Australasia > French Polynesia > Society Islands > Nuku Hiva > Articles > Cruising the Marquesas

750 miles north of Tahiti are the Marquesas Islands, the archipelago most distant from any continent. The only way to visit all six of the inhabited islands is aboard the Aranui, an upscale freighter that offers air-conditioned cabins and three copious French meals daily on a 16-day voyage. The Aranui's main function, however, is to transport goods to the local residents. She comes bearing bricks and cement, pipes and tractors, fishing nets, medicines, and food, all the necessities for an isolated existence; and returns to Tahiti with copra, dried coconut meat that is processed into oil, soap, and cosmetics.

Since there are very few adequate docks in the Marquesas, travelers go ashore in wooden whaleboats to meet the locals. Burly crew members easily guide passengers on and off these boats quicker than they can toss a sack of rice to each other. Obviously, this is no normal luxury cruise ship. There is no shuffleboard, no stage where entertainment continually bombards you throughout the day, and no dress code for meals.

"It's great not to deal with the nuisance of dressing up for dinner," said Virginia Silveira, who was traveling with her 85-year-old sister, Edna, from San Jose, California. Like most of the clientele, she came for the adventure of disembarking the Aranui and following in the footsteps of writer Herman Melville and artist Paul Gauguin who were lured to these enchanting islands on their own travels.

In his first novel, Typee, Herman Melville described the island of Nuka Hiva: "The lonely bay formed altogether the loveliest view I ever beheld, and were I to live a hundred years, I should never forget the feeling of admiration which I then experienced." The 22 year-old sailor was so enraptured with the island's scenery that he went AWOL and began an arduous trek across the island, unwisely entering the valley of Taipivai. Here, Melville was captured by a group of notorious cannibals. Realizing the villagers were being gracious simply to fatten him up for the big feast, Melville escaped a month later.

We followed Melville's path across Nuka Hiva in jeeps, but I'm not sure who had the harder time; the rough road was severely pock-marked. However, we eventually made it to Taipivai and the marae (temple) in the back of the valley where they sacrificed "long pig," cannibal jargon for a human victim. Today, the only thing eating humans is the infinite amount of mosquitoes who buzz around here. Thankfully, the missionaries have eradicated cannibalism and the large white crosses that stand on the hillsides of Nuka Hiva and the other Marquesan islands are a testament to their conquest.

Paul Gauguin's gravesite rests on the neighboring island of Hiva Oa. Sitting under a plumeria tree on a hillside over the bay, the stone is simply inscribed, "Paul Gauguin, 1903." A statue of Oviri, the Polynesian death goddess who symbolizes the savage spirit, stands beside the grave.

Gauguin came to Hiva Oa in September 1901, and proceeded to build his infamous "House of Pleasure." Over the next year and a half, the artist managed to paint numerous works between the drunken orgies that supposedly took place in this sanctuary of debauchery. A reproduction of Gauguin's "Maison Du Jouir" stands in the center of town. Gauguin carved two advisory sayings in the wooden panels above the door - "Be loved and you will be happy" and "Be mysterious."

On the opposite end of Hiva Oa, the village of Puamau is home to the largest tikis (stone sculptures used in religious ceremonies) in French Polynesia. There are five tikis created in sacred red stone dating from the 14th to 16th centuries. Locals were forbidden to venture to this site for hundreds of years because it was considered taboo. The ghastly tale told is that one day the tribal priests who ruled Puamau decreed a human sacrifice. The villagers, fearing for their lives, shrewdly disappeared to the surrounding hills. However, the priest's henchmen managed to nab one unfortunate soul who was walking down the town's main thoroughfare in midday. They proceeded to sacrifice him, but unfortunately they chose the wrong man. They had just murdered the neighboring village's chief. Once the other town got word of their ruler's disappearance and grisly death, they came into Puamau and slaughtered everyone.

A three hour cruise from Hiva Oa brought us to the verdant island of Fatu Hiva. Here, intrepid travelers can take a ten mile hike from Omoa to Fatu Hiva's other village, Hanavave. The remaining passengers board the Aranui and sail around the island to meet up with the hikers as they descend into the stunning Bay of Virgins, the most majestic site of the voyage. Huge masses of towering, storm-worn basalt rise from the ocean's depth forming a v-shaped buttress that is illuminated by the sun's yellow-green rays. In the distance, serrated ridges, cloud-piercing peaks and impassable gorges stand as a monument to the centuries of volcanic fires that formed this fantastic landscape. Upon catching their breath, hikers are rewarded with a swim in the valley's refreshing natural pool.

The terrain on the island of Ua Huka is much drier than Fatu Hiva, perfect for the hundreds of wild stallions and goats that run free in the hillside. Ride one of the tame horses to get the best view of this relatively uninhabited island. Ua Huka's arboretum is stocked with indigenous fruit and vegetables. Mangos, starfruit, pomegranates, papaya, and avocadoes are all ripe for picking. The revered banyan tree can also be seen here. Marquesans used to put the skulls of their greatest warriors in the tree's branches to rub for strength before a battle.

Before our long trip back to Tahiti, the Aranui was guided by a group of dolphins into Hatiheu, a secluded village on Nuka Hiva's northern shore. Once anchored, we strolled along a coastal walkway past carefully planted gardens and trees to indulge in Marquesan delicacies at Chez Yvonne.

The restaurant's main specialty is pig with baked bananas cooked in an ahimaa - an underground basalt oven layered with banana leaves, hot stones, and dirt. The pork emerges very tender and is topped with coconut milk. Two other highlights were fried shrimp fritters made with freshwater shrimp found in the local rivers, and large grilled lobsters doused in barbecue sauce. The entrees were served with breadfruit fritters, mashed breadfruit, and fresh poisson cru - chunks of raw fish marinated in lime juice and spiced with coconut cream, onions and oil. For dessert, the ubiquitous banana poi, a heavy sweet pudding, was offered.

Melville summed up the Marquesas best when he wrote upon his departure, "I experience a pang of regret that a scene so enchanting should be hidden from the world in these remote seas, and seldom meet the eyes of devoted lovers of nature." A century and a half later, we can be grateful that the Aranui makes this dream attainable.

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