Hello from Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands

Hello from Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia

 

The last update was from Hiva Oa in the same island group so what's up with that?  It sounds like we are still in the same place.  Well we are – sort of.  The Marquesas have six islands that are inhabited with 3 in the south east and 3 to the north west.  We started at the main island in the southeast – Hiva Oa.  Took our time getting used to paradise and then went to the other two islands: Tehuata and Fatu Hiva.  The anchorages were spectacular and the famous no-see-ums (named "no-no's" here) never appeared.

 

We anchored beneath vertical cliffs in a small bay called HanaTefau on Tehuata just a dingy ride away from the village of Hanataponi.  We went here because of the great protection from the big east winds and southeast swell that was making Atuona unbearable.  The swell was so big in that bay that a big steel barge broke loose and destroyed the landing dock all the boats and tourists use for entry.  Anyway our first night in Tefau was pure magic – all stars, no swell and no wind.  We went dingy snorkeling the next day.  That is where you put your face in the water over the dingy and your partner drives you around the bay.  It is easy and fun.  Saw some great corral and some interesting fish but not the amount you think you're going to find in paradise.  The weather changed and for the next couple of days the winds were coming in over the mountains from all directions.  One moment we'd be facing north with 25 knots and just a minute later the wind would have clocked around and we'd be facing south.  This went on and on and on……

 

So, we decided to move to Fatu Hiva.  The French say this is the prettiest anchorage in the world so we had to check it out.  Well it was more awe-inspiring than pretty to us.  It was drop dead gorgeous.  With multiple volcanic plugs sticking up right at water's edge, catching the fading sunlight, etc. it was a sight we will remember a long time.  The early French named it the Bay of Verges (penises) but the moment the missionaries arrived they added an "i" to the name and changed it to the Bay of Vierges (virgins) and that name has stuck.  The people of Fatu Hiva – all 700 of them seem to have been tainted by the various cruisers that have come to visit.  It is the only island where the children beg for candy and the local men want to trade anything for Rum while the women want candy or for you to buy some Tapa from them.  We traded for nothing as we were warned that the men once drunk on rum beat their wives.

 

While the anchorage was unique in its looks, it shared a trait with a lot of the other islands – the anchorage is at the bottom of a great volcanic valley.  Thus every night we'd get winds from 35 – 40 knots blasting down on the 8 boats that were there.  We endured about four nights and said heck with this, let's go north to those other islands.  We left at 10 am one day and arrived at the same hour the next day on the north side of Nuku Hiva.  We had very rough seas, 30 knots of winds the whole way and even though we drifted behind Hiva Oa and Tehuata to escape the winds (a nice reprieve) we still did the 140 miles in less than 24 hours.

 

Anaho Bay is rated the finest anchorage in all the Marquesas.  It was a good one with no swell from the big seas at all.  But, the east winds still managed to blow like crazy and so we had it a little better; no fetch; no swell, good holding but lots of wind.  This anchorage is one of the few in the islands with a sand beach and here is where we finally came to know the famous "no-no's".  We anchored outside the coral and took the one pass into the beach where Mary got eaten and Mike went unscathed.  We traded a home made coffee cake for 13 grapefruit on steroids called Pomplemose.  These things are so big that we could only eat half at a time and then had to use our steak knives to cut them up into edible pieces.  And boy, are they good eating. 

 

We hiked east to an isolated beach one day and then, the next day, west to the adjoining bay and town of Hathieu.  In Hathieu we met two locals and an American who was scoping out the area for a nano-technology based fertilizer plant.  One thing led to another and soon we were being fed every kind of fruit known to the Marquesans, given a bed to "rest" on, and a shower – a real shower (the first real shower in over 5 months).  We saw the "sacred mountains" and visited an old ceremonial site before heading back.  On the way back, we picked 33 mangos growing wild.

 

The next day our new friends plus the governor of the entire island and two more came to visit us on our boat.  It was a great experience and what all cruisers dream about; or at least we do.  We now have locals to visit in Papeete and relatives on the island of Huahine when we get there.

 

The winds were still howling but we grew restless anyway, so out into the winds and downwind the coast to a little known anchorage of Hakaaehu Bay off the Pua Valley where no oceanic plotting has been done.  It was perfectly protected from the winds and just a little swell and we had it to ourselves for two whole days.  While we were hiking a pickup truck stopped and basically said "how'd you like to take a ride to our watering spot over in the next valley?"  We said yes, and climbed in back with two guys and a 10 year old girl and for the next 30 minutes saw the countryside from the back of the truck.  We got to the springs and Mike joined in the bucket brigade to fill buckets while Mary talked with the wife of the driver.  Once the water was all loaded the driver proceeded to find papaya and fill our backpack.  Then back to his house where he showed us his almost completed solar house and gave us more papaya, some pomplemose, a coconut, some mantioc (tapioca root), a breadfruit, and some stuff we have yet to name but it makes great French fries.  With another great experience under our belt we headed for south side of the island and the anchorage with Hauii Falls, the world's third highest waterfall.

 

The winds were still fierce and the ride around the west end of the island and up the south side for the last 2 miles was brutal.  We arrived in Hakatea Bay tired and ready for a good drink.  Up and early the next day found us hiking up the Hakaui valley for 3 hours to the waterfall.  After getting lost once we asked for the correct path and found it and just kept going – there are no arrows, no signs, etc like there are in the States and Canada.  You can see the whole waterfall in thirds but never the whole thing all at once.  Anyway we made it and Mike took a celebratory swim in the pool at the bottom after being warned that even pebbles falling straight down from 350 meters can really hurt.  Then back to the boat and off to our last stop on this island – the Capital of the Marquesas – Taiohae.  The town has a whopping population of about 2,000 (that's one fourth of the entire Marquesan population) with two grocery stores, one restaurant and one hardware store.  The folks aren't nearly as friendly here as in the outlying areas probably because there are so many boaters that come here and the cruise ships stop here too.

 

We'll be here for just a few days to do some small re-provisioning and then head to the last island – Oa Pou and then on to the Tuamotus.   We really mean small re-provisioning!  A can of Coke is $1.60 and a can of beer is $2.90!  So getting a six pack is a major purchase.  We spent $8 for two loaves of bread and $5.5 for a small cauliflower and a small bag of tomatoes today at the local veggie stand.  The grocery stores don't even attempt to sell fruit or veggies.   We'll try to get some water and some fuel and be on our way.  The next internet location is 550 miles away so it will be some time before we finish our story on the Marquesas Islands and begin the story on the Tuamotu's. 

 

Mike and Mary McCluskey
S/V Carpe Vita
www.mikemarymccluskey.blogspot.com