Ua Pou is the last island we are visiting in the Marquesas and it is known for its crazy rock spires.  The name is pronounced “U-a Po-u” (not “U-a-Pou”) as sequential vowels are pronounced separately in the Polynesian language. We just arrived here - Hakahetau Bay - from Nuku Hiva, a day’s sail away.  Today’s agenda included a lovely hike to a waterfall with swimming hole, a visit to a chocolate farm run by Manfred the (German) chocolate man and a great lunch at Tipiero, a local restaurant that is now run by the third generation of a French family.  We would love to have more time here and elsewhere in the Marquesas which are absolutely stunning.  Unfortunately, our time is limited so we are getting ready to set sail for the Tuamotus later today.

This blog is about all of the Marquesas, starting from where we landed, Hiva Oa.   Sorry for the long blog - a lot happened in a very short period of time.  

Hiva Oa

 

As regular readers of this blog will recall, we arrived on Hiva Oa from the Galapagos after some three weeks at sea.  This was just 13 days ago, enough to get a taste of these lovely and dramatic islands but not enough by any means to see even all of the major sites or get to know some of the people.  Our first anchorage, Tauhaku Bay on Hiva Oa, was our port of entry to French Polynesia, so we had to check in with the various authorities.  As usual, the WARC crew did a terrific job getting this burdensome task done with as little hassle as possible.  Leslie even shuttled us around by van to the check-in with the WARC agent Laurent at the Hanakee Lodge  hotel followed by a visit to the police station! 

Unfortunately, while very scenic and centrally located in the Marquesas, Tahauku Bay is not an ideal place to land and reprovision the boat after three weeks at sea.  The first issue is that the bay provides very little protection from the ever present South Easterly swell.  Although the interior part of the bay is protected somewhat by a breakwater it is very small and was chock full with other boats as we arrived.  None of the 30 WARC boats found a place in the inner bay except for a couple of catamarans with low draft.  Moreover, anchoring is prohibited in a large part of the inner bay to permit the supply ship to come in and dock.  Things got so bad that we sometimes did not dare to pull up the dinghy on the davits at night as there was a meter of swell running in the anchorage!  Getting provisions out of the dinghy onto the boat was an acrobatic feat as we could not lower the stern platform!

Tahauku Bay.  If you look closely, you can see Kincsem close to the rocks with the stern turned to the right – the stern anchor is deployed. 

 

The village of Atuana with all stores, restaurants and other facilities is so far away from the dinghy dock that a taxi is required to get there.  Taxis are few and far in between in Hiva Oa and none operate after sundown – so no going out to dinner in the evening.  Notable exception: you can go to the Hanakee Lodge, which has a shuttle and picks you up from the dock!   

 

None of these logistical issues prevented us from having a great time.  We took a nice little tour with a taxi driver to see some of the amazing landscape and a historical site.  We visited the Gauguin museum.  We attended a Polynesian dance evening at the Hannakee Lodge. 

 

The ceremonial site of Ta’a Oa, complete with facilities for human sacrifice …. We are told the Marquesans no longer practice canabalism and none of the WARC participants went missing during our stay in the Marquesas

A tiki in the forest

One of several festival sites we saw in the Marquesas – partying is important!  The mountain above is Mt. Temetiu, some 1,100 meters high.  We never saw the top.

The Polynesian potato:  bread fruit

The grave of Paul Gauguin, who spent many years in Atuana.  The French singer Jacques Brell did as well and we were told he was much better liked by the locals.    

Mt Temetiu, again.

Tikis in the Paul Gauguin museum.  Most of the paintings in the museum were just copies of pieces hanging in major museums in Europe and the US.

Polynesian evening at the Lodge

The Ara Nui, the supply ship.  I saw it come in at 2 am at night – an amazing feat of seamanship dodging too many boats anchored in the prohibited zone.

 

One thing that caused me some angst after arriving was the fact that Kincsem’s topsides had heavy growth on them above the waterline when we arrived in Hiva Oa – including many gooseneck barnacles under the stern of the boat.    I was concerned that it would become more and more difficult to clean off these barnacles with time passing so I wanted to get it done soonest.  Cleaning from the water was a non-starter in Tauhaku Bay.  The water is murky and the locals advise against swimming in the Bay because of the many sharks.  So I took to the dinghy and tried to scrub the waterline from there, which was a monster job in large part because of the swell in Takauhe Bay.   From the dinghy I could not reach under the stern so it took another day in Fatu Hiva for Jim and I to finish it off from the water.  We are now crossing our fingers that this pest originated in the Galapagos and will not recur in French Polynesia so that we don’t have to do another cleaning operation!

 

 

Gooseneck barnacles under the stern.  These things are very hard to remove!

 

Fatu Hiva

 

After the new crew of Jim and Stewart arrived, we left Hiva Oa and sailed to the famous Bay of Virgins (or Bay of Penises, depending on which translation one fancies) on Fatu Hiva.  It did not disappoint.  If Disney were to do a children’s movie about a princess in the Marquesas, they could hardly improve upon the incredible landscape.  It is simply breathtaking.

The Bay of Virgins

Hike to the Hanavave Waterfall

 

The village of Hanavave at the mouth of the Bay of Virgins is full of enterprising souls.  No sooner had we tied up the dinghy in the little harbor were we approached by a local named Poi.  Within minutes he had us sold on a tour of Fatu Hiva in his red pickup truck followed by dinner at his house.  Mind you, he filled three trucks and had 25 WARC people for dinner at his house – more like a garage.  The tour was phantastic and the dinner was authentic and tasty!

If you look closely, you see a white speck which is the “lovers’ hole” in the mountain.  Those whose marriage was not arranged as is traditional in the Marquesas, would meet there ….

 

Kincsem, the only two masted boat, from 1,000 meters high cliffs!

 

The tour went as far as the next town, Omoa – the end of the surprisingly well kept road.  The town boast a supermarket – not much “super” in that – and is the center of the local craft of tapas – cloth panels made from the bark of three different trees: mulberry, breadfruit or hibiscus.  Depending on what tree they are made from , their color goes from white to red brown.  We received a demonstration of how to make the cloth – with enthusiastic audience participation!

The bark is beaten with this big stick, which slowly transforms it into a flattish piece of paper-like material.  The finished product can be rolled, unrolled, and even ironed!

Big catholic church in Omoa, the other village on Fatu Hiva.  99% of Fatu Hiva residents are catholics.

 

The “supermarket” in Omoa

 

A huge festival site right at the beach in Omoa.  There is a lot of investment in party infrastructure in the Marquesas!

Talking about enterprising folks.  These two locals approached us whether we might be interested in attending the Sunday church service.  They promised to bring some fruit.  And then, could we give them a tour of Kincsem – of course!

Stewart and I attended church on Sunday morning – all in Polynesian.  The singing and audience participation were amazing! 

 

Leaving the Bay of Virgins

 

 

 

Nuku Hiva

 

After spending a few days in Fatu Hiva, we joined the other WARC boats for the rendezvous in Nuku Hiva.  Unlike Hiva Oa, Nuku Hiva has a large, protected bay in which to anchor and the town is right by the dinghy dock, making life a lot easier for cruisers.

 

Dinghy dock at Taiohae Bay, Nuku Hiva.  In the mornings, the local fisherman clean all their catch right here on the dock and the water becomes a cauldron of sharks!

 

The local “chamber of commerce” had organized a welcome party for the WARC group which was a lot of fun.

 

 

The locals layed out their arts and crafts for sale, but there was no hard sell.  Local foods were served and they demonstrated how to cook a bread fruit – it takes a long time!

 In the evening, WARC put on a nice party with prize giving, local music and dancing, another well received event.  Team Kincsem received two prizes:  best guess before the start of our time of arrival in Hiva Oa from the Galapagos (we were only 20 minutes off!) and a prize for first place in Division A:

Her hips wiggle back and forth …..  Still looking for a good name and an appropriate permanent resting place for her on Kincsem.  Please send suggestions!

 

On the World ARC, there is little time to linger as the rally is designed to get participants to sail around the World in 15 months.  So after the rendezvous, we had only 6 weeks to get to Bora Bora, some 1,000 miles away.  These 1,000 miles include some of the best cruising grounds in the World:  the Marquesas and the Tuamotus as well as the Society Islands (Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea, etc).  It is very hard to choose where to spend time among those places.  Each of these island groups probably deserves an entire season of cruising!  The trip to Bora Bora is free cruising – i.e. all WARC participants were free to pick their way through these options.   

 

Our choice was to explore next another bay on Nuku Hiva, Anse Hakatea just a few miles from Taiohae Bay.  We were rewarded with outstanding scenery and a somewhat challenging hike to the Vaipo waterfall.  A few hundred meters before we reached the waterfall and associated swimming hole, there was a sign:  “Stop, entry prohibited, severe danger of rock falls.”  We took note (or not) and proceeded but when we got to the waterfall, we met
Anna, a young women from Croatia who is a professional tour guide and hikes to the waterfall several times a week with clients.  She said every five hikes, rocks are falling down onto the swimming hole and suggested we stay all the way to the right of the swimming hole to avoid them!  After that advice, we ate our sandwiches a bit quicker, hugging the right side …..

Entering Anse Hakatea

Our dinghy before the hike.  Afterwards, the water had receded way past the point where you can see the breaking waves on the beach ….

The hike to the Vaipo waterfall

The village of Hakaui on Anse Hakatea is where the hike to the Vaipo waterfall starts.  There are maybe 10 houses.  The residents are engaged in farming as well as tour guiding and crafts.  Anna, the tour guide, lives in one of those houses with her partner, a local artist tatood from top to bottom.  He sells his craft world wide – the power of the internet!

 

Hibiscus flowers are everywhere.  The hiking trails are littered with these flowers fallen off the trees.

There are flowers (and interesting leaves) everywhere

 

Getting back to the dinghy after the hike a big surprise awaited (which should not have been one):  the tide had gone out and where we had pulled our dinghy ashore was now very far away from navigable water!  With three people, we had a very hard time moving our dinghy as the wheels were sinking into the sand.  The dinghy weighs 109 kgs (dinghy plus outboard) but to that you add 25 kgs for the full fuel tank, 10 kgs for the battery plus another 10 or so kilos for the dinghy anchor and various other things always in the dinghy – a total of some 160 kgs!!  Mental note:  next dinghy should be lighter!  As luck would have it, another couple was struggling with their, considerably lighter dinghy and shared pain became lesser pain!   

 

During the entire World ARC, I have been admiring one boat part of the WARC fleet: Alpha Centauri of London, a 1974 Swan 65 beautifully restored in Finland very recently.  The Swan 65 Sayula won the first Whitbread Around the World Race in 1973 and this type of boat has been my dream boat since I was in my teens.  Alpha Centauri is owned and sailed by two Germans, Edith (listed as skipper) and Matthias and they graciously gave us a tour of their lovely boat.  A highlight of our stay in the Marquesas!

 

Alpha Centauri in Taiohae Bay, Nuku Hiva