hangin’?”…. Daniels Bay – Nuku Hiva – Marquesas Islands
In both French and English, the sign worns the hiker of every conceivable danger from slippery wet stream “fording” to falling boulders. This we saw after two hours of just “getting there”. Daniels Bay – Nuku Hiva – Marquesas Islands
Daniels Bay – Nuku Hiva – Marquesas Islands
Fording streams? It had been raining much of the day and the “stream” was becoming a river. Note Graham and Karen in the background with their umbrellas! Cindy, Mary, David and I were a bit wet. As in “all wet”….:) Daniels Bay – Nuku Hiva – Marquesas Islands
Well, we did indeed make it to the bottom of the waterfall. The height seemed over a 1000 feet. We went for a swim and the long march home. On the way back, we met this very nice guy who lived in what looked like a lean too with a tin roof and a dirt floor. He had American flags displayed and told us he was a carver. Daniels Bay – Nuku Hiva – Marquesas Islands
He showed us his wears which included a boars tooth necklace which many of the local men sported. Daniels Bay – Nuku Hiva – Marquesas Islands
“Red Herring II”, “Giselle”, “Elvis the Gecko” (it’s a long story for another post and photo) and “Beach House” all spent a last night at Daniels Bay. We left first for the 550 mile trip to our first Tuamotu Atoll, “Fakarava”. In the distance is the spires of Ua Pou, many of which are still hidden behind the clouds. Goodbye Marquesas! Ua Pou Island – Marquesas Islands
This rainbow was the foreground for some of the dramatic spires of Ua Pou. There were about a dozen of these towering rock formations in the center of the island. Ua Pou Island – Marquesas Islands
