April 2012

Hello everyone,

Kaoha Nui !

That's how people greet one another in Marquesan (and may I remind you that when one wants to wish happiness to an inhabitant of the island of Ua Pou, Ia Koa Koa Koe is what one must say)

Our Marquesan month was full of sensations: we remained breathless at the beauty of the peaks that rise above the archipelagoe?s islands, especially, in the island of Nuku Hiva, those at Akapaa and those overlooking the bay of Hatiheu, with its impressive beach, its huge ?marae? (open-air temples, adorned with petroglyphs, of the ancient Polynesians) not forgetting the delicious lobster at Yvonne?s restaurant : the mayor of Hatiheu, she has created a magnificent exhibition dedicated to the historical ruins and to tattoo art, a Marquesan invention.

We also visited one of the world?s two or three highest waterfalls, in Hakaui, and, as we returnedf from a hike through beautifully flowered countryside, we enjoyed kaaku, fruit of the breadfruit tree, crushed and dipped in coconut milk, at Monette and Mathias? home, in this beautiful valley, accessible only by boat or on horseback.

As the weather became favorable, the wind coming from the northeast, we headed for the island of Fatu Hiva, to show Francette, who did not know yet the fabulous Bay of Virgins, undoubtedly one of the most spectacular anchorges on the planet : is is not an easily accessible island, no plane or scheduled boat, the best way to discover it is a cruise on board the Aranui, the small cargo ship that serves the archipelago once a month.

After a few stops off the beautiful white beaches, unfortunately beaten by perpetual swells, of Tahuata, we regained Taiohae Bay to film the return of the fishermen, to reprovision the boat before setting off on the desert Pacific for a three days crossing to the first Tuamotu island with a pass wide enough to enter the lagoon, Raroia : what a pleasure after the swells and the often murky waters of the Marquesas, to find again the perfectly flat turquoise waters of the Tuamotu lagoons.

Then we returned to our home port of the atoll Makemo for new adventures, I'll tell you about them next month.

Ia koa koa koe !

Antoine