Slideshow Tuamotus & Marquesas 2007
We spent Easter weekend at “the most beautiful island in the world” according to some of our sailing acquaintances. Fatu Hiva is the most remote, the farthest south, the wettest, the lushest, and the most authentic of Les Marquises. We had to twist Rod’s arm a little for the detour as it was 50 miles or so out of our way (plus back again), but the scenery was certainly worthwhile!
We anchored in the Bay of Virgins – and I quote from our Lonely Planet guidebook:
The jagged relief of the island has created some curiously shaped outcrops. The phallic protuberances of Hanavave Bay caused it to be named Baie des Verges (Bay of Penises). Outraged, the missionaries hastened to add a redeeming ‘i’ to make the name Baie des Vierges (Bay of Virgins).
Sunday morning Mike and I elected to hike the island road connecting the only two villages on the island, from Hanavave alongside the Bay of Virgins to Omoa – only 3 km by sea, but 10 miles by road. The guidebook said the walk was 4+ hours and we definitely needed the +. Fortunately we started off in the cool of the morning, around 7 a.m., as the first three hours were all uphill! The vistas were spectacular, at least when we wiped the sweat out of our eyes. All in all it took us five hours to complete the trip and we were both a bit creaky for the next couple of days. At least we didn’t have to retrace our steps. Raven was waiting for us in Omoa, and as soon as we called from our cellphone the dinghy raced over to pick us up, bringing along a cold bottle of water.
Omoa has a big concrete seawall at the dock, and there was a heavy surge coming in from the sea with a lot of wave action. As a result boarding the dinghy was rather exciting, requiring Rod to time the waves to that the dinghy reached the seawall on a rising wave, and at each pass we handed down (some four feet below) our backpacks, one at a time, and then ourselves. However all went smoothly and nobody went for an unexpected swim.
Following our Fatu Hiva adventures, we struck off for ‘Ua Pou, our last island stop before the final destination of Fatu Hiva.