We've been in the Marquesas now for over seven weeks. We're currently sitting at anchor in Hakahau Bay on the island of Ua Pou. It's raining outside and having no desire to get soaked through I thought I'd stay aboard and start this blog. It seems a much more difficult process than usual namely because I'm basically lost for words to describe these incredible islands and our experiences amongst them. Anyone following in our footsteps or should I say following in our wake will want to arm themselves with all the literature available to insure they don't miss a thing and also to gain an insight into the rich and intriguing history of the islands, especially that of its people.

Having arrived at Atuona (Baie Tahauku) on Hiva Oa on 19th July we followed the best cruising route to take in all the inhabited islands without bashing our brains out on any windward passages. As luck would have it all our passages were acceptable, albeit rough, and on one occasion extremely rough and wet. Properly planned you don't have to do any overnighters, just a few early morning starts and that sits with us pretty good. So just in case you're interested, from Atuona we went South East to Fatu Hiva then North West to Tahuata, then back to Hiva Oa's north coast before making the longest hop to Ua Huka. From there it was an easy cruise westwards to Nuku Hiva and then due south to Ua Pou. My spelling may not be perfect and don't even try pronouncing the place names in mixed company.


The town of Vaitahu on Tahuata


Looking down on Hanavave from the road to Omoa


Approaching Hanes, Ua Huka


Sunset at Hapatoni Bay, Tahuata


Approaching Baie du Controleur, Nuku Hiva coming from Ua Huka in some quite rolly seas

Without exception everywhere we visited left us speechless. The Marquesas are magnificent in every sense of the word. They are a chain of ancient volcanoes, deeply eroded to produce spectacular crags, dramatic basaltic spires and deeply incised bays along the coast. The islands are a tropical paradise and apart from the bare cliff faces, they are draped in a rich green and exotic flora. The accessible valleys are what I would imagine a Garden of Eden to be, sporting every kind of tropical fruit tree and often headed up by spectacular waterfalls.


The 200ft waterfall about 1 hours hike from Hanavave


Snorkling at Baie Hanamoenoa on Tahuata


The Grand Canyon of the Marquesas on Nuku Hiva


Crossing the river at Hakaui on our way to the Vaipo Waterfall, the third largest waterfall in the world apparently. Kym nearly trod on a monstrous four foot eel lurking in the shallows!


Vaipo waterfall as seen from the trail


Taking a swim in the pool at the foot of the Vaipo Waterfall. Getting close to the downfall was like swimming into a force eight gale.


Some of the pinnacles of Ua Pou sticking out from the cloud overlooking Hakahau, the tallest is over 4,000 feet tall

All the anchorages are gorgeous, whether narrow and hemmed in by towering cliffs or wider open with magnificent mountain backdrops; they all embrace you and lull you into a state of languid indolence (or was that the rum ha ha). You are just content to sit and stare at the scenery all day.


Hanavave (Bay of Virgins) on Fatu Hiva at sunset. This fact made me laugh. The Bay of Virgins used to be called The Bay of Phalli until the Catholic missionaries turned up and renamed it. Of course one look around the bay and you will see why it had its original name. Carrying on the Phallus theme, there's an eight foot tall stone pillar with a cross on top of it marking the entrance to the Catholic cathedral in Taiohae on Nuku Hiva. Apparently this was originally a phallus until the missionaries came along, lopped off its bell end and replaced it with a cross. Remind me never to go out with a catholic girl.


Invisible Bay at Vaipee, Ua Huka. Quite a scary ride into this very narrow bay and under some conditions very dangerous to try and get out.


Baie du Controleur, Nuku Hiva that leads up the village of Taipivai, the home of Herman Melville.


The absolutely beautiful Baie d'Hakatea (Daniel's Bay), Nuku Hiva. Oh what a splendid paradise!


Baie d'Hakahau, anchoring can be quite tricky here trying to avoid the local boats and mooring balls, while hiding behind the breakwater from the Pacific swell and also leaving room for the Aranui to manoeuver


The local outrigger team practicing in Taiohea Bay and using Phylis as a turning buoy

If there is ever a world shortage of strimmers then the Marquesas are the place to find them. It would appear a good proportion of the local population is employed in strimming everything from their back yards to the road sides to all the public places. The result is that the inhabited bits of the islands are fantastically manicured, clean and beautifully garbage free.


The village of Hanamenu on Hiva Oa - perfectly maintained


Walking down the main street in Hapatoni, Tahuata - not a scrap of rubbish in sight


Manicured gardens along the main road linking Vaipee with Hane on Ua Huka


Coconut plantation at Taipivai, Nuku Hiva. One of the islands exports is Copra, the dried out flesh of the coconut.


Walking through the village of Hakaui on the way to the Vaipo Waterfall - simply gorgeous.


On Hiva Oa and Nuku Hiva we hired a 4x4 and drove all the roads and tracks that were passable (and some seeming not). What can I say - simply stunning landscapes - hair raising terrain and immense fun; but then I like off-road driving.


Visiting the Tiki at Iipona on Hiva Oa, this is 'Tiki Takali' the largest tiki in French Polynesia. Hmm not sure what to make of all these things.


Exploring the North coast of Nuku Hiva


Looking down to the village of Aakapa and the spires above


The road leading up from the Toovii Plateau to the Terre Deserte


The Marquesas are off the usual tourist map and so refreshingly devoid of the usual commercial crap that usually goes with mass tourism; perhaps this is why its people are so friendly and open. A typical example of this is when we navigated up the river at the head of Baie du Controleur. It was low tide and we shot in on a wave that rapidly receded and left us nearly high and dry. Struggling to paddle up the river in 6 inches of water a woman appeared from a riverside house and invited us to tie up to her dock and from there we could walk into the village. On our return she insisted on giving us more fruit that we could reasonably eat in a fortnight.


Taking the dinghy down the river at Taipivai, Nuku Hiva - but only at high tide!


Our guides for a walk around the village of Hanamenu on the North Coast of Hiva Oa, they helped us find some ripe fallen mangoes and gave us some Pamplemousse from the tree in their garden

Baie du Controleur, by the way, leads to the incredibly beautiful Taipivai valley, the setting for Herman Melville's classic narrative "Typee." You can also take a trek uphill to the Paeke archeological site full of stone platforms and smiley tikis.


Exploring the Taipivai valley


The tiki at Paeke archeological site

A few of the islands do have small airstrips that you can fly into from Tahiti and then there is the famous cargo ship the Aranui that plies the islands bringing in fresh supplies and leaving with local produce. The current Aranui 5 is about half cargo ship and half passenger ship. A rumour I heard is that the next version will be 90% passenger ship so you'd better get here quick before it all goes to pot. You always know when the Aranui is due into a harbor as everyone in the village turns out to line the dock waiting to pick up their orders and the local artisans get out all their tack and set up shop for the tourons. In fact it's due in here in two days' time and we're just praying that we are tucked far enough into the harbour not to be in its way.


Aranui 5 offloading her passengers at Baie du Controleur. As there is no dock as such, the passengers get loaded into what looks like a WW2 "Duck" that is driven hard up the beach and the hapless cargo told to "jump for it".


Supplies from the Aranui going ashore at Hanavave


Aranui passing close by our bow this morning on her way to the dock at Hakahau, Ua Pou


Getting up close and personal with the Aranui on our trip into town for our daily Baguette


Oh what fun! The local kids finding a good use for the Aranui's stern warp. I bet they go out without their parents as well and climb trees and play the way we used to before the "electronic age" came about.


The great thing about a visit by the Aranui is that suddenly the shelves and fridges of the local stores become well stocked with exotic foods such as cauliflower and broccoli, hams, pate, French cheese etc. We've been dining a lot on New Zealand lamb, local chicken and beef when available. Local vegetables include pak choi of all things, tomatoes, onions and sometimes potatoes. Tropical fruit is abundant. There's no shortage of fresh fish of course and a trip to the harbour side will reward you with a Tuna as big as a house if you so wish for just $6 a kilo. Booze is incredibly expensive so anyone coming from Panama, get over to the duty free zone and pack your boat with as much as you can store.

Is there a down side to all this? Well yes, of course there is, nothing can ever be perfect. For a start you have to sail 3,000 shitty miles to get here or have loads of money and fly/cruise and it still takes many days if coming from Europe. The anchorages are all exposed to some degree to the Pacific swell that seems to come at you from every angle, so if you don't have a good stern anchoring system then be prepared to rock and roll. The other thing I have to mention is that although the Marquesas are off the beaten path for most tourists, they are very much a chosen stop for many cruisers enroute to Tahiti. While we have been enjoying uncrowded and often empty anchorages I understand that during the peak season of March to June, Taiohea Bay for example, on Nuku Hiva, can see over a hundred yachts at any one time. We saw twenty. Some of the anchorages are very tight and no more than a handful of boats can get in safely, so I can only conclude that as with the Galapagos, finding a decent anchor spot in these islands in peak season must be an absolute nightmare of frustration and disappointment. I've heard that there also can be chronic shortages of fuel, cooking gas and food during this period.


Phylis at anchor in splendid isolation at Hapatoni, Tahuata. Words cannot describe the serenity of this place.


The anchorage at Taiohea on Nuku Hiva, can't imagine how busy this place would be with 100+ boats.


Our dinghy on the town dock at Hapatoni, one of the better places for the dinghy as there wasn't too much surge although we needed a stern anchor. In a lot of places we actually beached the dinghy and carried it ashore.


A gaggle of dinghies on the dock at Taiohea, just imagine the carnage that would ensue during peak season - oh what chaos!

As usual with the tropics there are some nasty bugs around and most beaches support a thriving community of Nono's, or Noseeums that will certainly ruin your day and night and following day and night if you don't drench yourself in repellent. Usually at anchor we were pretty bug free and could keep all hatches open. The weather has been a mixed bag, mainly sunny around 28 degrees with wonderful evening temperatures dropping down to 25 degrees but quite a bit of rain as well (well it wouldn't be all green if it didn't rain a lot). The rain usually comes in squalls that can be quite windy in some bays so again make sure your anchor gear is in good condition and you have plenty of rode to put out.

So that's the good and the bad summed up and you'll be pleased to learn that the good far outweighs the bad. We plan on spending a few more weeks here before heading off to the Tuamotu's and ultimately Tahiti some 750 miles away. Our only deadline is November 27th when we fly home from Tahiti to N. Wales for Christmas so we still have plenty of time to do not a lot and soak up the rum, doh, I mean atmosphere.