THE MARQUESAS
French Polynesia is made up of 120 islands and atolls, stretching over 2,000km in the South Pacific Ocean. There are 5 main island groups: The Marquesas, The Tuamotus, The Society Islands, The Gambiers and The Australs. Each island group has a unique language, but French is taught in schools and is widely spoken. We are allowed 90 days in French Polynesia, as non-EU citizens so we plan to visit the first 3 mentioned groups and to divide our 3 months equally between them. That should be plenty of time, right?!
France in the South Pacific
Tahiti was made a French protectorate in 1842 and a colony in 1880. French missionaries went to the Gambier group in 1834, and in 1844 a French protectorate was proclaimed, followed by annexation in 1881. The Tuamotus were claimed as dependencies of Tahiti within the protectorate by France in 1847 and became part of the colony in 1880. In the Marquesas, Nuku Hiva was annexed to the United States in 1813 but the annexation was never ratified. French occupation of the group followed the landing of forces from a French warship, and in 1842 the chiefs ceded sovereignty to France. The islands were administered as the French Colony of Oceania and the territory went on to become autonomous in 1984. In March 2003 France changed the classification of French Polynesia from overseas territory to overseas collectivity. Nowadays tourism is a big money earner throughout French Polynesia and the French government still kicks in significant financial support.
Les Iles Marquises
The Marquesas Islands group is our first stop in French Polynesia and one of the most remote in the world. It lies 4,800 km west of Mexico (the nearest continental land mass). It is thought to have been formed by a centre of upwelling magma, called the Marquesas hotspot. The islands are characterised by towering, craggy peaks and lush green vegetation. The islands were colonized in the 10th century AD by voyagers from West Polynesia. Over the centuries that followed, the islands have maintained their unique cultures and languages.
Our arrival
It's mid-morning on our 18th day at sea when we start to see land - the cloud-topped mountain peaks of the island of Hiva Oa - at about 33nm out. The wind had been backing off, as was our boatspeed, which had fallen to 3.8kts – our ETA was getting later and later. We decide to put the engines on for the last 30nm so we can arrive in daylight. The anchorage at Atuona Bay is a tricky one, very tight and subject to swell and swirling winds. It also has to accommodate large supply ships on a regular basis, so we are hoping we can find a spot! As we get closer to the anchorage we can see a large monohull moored outside the bay, where it is a bit rolly. Turns out to be friends on VooDoo a Hylas 70 that we met in Bonaire and spent Christmas and New Year with in Santa Marta. We wait for a large ship (The Aranui V, a combination supply ship and cruise ship) to come out of the anchorage before heading in. The anchorage is tight but we somehow find a space. A few boats have stern anchors set to stop them swinging around. We find Glam as well (also friends from Bonaire/Santa Marta) which is lovely. We auto-connect to their WiFi as we go past them and our phone start pinging with lots of messages! Voodoo drop by in the RIB to say hi. So lovely to be greeted by friendly faces after such a long journey.
We have lost track of time on our journey but it turns out its Easter Saturday in this Catholic country so we can’t check in until Tuesday! A few bonus days to add to our 90 day allowance. We send off a few emails notifying family and friends of our arrival, and hit the hay fairly early. It’s nice to move back into our own side of the hull.
Tahuata Island![]()
We up anchor mid-morning and head the 12nm to the anchorage of Hanamoenoa on Tahuata. It’s a popular anchorage for cruisers, with a beautiful white sand beach the obligatory coconut palms. A welcome change from Atuona harbour and much more like what we expected to find on our arrival in Polynesia.
Despite averaging 6.8kts across the Pacific, we have a huge amount of growth on our hulls, including some reasonable-sized goose-neck barnacles. The brown goo spreads high above the boot stripe and it’s a dead give-away that a boat has just arrived in French Polynesia - along with the yellow flag of course! This is a great place to start trying to clean it off - it takes a fair bit of work and in some places it starts to stain the gelcoat. The water here is beautiful, warm and clear and we tackle a section each day. We head ashore in the afternoon for drinks on the beach with fellow cruisers. The beach is quite steep so you have to anchor your dinghy outside the breaking waves and swim ashore. Everyone floats around in the surf, chatting, getting dumped and giggling. Where are the dolphins?![]()
We have been told about a bay where a pod of dolphins live and that we can swim with them. Not really sure about the location but it seems like a good idea. Glam head off and we follow, finding a nice enough bay (Hanetefau) that we think is the right one. Apparently the dolphins came in the morning, so we missed them and will have to wait. Glam team come over for coffee and banana cake instead. The next morning we don’t see any dolphins and decide it’s time to head back to Hiva Oa to check in and restock the pantry.
Checking in and getting stuff done
Atuona, Hiva Oa, is not a lovely anchorage, however here we have access to supermarkets, fuel, chandlery, sailmaker etc and we need to officially check into French Polynesia. As businesses open up again on Tuesday we reluctantly head back to civilisation. The town is 3.5km walk from the dinghy dock, slightly shorter if you cut across the beach and detour up the goat track, but our legs are a bit out of practice and there doesn’t seem to be any taxis. I spot the couple from the boat anchored in front of us getting into a rental car and in my best, very rusty French manage to cadge a lift into town. They are quite obliging, taking us around the key land marks including the gendarmerie, bank and supermarkets. Very nice of them. We go to check in which is relatively painless. Then we have to go to the post office to post our own customs form to Tahiti – less painless... The PO is only open in the morning as they are short staffed and the queue is a mile long. Not sure how it works though as people seem to come and go, seemingly other people have held their place for them. Finally there is general consensus amongst those waiting that it is our turn. We also get some local SIM cards so we are now back in business and can reconnect with the world. Of course the pantry is pretty bare, particularly of fresh foods, so we do the rounds of the supermarkets and buy way too much to carry. There is one restaurant in town and we struggle there with our booty and order one of two options that has not been crossed off the menu. Delicious curried prawns with frites and green beans. Meals are pretty pricey but we have since come to expect that in FP, eating out is expensive. The restaurant folk kindly offer to take us back to the port with all our shopping.
Kite sewing and sight seeing
There is not much to do or see in town, but our legs need some practice so we tackle the hike. We cut across the “beach” at the head of the bay, taking a big leap across a stream and then finding a steep, goat track up to the road. There are mango trees along the way and we help ourselves to some healthier looking specimens. In the town there is a Paul Gauguin museum which displays many copies of his artwork, stories of his time in Hiva Oa, French Polynesia and a recreation of the studio where he painted. Like many artists he died in poverty while his works went on to sell for $$$. He died in 1903 and is buried here in Hiva Oa.
After seeing the sailmaker to discuss our repair, and picking up our package, we head back to our now favourite, lovely beach anchorage at Hamanoenoa and wait for our boat buddy, Mai Tai to arrive. We spend a couple more days here, just enjoying the surrounds, with SUP trips ashore and walks along the lovely beach. Mai Tai arrives just after lunch so we take some fresh fruit and beer over to help them celebrate. Later we head ashore for sunset drinks so they can set foot on dry(ish) land. Great to have a debrief and celebrate their achievement.
Fatu Hiva
From our anchorage at Hanamoena Bay its 51nm to Hanavave on the island of Fatu Hiva. Many cruisers make landfall at Fatu Hiva to avoid the windward sail to get here from Hiva Oa. It’s not possible to check in at Fatu Hiva so doing this risks running foul of authorities and we had decided we did not feel comfortable with that, although after our passage here we could totally understand why people do it. We sailed down under main and Genoa, close hauled. Sea state was pretty bumpy with swell coming from two directions, a very short chop and quite unpleasant. We sail as far as we can but 12 miles out we are 7nm off course and going to miss the island completely, so we put both motors on, furl the genoa and head directly to our destinations. Had some dolphins drop by briefly to greet us, but it was too rough to go to the bow to watch them so they did not stay too long. Motoring into it wasn’t much fun either. Glam are already here and other friends and fellow cruisers arrive from their Pacific crossings whilst we are here, so we enjoy lots of celebratory catch ups.
The anchorage is spectacular, surrounded by lush green and very high hills on each side, with rocky outcrops that look like the famous easter island statues. Amazing! The bay used to be called the Bay des Verges (=penis) but the missionaries didn’t like this so they decided one of the rock/statues looked like the Virgin Mary and changed the name to the Bay des Vierges (=virgins). Nice one missionaries!
There is not much ashore, a small village and one shop, which wasn’t open very often. We met a local chap (Poi) who offered us some fruit and to take us on a tour of the island. We got some pamplemousse, limes and avocados and bought a bone carved necklaces from him, the Marquesas symbol. Walked up into the hills as far as the road would take us. It’s very green and fertile, with spectacular views through the valley and back down to the bay.
So many fellow cruisers have arrived, so we invited a few people over for drinks. They packed their kids off to Glam for movie night and the adults joined us. It got a bit ugly when Angus pulled out the Martinique rum… So lovely to hear everyone’s stories from their crossings.
Vaieenui Falls
We joined the gang of “kid boats” for a walk to the waterfall, it’s quite a crowd with all the kids but lots more fun. We weren’t paying attention and ended up taking a wrong turn but came across a pretty amazing tree with lots of roots. Doubled back and found the right path, which was pretty obvious, and walked through a farm past a very large bull who was sitting down calmly. The waterfall is a very high, shear faced cliff with not so much water falling. The water in the pool is clear and clean and everyone is in for a swim – so lovely and refreshing to swim in fresh water. We find a few eels and yabbies around the rocks. The kids and their dads decide to jump off the rocks into the water. On the way back the bull is up and about and being rather aggressive but we manage to scoot past him, fortunately his tether held him back! Later we pass some barking dogs and one of them goes for little Matilda. Keith runs at it, shouting and waving his hat and it runs off. She was quite rattled.
Back in the town we visit a lady who is making banane sechee or dried bananas, in her yard. This is a traditional Marquesan treat - the bananas are peeled, sliced in half and sun dried, then wrapped tightly in a bundle, tied with banana leaves (traditionally) or cling film (not so traditionally). We bought some of these as well as some local honey and also helped ourselves to some fresh rosemary from her garden.
Road trip, Fatu Hiva![]()
There are only 20 odd kms or road on Fatu Hiva, nevertheless we can go for a road trip. We met Poi a couple of days earlier when he offered us some fruit and also to take us around the island. The roads are naturally very steep and negotiating the switch backs requires some concentration and a couple of 3 point turns. We stopped at a few different places to admire the views which were spectacular.
Poi explains about the “le trou d’amour” which is a small hole in one of the soaring cliffs overlooking the island. Legend has it that lovers had to go here to consummate their relationships otherwise they would not be accepted by the village. In reality though it is quite impossible to get to, even for mountaineers. The interior is rugged and the mountains steep and rocky. About 400 people live on the small village of Hanavave where we are anchored, a few more live in Omoa the southern village.
As we wind down the other side of the island the landscape changes - different types of trees here and it is much warmer and drier. The village is only slightly bigger than Hanavave but there are a couple of shops. We visit the community gathering area, a feature of many Polynesian villages, and here there is a great collection of stone Tikis. Some have been are gifted to Fatu Hiva by other Marquesan islands and show characters from legends and fables. We visit the church with its stain glass windows and beautifully carved wooden lectern and sacristy. Next it is on to see an artisan couple that makes tapas – not the Spanish foody kind! These are tattoo style ink paintings that are done on bark. The bark of the bread fruit tree (l’arbe a pain) and another type of tree are used. The bark is pounded until it is flat, thin and pliable, almost like a stiff leather, it can be white or fawn. We buy a white one of course, a lovely souvenir.
Poi tells us his wife is currently in Tahiti to give birth to their 3rd son. The health system pays for her to go but not him so he needs money for a ticket, which is quite expensive. We pay him the money for the tour and he promptly buys a bottle of rhum… Swimming with Mantas
In the afternoon there was much excitement on Miles Away, who are anchored nearby, as there were some manta rays swimming around the boat. Keith and I took a break from boat jobs and jumped into the water with camera and snorkelling gear. They were amazing to swim with, sometimes coming directly towards you with their huge mouths open. The water here is not so crystal clear so it seemed like they just suddenly appeared out of the darkness.
What exactly is a pamplemousse anyway?![]()
On our walk around the village one day we came across an artisan making stone tikis. He had the chain saw out and was carving some red rock. We stopped to watch for a while and got chatting to him. He showed us an amazing chess set that he had carved from wood, each of the pieces was intricately done and the base of the table was carved into the shape of a turtle. He will be exhibiting this at an up-coming Marquesas expo in Tahiti in a couple of months’ time. It has taken him several years to complete the chess set, and he is still working on a couple of chairs to go with the table. He is responsible for a couple of the Tikis we saw over at Omoa as well including the lovely one of the couple back to back on the waterfront.
As seems to be tradition here, he generously offered us some fresh fruit. He disappeared for a few minutes and came back with several large pamplemousse which were growing in his garden. What is a pamplemousse? Well in short it is French for grapefruit, but these Marquesan pamplemousse are no ordinary grapefruit. They are at least twice the size of the standard yellow supermarket variety that we get back home, and at least 3 times as juicy and delicious. Just the right mix of tart and sweet. They grow like wildfire in these parts and wherever we go we are offered this delicious fruit, often for free. It takes a bit of practice to peel and pith them, the skin is very thick and each segment is covered by fibrous pith, but the rewards are worth it. Pamplemousse gin becomes a new cocktail our favourite around the anchorage!
Back to Hanamoenoa, Tahuata, again
Well it is such a lovely spot, it became our base to return to. Set out around 7am and the sail was much better than the way down, with swell from only one direction, it would have been good with the kite but that’s still with the sailmaker, so we had to goosewing instead with main and gennaker. Domino (a 35’ mono) who left around the same time, have an asy up doing good speeds and over took us at the bottom end of Tahuata. I got some photos of them with the kite up which I sent later. We get to Hamanoenoa and head to the beach with Ollie for the Mowzer twins 10th birthday party, complete with pamplemousse gin for the adults!
We spent the rest of the weekend here going ashore on the paddle boards, doing circuits with Zoe and Yoga with Erin, nice to get back into some physical activity.
A hard day & night
Hanamoenoa, Tahuata Island to Atuona Bay, Hiva Oa (8nm) to Hanamenu Bay, Hiva Oa (15nm) to Baie to Vaiehu, Oa Pou Island (65nm) – sometimes we just like to push ourselves! After yoga ashore we head off to Atuona, Hiva Oa to collect our Parasailor. The bay is full and it’s difficult to find a place to anchor with boats swinging every which way. We end up near the mouth of the bay, not ideal and very rolly, but good holding.
![]()
The boat is a bit of a shit fight but with missions accomplished there is no need to stay in this horrible anchorage so we fire up the engines and head off, hot and exhausted already and its only lunch time. We manage to pull out a sail for a bit but as we get closer to our destination, and around the western-most point of Hiva Oa where the wind turns onto the nose as it wraps around the top of the island. We have wind over tide, short sharp chop which is uncomfortable but only for a couple of miles. The anchorage is a long bay, deserted and seems well enough protected. There is a statue of the virgin Mary perched precariously, high up on the cliffs above us. I don’t think she gets too many visitors.
2 Comments
Don Cullen
2/7/2023 05:13:45 pm
Brilliant blog as usual
Reply
Jo & Annelies
2/7/2023 07:53:12 pm
We wanna be you !
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorAfter more than 5 years of (minus time off for Covid) and more than 27,000nm Lynda has finally got the hang of this cruising life Archives
June 2024
Categories |