Hiva Oa, Marquesas; French Polynesia
04/16/2004 - 04/21/2004
This map shows the southern group of islands in the Marquesas. We plan to visit the three inhabited islands: Hiva Oa, Tahuata and Fatu Hiva. We will miss the deserted islands of Motane, Fatu Huku, Teriihi and Thomasset Rock.
The Marquesas Islands
With the crossing of the Pacific Ocean behind us, the excitement of exploring new islands and countries energized us. One eight hour period of sleep on the night of arrival left us refreshed and already to start exploring Hiva Oa.
Hiva Oa in one of the fifteen islands that make up the Marquesas Islands. The Marquesas are the northern most set of islands in French Polynesia. The archipelago is located approximately 2400 miles south of Hawaii and 840 miles north-east of Tahiti. The islands are divided into a northern and a southern group.
History reveals the Marquesas as one of the first islands to be settled by Polynesians contrary to Thor Heyerdahl's Kon Tiki theory of a South American migration. Magellan managed to miss the islands of the Pacific on his journey across the Pacific, but Mendana from Peru discovered the Marquesas. A variety of Spanish, Dutch, British and French explorers discovered the islands of French Polynesia. Mutineers, missionaries, whalers and traders threatened to change the culture and the population of French Polynesia by bringing diseases, alcohol, new beliefs, prostitution as well as depleting supplies. The Tahitian population estimated at 40,000 in 1790 dropped to around 6000 by the 1820s. The Marquesas population dropped from 80,000 to 2000 in one century. French catholic missionaries controlled the Marquesas and the Gambier while the London Missionary Society controlled the Society Islands, The Tuamotu and the Australs. Between 1842 and 1888, the French took control of all the islands now known as French Polynesia.
Whisper sits comfortably at anchor near the town of Atuona. Can you see the remnants of the volcano's caldera?
Volcanic eruptions created the islands of French Polynesia. The islands morph from high volcanic islands as seen in the Marquesas to high islands surrounded by a barrier reef as seen in the Society Islands to atolls as seen in the Tuamotu. Eventually, the Marquesas will transform to islands with barrier reefs and then atolls. Eventually, the atolls break up and disappear. Weird!
Clearing into French Polynesia at the "gendarme" (police) was the first order of business.
Luxurious Landfall
Landfall meant many things to us. The main salon returned to a living space rather than a sleeping space/diesel repair shop. We cherished sleeping with each other at the same time. Getting more than three hours sleep at a time felt really good. Coffee and wine returned to the consumption list.
We made landfall in Atuona, Hiva Oa. Checking in to French Polynesia proved to be a very simple process. Since we acquired three month visas prior to our arrival, a quick visit to the local authorities completed the check-in process. No fees were required. Folks who arrived without visas were easily granted 3 month visas as long as they posted a bond equivalent to airfare back to their home country. We were not asked to post a bond since we already had visas.
Mike and Dana on Camira row by in their dinghy. The short distance from the anchorage to the landing area eliminated the need to use outboard motors.
Every afternoon, Marquesans arrived at the boat ramp to launch outrigger canoes. Occasionally, cruisers dinghies competed with the canoes for launching.
Our favorite restaurant in Atuona is the Snack Make Make. Dishes from fish to chow mein to curry filled the menu. They also serve icy cold Hinano beer.
One of the things we longed for prior to landfall was a restaurant. Preparing meals and cleaning up for 22 days without any opportunity to eat out at a restaurant made us really appreciate the availability of at least five restaurants in Atuona. After checking into the country, we hurried to the bank to acquire some French Polynesia Francs (CFP). The exchange rate is approximately 100 CFP to 1 US Dollar. The money is beautiful and colorful.
With money burning a hole in Duncan's pocket, we quickly found the Snack Make Make restaurant. Chow mein, hamburgers and Hinano beers tasted delicious. While in Atuona, we ate at this restaurant three times.
This tiny building is the tourist office. The beautiful Marquesan women at the tourist office provided us with a map of the town.
The town offered 4 very well stocked grocery stores. Baguettes and croissants dominated the shopping list. We learned the hours at which the baguettes came out of the ovens at each of the stores. We hovered in the stores right along with the locals awaiting the fresh breads.
Fresh produce is a challenge in these islands. Some of the stores were stocked with apples. A vegetable truck offered cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers and carrots. A fruit "stand" allowed you to chose the fruit you wanted as the man cut it down off the tree.
The three mile walk to town was usually interrupted by a Marquesan's in a car offering to give us a ride. The cars on the island are mostly nice 4WD vehicles (Discovery, Land Rover, Suzuki) since many of the roads are dirt or mud. The homes are built much more beautifully than the homes in Mexico. No signs of trash outside of trash cans could be found. There were even recycling bins for glass and aluminum.
Fellow Mexico Puddle Jumpers, John & MJ on Island Sonatashared the anchorage with us. Sharing passage stories and exploring Hiva Oa with friends was great fun.
We wandered up to the cemetery to check out the graves of artist Paul Gauguin and singer/poet Jacques Brel. Gauguin lived portions of his life in Tahiti and Hiva Oa. In 1903, he died in Atuona, Hiva Oa. While in Atuona, we visited the Gauguin Exhibition Center where copies of his works are displayed.
Drying laundry on the lifelines is a new experience for us. After three weeks on the passage, we accumulated mounds of laundry. The lifelines do not have the capacity for the amount of laundry we needed to dry.
Another much anticipated benefit of landfall was laundry. Near the anchorage, a wash station with running water and a platform is available for doing laundry. Let's back up for a second and remind you that we both do not enjoy doing laundry. In Mexico, we tended to use the laundry services. Worst case, we did the laundry ourselves at the "lavandria" which are equipped with washing machines and gas dryers. So, here we are in the Marquesas with the faucet and a tile platform as the laundromat.
Picture Duncan and Robin standing at the wash platform with a couple of buckets and approximately two loads of laundry. We chose to attempt only two loads to see how well it worked (and Duncan really needed some underwear and tee shirts). Okay, water and soap go in the bucket. Robin pretends her arm is the agitator in a washing machine while swishing the clothes around. Then, we let the clothes soak. Then, another load is started in the second bucket. After a while, we take the clothes out of the bucket and start the rinse cycle.
But wait, some of the clothes still look dirty. This sucks. The dirty looking clothes go back through the wash, soak and rinse cycle with special attention to dirty spots. Back to the rinse cycle. Several hours later, we trundle back to Whisper with washed, soaked, rinsed and wrung clothes. Are they clean? Who knows.
Plan B. Did we see an ad for a laundry service at the tourist office? Yes, we did. We phoned the laundry service and they arrived at the anchorage to pick up our clothes. Our laundry weighed in at 14 kilos (around 30 pounds). The price of $4 per kilo seemed very reasonable after trying to do the laundry at the laundry platform.
The arrival of the Aranui 3 proved to be big excitement for the locals and the cruisers. The ship is a cargo and passenger vessel. Cargo is the main purpose for the ship. The ship travels between Tahiti, Tuamotus and Marquesas. We met a few of the "cruise ship" passengers in town. Everyone we met seemed pleased with the ship.
French Polynesia main exports include vanilla, copra (dried coconut), fruit and black pearls. As we sat in the cockpit one afternoon, we noticed locals arriving at the quay with big blue barrels. Finally, we realized a ship must be arriving to take away the blue barrels. Upon asking around, we learned the barrels contained noni juice which reportedly has therapeutic value. This appears to be a major export on several islands.
We also noticed orange barrels being delivered. The label on the orange barrels indicated the barrels belonged to Air Tahiti. Of course! Even the airplane fuel must be delivered to the island.
After a couple days of barrels arriving, the ship arrived and lots of activity started.
As we watched cargo go on and off the ship, we realized just how many items had to be shipped into the island. Here are a few bags of gravel. Since the island is volcanic, gravel is not available on the island.
Anchorage Antics
Many cruisers did not fall in love with Atuona; however, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Atuona. Everyone enjoyed the town, but the anchorage did not treat some folks well. The anchorage has a split personality. On our first visit to Atuona, the anchorage was relatively calm and comfy. After a week, we sailed over to another island, Tahuata, We returned to Atuona around 10 days later. While we were in Tahuata, a big ocean swell turned Atuona anchorage into an uncomfortable place. One boat ended up on the beach, two boats bumped each other and three boats lost their stern anchors. When we returned to Atuona to procure a few provisions, the anchorage had returned to its mellow state.
One of the other exciting deliveries made by the ship was diesel fuel. Using jerry jugs (the yellow containers sitting on deck), we acquired 40 gallons of diesel to replenish some of Whisper's fuel. The fuel costs around $4.50 a gallon. When you realize what it takes to get the fuel to the island, the price does not seem that high. We are excited to buy the duty-free fuel at half the price in Tahiti.
As we prepared to depart Atuona, we did experience a few oddities. As planned, the alarm clock beeped at 5 am. After preparing the coffee, we went on deck to prepare to bring up the stern anchor. In this anchorage, stern anchors are used in addition to bow anchors to keep the boats pointed bow-to the swell. "Hmmmm, this is weird" muttered Robin. The boat next to Whisper was only hanging by their bow anchor.
"Hey, there is a boat underway in the anchorage" said a surprised Duncan. This anchorage is not one to be navigated in the dark given the size of the anchorage and the maze of bow and stern anchors weaving throughout the anchorage. Then Duncan wondered out loud "Are they aground?" The boat was so close to a rock wall that it appeared, at least in the dark, to be in trouble. The surf crashed around the boat. The boat appeared to be really close to the dinghy dock. The dinghy dock is a 10'x10' piece of concrete with tires on the outer edge.
After a few minutes, the boat started to move forward...it must be okay. Phew. We continued with departure preparations. Duncan hopped in the dinghy to pick up our stern anchor just as dawn started to break. By the next time we looked up from retrieving the stern anchor, we noticed the underway 40 foot boat trying to DOCK at the small concrete dinghy dock. A guy is standing on the dinghy dock with two lines as surf crashes on his boat. Then we realize he is the only person (aka a singlehander) associated with the boat and he is on the dock. Duncan says "He is going to put a hole his boat" and we try to decide what to do.
Check out this view of the bay near Atuona.
Then, the guy from the boat hanging only on its bow anchor yells to us that boat trying to dock at the dinghy dock picked up the buoy marking his stern anchor. Apparently, the guy docking at the dinghy dock thought it was a mooring ball. Aahhh, that is why they are only hanging on their bow anchor.
Duncan tried to hail the docking boat on the VHF to no avail. Duncan waved both arms at the guy docking at the dinghy dock and motioned to him toward our boat. Okay, not the smartest move. Duncan tried to tell the guy to pick up the radio. Instead, the guy keeps powering toward Whisper. As he gets close enough, he shouts "I'm deaf, but I can read lips"". Interesting. Duncan slowly mouths "Dr--op your anc-hor o-ver there"". We notice no anchor on the bow as the guy goes below to get the anchor. Finally, he appears safely anchored.
Our first port of call in the Marquesas surprised us with its beautiful landscapes and heartwarming people.
Okay, quick, let's get out of here before anything else happens. We start to get the dinghy on board. Four boats appear at the entrance to the anchorage blasting into the anchorage. By now (6 am), everyone in the anchorage is on their respective bows defending their respective anchor territories. The incoming boats notice that we are leaving a valuable anchoring spot. Competition for our spot became quite humorous. A guy on one of the incoming boats motors by and asks if he can drop his anchor about 20 feet from Whisper's current position. Duncan requests they wait about 10 minutes for us to get our anchor hoisted before they drop their hook. Meanwhile, another boat sneaks up on the other side and starts to drop his hook about 10 feet from Whisper. Duncan is on the bow starting the bow anchor hoisting when Robin knowingly asks "Hey Dunc, where is our anchor located?". Duncan turns around to see the boat anchoring right about where our anchor is located. "Right about there" said Duncan while pointing at the other boat. After requesting the other boat just a few minutes to anchor, we hoisted the bow anchor as fast as possible and exited the anchorage. Weird things do happen in this anchorage.