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The Marquesas - 2007

"A thousand miles from nowhere" describes the Marquesas very well. These islands are remote. Significantly closer to the equator than the rest of French Polynesia, they are also very warm. The residents seemed quite happy to see us although nobody speaks English. We struggled along in rudimentary French. We took a Marquesan language class on the ship but never got much beyond hello and thank you. Despite the difficulties, visiting the Marquesas is worthwhile because they may well be the most beautiful islands in the world.

Fatu Hiva

The southernmost of the Marquesas islands, Fatu Hiva has around 600 residents living in two main villages. There is one road and no airstrip. The people make tapa and wood carvings for the few tourists who visit. Our first attempt to go ashore was at Omo harbor, but the water was too rough. We found a safe harbor at the Bay of Virgins (no explanation given for the name). We had a walk around and saw some beautiful sights.

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This was our first look at Fatu Hiva as we entered Omo Bay.

The village of Omo looks quaint but we could only see it from afar. It was too rough for the tender to operate.

The Bay of Virgins formerly had a more descriptive name, but the missionaries changed it.

We were greeted by musicians at every dock in the Marquesas.

There is no beach at Hanavave so the local kids improvise.

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We made friends with Pierre and Francine, French Canadians who helped us converse with the locals.

On our hike we encountered a huge pile of drying coconuts.

Some of the scenery was reminiscent of Kauai. These jagged peaks could be seen from the hiking trail.

This sheer rock had an interesting shape.

We departed Fatu HIva as the setting sun covered the island with a warm glow.

Hiva Oa

The only attraction of any note here is the cemetery where the remains of Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel are buried. In other words, if you are on this cruise and have to skip on port Hiva Oa would be a good choice. Our shore excursion on this island was to an ancient ceremonial site where the elements of the site were described in infinite detail by Dr. Mark Eddowes, the M/S Paul Gauguin's Polynesian culture expert. We visited the Paul Gauguin Cultural Center in Atuona. Like its counterpart in Papeete, the museum contains not a single original painting, only reproductions.

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As everywhere in the Marquesas we were greeted by local musicians and attractive young people in native garb.

Pat listens intensely as Dr. Eddowes describes the significance of an ancient religious site.

There are two carved tikis at the site. This one represents a human head. Eating the organs of captured warriors was one of the rituals practiced here.

Gauguin lived in Hiva Oa from 1901 to 1903. He ran afoul of the law and was sentenced to prison, but he died before his incarceration began.

Our 4x4 driver took us to the top of a hill where we could see the Paul Gauguin at anchor.

Ua Huka

This small island had a population of 571 at the last census, and over 3,000 wild goats and horses. It is known to have several good archaeological sites. We signed up for a tour of the sites but mostly saw souvenir stands. There were several complaints, so the ship gave everyone a complete refund. We did get to see some beautiful scenery and a nice botanical garden. The local people were ery friendly, giving away fresh fruit and water every place we stopped.

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I had a preconceived notion of what a South Pacific island would look like. This beach on Ua Huka was it.

As we headed out from the dock in a caravan, all the vehicles were decorated with flowers and ti leaves.

This is a section of Ua Huka's rugged coastline.

Wild horses are everywhere. These are grazing near some pretty steep sea cliffs.

Feral goats can be found wherever there is vegetation.

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The local people gave us fruit at most of our stops. The mango and star fruit were especially tasty.

We wandered away from one of the souvenir stops and found this young man having his left leg tattooed.

He was anxious to show us the completed work on his other leg. We were invited (sign language) to get tattooed, but politely declined.

This is one of the 4x4 drivers. She sported some interesting tattoos on her ankles.

I thought these women were doing some sort of religious ritual. It turns out they were playing bingo.

Nuku Hiva

Our final stop in the Marquesas was at Nuku Hiva, the largest and most populous island in the chain. Nuku Hiva has claims to fame. The first is that Herman Melville escaped from the cannibals here and lived to write about it in his first novel - Typee. Melville introduced the world to the concept of the noble savage in his book. There is some question about how much of the book is based on fact and how much on the author's imagination. The second claim to fame is that Survivor IV was filmed here. These bookend events may say something about the direction of American culture in the last 150 years.

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There are many versions of what happened to Herman Melville here. Dr. Eddowes described all the theories in great detail.

Herman Melville was here. Or at least close to here. The ocean inlet below leads to the Tai Pi Vai valley.

CBS's Survivor's fourth episode was filmed here. It may have looked remote on TV but in reality was about a mile from a village.

I guess satellite receivers are everywhere. I wonder if they watch Survivor re-runs.

We entered this picture in a magazine's contest to find its cover in the most remote location. No word yet.

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These kids make an interesting tableau as they wait for their parents who are hawking souvenirs.

Dogs are everywhere and they are pretty scruffy. We didn't see any Westminster Dog Show challengers.

Pat carefully considers her options with this local jewelry maker.

The islands are beautiful but its beaches are not. This is about as good as it gets in the Marquesas.

We were entertained on the sip by a troupe of Marquesan dancers. This seven year old cutey was the star.

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