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5/2/2006 7:30:00 PM
Hiva Oa
One of the two biggest islands in the Marquesas

The southern Marquesas Islands

From Fatu Hiva to Hiva to Tahuata and back to Hiva Oa

Kaoha to you all!

Well, it's hard to believe that our time in the Marquesas is already over. I hope I'll be able to keep the mail as short and interesting as possible giving you enough information about our experience the last four weeks. Before I begin I thought I'll give you a short intro about the island group to get to know a bit of their history.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ Te Henua Enana (Land of Men) is the Marquesan name for their archipelago. 4000km south of Hawaii and 1400km northeast of Papeete (Tahiti) this is the most northerly archipelago of French Polynesia. The 15 islands stretch diagonally about 350km from northwest to southeast and are divided into the the Northern and Southern groups.  These high, volcanically formed islands have steep, black, cliff-edged coasts indented by many lush and green valleys. The archipelago is not affected by cyclones, rainfall is very variable but is generally evenly spread throughout the year, which makes these islands flora and fauna different from the other archipelagos in the South Pacific. The tropical fruits and flowers are incredible and offer a big variety to mention only a few - banana, breadfruit, mango, coconut, papaya, limes and the biggest and sweetest pampelmousses (grapefruit) you have ever seen. I don't know how we can ever go back to eating "store bought" fruit, it is incredible to me how much more flavor they have freshly picked - we even like bananas now! The earliest inhabitants are believed to have migrated from Melanesia at about the time of Christ. The population multiplied and the culture reached its maximum development from 1400 - 1790 AD. The first European to visit the islands was the Spanish navigator, Alvaro de Mendana in 1595 who named the islands "Las Marquesas de Mendoza" in honor of his sponsor the Marquis of Canete (Peru). At the time when Captain Cook arrived in 1774 the population was approx. 100.000 people which was decimated by the western contact and diseases brought from Great Britain and Europe in the 18th century. They were finally claimed by France in 1842. Thanks to the efforts of Louis Rollin, the doctor appointed to the Marquesas from 1923 to 1930, the decline in population was stemmed. Vaccinations, sanitary measures and assistance for new arrivals also helped boost the population. One of the greatest changes occurred in the middle of the 19th century when the nuns and Catholic missionaries arrived. The appearance of the religious groups had a profound effect on the islands and became firmly entrenched in the Marquesas.  Today the six inhabited islands have a total of about 8000 people. Copra (dried coconut) is one of their main incomes and more recently, noni, a fruit with therapeutic properties, has become a major export to the US. The capital remains Papeete, Tahiti, which is also the official port of entry for all visitors, except the ones cruising on their own boats....  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, an now over to our own personal stories.

FATU HIVA (4.18.-21.2006) The most southern island was our first landfall (Baie Hanavave - Bay of Virgins) after our 20 day crossing from Mexico. Our first awakening after a full night sleep was not quite what we expected, though. Sebastian was the the first one awake, exploring the deck and the beautiful scenery when he noticed something was wrong with our anchor line. Our boat neighbors on Sarabi (a catamaran we already met in Zihuataneo) saw it as well since Lawur came closer and closer to them.  Next thing we know is Sebastian yelling "Papa, Papa we lost our anchor!" Needless to say that this is everybody's nightmare and not quite what you want to wake up to. Anyways we sort of did not want to believe what we heard and put on the next best clothes near by, coming up on deck and just passing Sarabi on their port side, them catching our anchor line with their boathook.... You can imagine our faces! We found out that the splice between the chain and the rope had come apart with all the heavy pulling on it due to the very deep anchorage in Fatu Hiva. We were so fortunate that it happened at the right time of the day, that no boat or person got harmed, that Sarabi's crew reacted so quickly and let us tie up to them until we had it under control again. They were so sweet and even made us waffle breakfast, we could not believe it! By the afternoon Robert and Bruce had everything back to normal and knock on wood we have not had a problem since.

The other days we made our first experience with the locals and even got invited (with all the other boats in the anchorage) to a dinner at a local house. We got served chicken with mango in coconut milk, mango salad, fish salad,... a local feast. There was a small fee involved but it certainly was worth the fun and experience. Serge, the man of the house, also played us a few songs on his Ukalehle and our intro to the Marquesas was perfect. We even did a bid of a trading with Serge's brother, for whom we sewed a cover for his outboard motor (Ohana Kai did theirs for Serge) in exchange of a beautiful Rosewood tiki (tiki = sculpture). One afternoon the crew of Ohana Kai and Capaz and us took a hike up the valley to a beautiful waterfall, in that we all enjoyed a well deserved swim. Robert decided to stay on board wanting to be on the safe side not quite trusting the new anchor splice yet. We had intentions to stay a day longer but unfortunately the local gendarme got a hold of us and since we had not officially checked in yet to the country (this can only be done on certain islands) he asked us to leave. We were lucky to got granted another day otherwise we would have missed the great local dinner that night. So early Friday morning we (intentionally) pulled anchor and set out for a 7 hour sail up to the next island Hiva Oa, the main one in the southern group.

HIVA OA (4.21.-26.2006) The days in Atuona (Traitor's Bay) in Hiva Oa were basically filled with errands and a visit to the Gendarme. The check-in was fairly easy due to our Austrian citizenship; they even accepted the kids as such since they have dual citizenship. It saved a lot of hassle and also some bond money that Americans have to provide. The anchorage itself was nothing special, the water was murky, the swell big and uncomfortable and since every boat entering the Marquesas has to check in, the place was filled up. (just for your info, there are about 300 boats each year that cross the pacific - 1/3 from Mexico and 2/3 from the Galapagos and South America.) We did get to catch up with a lot of boats that we had not seen since Mexico and it was nice to exchange stories and experiences. On the first night in Atuona the outrigger organization sponsored a little party where we all met up again. Very important also was our daily visit to the village (about 6 miles, but there was always a truck or car willing to take us cruisers along), to get some fresh baked baguette. It was amazing to see that one can actually buy almost everything you need, for a certain amount for sure, but nevertheless you can get it. A small truck was to be found on the side of the road selling fresh vegetables and fruits, across from it another truck sold fresh caught tuna and the stores even had a cold orangina drink! Even in the smallest villages you can find a "magasin" (store) selling the basic stuff, so no need to starve. Two nights in a row we went out to the local pizza restaurant, what a treat after almost 4 weeks of cooking and one night we had a potluck on Capaz with Bratwurst and cabbage strudel. On Sunday we all went to church together (at 8am!), a special experience - lots of flower decoration in the church and in the ladies hairs, the beautiful local music and songs and even though we did not understand a word, we could figure out that the ritual and sequence is almost the same as our catholic service. It was also funny to see that the young generation showed up in tank-tops and regular t-shirts, were chatting during the mass and occasionally even fell asleep... it's all the same in the world! On our last day we took a hike with the crew from Sarabi and Capaz to an archeological and petroglyph site. Even though at some points we were ankle deep in mud it was a good diversion from the day and it felt good to move, since we could not go swimming in that anchorage.

TAHUATA (4.26.-5.2.2006) Our next destination was the west side of the close by island of Tahuata, well known for its beautiful anchorages with sandy, white beaches and clear water. The two hour motorsail across the Canal du Bordelais (it often blows stink through there) was easy and uneventful. Having arrived at the southern most anchorage Baie Hanatefau and its village Hapatoni, it did not take the boys five minutes to jump into the beautiful blue water. There were small jelly fish but they did not seem to bother them and I am sure they were in and out about 30 times jumping off the rail. In the afternoon Sebastian started to not feel good and we were hoping that maybe it was the 24 hour flue bug that was going around. Unfortunately it had hit him a lot harder and he was out for five days, in the beginning with rather high fever and no energy for anything. We felt so bad for him, finally all the boats were at an anchorage where the kids played and swam a lot and he was sick... We tried to make the best out of it and watched a lot of movies. In the meanwhile Robert and I took turns visiting with Capaz, Ohana Kai and New Dawn (Ross and Laura, whom we know from Puerto Vallarta, Ross is also a X-Box player by heart!). We separately went to the village, which was beautifully set along the coast with a palm tree alley. One morning Bruce, Robert and Ross went for a dive and even saw a black tip shark! On Saturday we moved on a honking 2 miles (15 minutes) to the next Baie Vaitahu (Resolution Bay), the biggest village on the island. Our first day was rather filled with down pours, which was just fine for us since Sebastian was sick and it felt good to cuddle up down below for a change. On Sunday Robert and I attended mass again in the morning and later on Benjamin and I visited an archeological site that they had rebuilt to its old looks. There was not much more to see and since the water was not clear enough to swim the four boats pulled anchor and went to the next bay again only 2 miles away. Baie Hanamoenoa is the most northern anchorage and famous for its white sandy beach, which is rather rare in the Marquesas (most of them are a gray-black lava sand). Robert and Benjamin went ashore coming back with a bag full of pampelmouses, that they were given by a local man. Unfortunately the noseeum bugs are a big pest here in the Marquesas, they are small black or white bugs that bite leaving a nasty little dimple that itches for days whenever it pleases. So therefore they did not stay too long and were back on board quickly enjoying a swim. In the early evening another boat that we know from Zihuataneo "Long Tall Sally" invited all the boats over for happy hour, which was a fun gathering before we all split into different directions the next day. Ohana Kai and us stayed one more day enjoying the clear water and by then even Sebastian felt good enough for a swim and a play at the beach.

Well, I guess my goal to keep it short failed so I will split this mail and send my report for the northern islands in a separate mail to keep you guys interested in reading it... with that said, big hugs and

Nana from the Marquesas

TheSchmids Family Sailing on Lawur --------------------------------------------------------------------------- !!! PLEASE DON'T INCLUDE ORIGINAL WHEN REPLYING TO REDUCE DOWNLOAD TIME !!!

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