After a few days chilling and absorbing the beauty of the island (Hiva Oa) we rented a car and drove to some of the accessible valleys. All of the Marquesas are volcanic and are distinguished by towering pinnacles higher than 1200 mtrs which rise sharply from the sea. All of the ground is covered in luxuriant green with a huge variety of flowering plants and shrubs. Fruit trees (banana, grapefruit, breadfruit and a number of others) are laden down and the ground around is carpeted with unpicked produce (coconuts and lemons especially). The mountains divide the habitable land into valleys measuring about 10 miles deep by 2 miles across. Each valley tends to be occupied by a dominant clan. Imagine our surprise when we found that one of the valleys on the north of Hiva Oa is the domain of the O'Connor tribe! We got to meet some of our distant relations.
After a hair-raising drive along a single track path, taken in 1st gear in lo-lo, along high cliffs with 200 foot sheer drops to the sea,which gave us a good overview of the central highlands and the north coast of Hiva Oa, we were ready to go back to sea. We did however, take the opportunity to visit the Gauguin museum and pay our respects at his grave. We also visited a couple of archaeological sites which had been used for religious (sacrificial?) practices in the past and which were ornamented with a variety of large carved stone figures reminiscent (though smaller) than those on Easter island.
On the 26th we sailed away from Atuona to the nearby island of Tanuata where we anchored in a bay with a large sandy beach, crystal clear waters and lots of fringing palm trees under the mountains. The classic desert island image.
Next day we sailed about 50 miles to Fatu Hiva and spent the night in the renowned Bay of Virgins. This bay is guarded by massive upthrusted mountains which have been weathered into extraordinary shapes. In the morning we saw the amazing spectacle of a pack of dolphins hunting and eating from a school of tuna . Both the dolphins and their pray were leaping out of the water. This hunt lasted a good 4 hours!
We did go ashore and wandered through the tidy little village (a dozen or so houses, a church and an elementary school). One of the villagers knocked down some fruit from his trees for us and we exchanged greetings with some others. All of the villages we have visited are remarkable, not just for their unbelievable natural beauty, but also because they are so clean. There is not a speck of paper or plastic to be seen.
We left mid-afternoon for the125 mile passage to Nuku Hiva, allegedly the most beautiful of the islands. Hard to believe, given the gorgeous scenery we've experienced already. We arrived in a nearly totally enclosed bay this morning after a lively sail in winds gusting 30 kts, which unfortunately led to some breakages to our MPS strings. So, back to the drawing board for stronger bits.
We plan to spend 3 days here before leaving on the 1st or 2nd of April for the Tuamotus.