29 to 31 March 2010
Fatu Hiva
At first light after another sleepless night we were thankful to raise the anchor. In a brisk force five we had a great sail, hard on the wind. It blew away the gremlins that seem to have plagued us since our arrival in the Marquesas. We were astonished to see the wind speed and direction dials suddenly spring to life. They had refused to budge since arriving in the Galapagos. The spare part which now awaits us in Tahiti may not be necessary after all but at least we have it in case of future problems.
Fatu Hiva lay 49nm to the south east. It has long been an ambition of ours to come here as it is said to be the most beautiful island of the Marquises. It is featured on the front cover of one of our pilot books Charlie's Charts. Entering the Bay of Virgins five miles wide was a magnificent spectacle. It is one of the most dramatic in all Polynesia and we likened our entry to being in an auditorium when the curtain goes up. Massive tiki like formations towered high on either side, a carpet of green valley in between. Goats clung precariously to the cliffs. Why, when there is so much lush vegetation elsewhere they choose to graze there teetering on the very edge as they do I do not know. I can only surmise that they enjoy the danger and challenge that is presents much like the kind of thing we choose to do in sailing around the globe! The first boat here, it was not long before others followed. Crazy Horse, A Lady, and Ocean Jasper. I have to confess to a tinge of disappointment that we were about to share this place with others. But this is not Scotland and if we really want this place to ourselves we would have to sail here independently. Coming here was a rest cure. We caught up on much needed sleep and at last the water was calm and clean enough to swim and clean up Voyageur's hull. I busied myself below giving Voyageur her first proper clean up since arrival without feeling seasick and struggling to keep my balance.
Feeling much rested the following day we ventured ashore. Meeting the local Polynesian people in the tiny hamlet of Hanavave restored our faith in the real goodness of mankind. Three hundred live here with another three hundred in the other settlement of Omoa a five hour trek over the mountains. They say that if you haven't visited the waterfall of Vaiee-Nui, then you haven't visited Fatu Hiva. The hour long's walk was very hard going on a rocky path that has seen very few travellers it was so overgrown, but in spite of our reservations we did make it all the way. On the way several families stopped to offer us fruit and show their exquisite wood carvings and painted tapa cloth for which the island is renowned. Rather than money they were keen to trade. Lipstick, perfume, sweets, crayons, t -shirts, shoes and cordage were just some of the items requested. We promised to return the following day and kept our word. In return for our gifts we were given bananas, oranges, papaya, pamplemousse and breadfruit.
Aileen and Donal from A Lady organized a group dinner ashore at one of the family homes, (there are no restaurants on the island). We were served the most wonderful feast of chicken in coconut milk, raw fish, breadfruit, bananas, rice, with pamplemousse. There were three generations living together in the family home and after we had all eaten they entertained us with beautiful Polynesian singing, to the accompaniment of guitar and drums. But even here we could not escape the overbearing bureaucracy of the French gendarme. Would you believe but we were met at the pier as we came ashore and requested to bring our passports for scrutiny the next morning at 8am!
Susan Mackay