[Editor’s note: this is the second part of a 2-part article. To see the first section about arriving at the Marquesas, provisioning, and cruising the south islands, look here.]
Cruising the North Islands – Ua Pou and Nuku Hiva
We sailed north 90 NM from Tahuata to Ua Pou overnight, arriving to see the spectacular spires on Ua Pou in the morning sunlight. Seasoned French Polynesia cruisers had recommended the more sheltered anchorage in Hakahetau over that in Hakahau, the capital of Ua Pou. They’d also given us a contact telephone number for Franco, who provides a taxi service to Hakahau and nearby sites. We shared the cab fare with another cruising couple whom we’d met a week earlier in Tahuata. We noted Marquesans jogging and doing fitness during our afternoon return drive. Our driver told us that there’s a strong emphasis on fitness in Ua Pou which the local government has instilled in youths by supporting youth sports and hiring and training older youth to coach children. He was proud of the positive impact it has had on the island. One highlight in Hakahetau was the visit to Manfred’s, the German chocolatier who makes chocolate from local cacao fruit. We were we able to restock our dark chocolate for the next several months!
With an afternoon sail we crossed over to Taiohae, the capital of the Marquesas, on Nuku Hiva. We had boat parts that were waiting for us and access to a chandlery, industrial shops, and hardware stores was convenient for completing our boat projects. (N.B.: The chandlery is run by Cécile who, with her husband, arrived here from France aboard their sailboat 15 years ago and is keen to share information about the island’s bays, hikes and villages.) The anchorage in Taiohae is exposed to swell, and a stern anchor helped make it more comfortable. As the largest town in the Marquesas, there is a bakery, several grocery stores, and also several places to eat out. The covered area at the concrete dinghy dock, which is part of an eatery used by locals, fisherman and cruisers during the day, provides a convenient gathering place in the afternoon for cruisers to congregate for happy hour. We were on Nuku Hiva in July when they have a month-long festival that includes several pop-up restaurants serving food daily along with entertainment. We were treated to a few musicians with guitars and ukulele singing and harmonizing Marquesan tunes. Marquesan singing is heavenly! We also attended several events that featured traditional Marquesan dancing and drumming.
When we were ready and had a weather window we proceeded counter-clockwise around the island. Our first stop was Controllers Bay just a couple of hours from Taiohae but much more sheltered and comfortable. This bay and the village of Taipivai (Ty-pee-vy) are famous as the place where Herman Melville was held captive by the natives after jumping ship. The account is described in his book Typee. We took the dinghy into town to meet up with friends who had rented a car and driven over. The town is a short distance up the river and to get there by dinghy one has to negotiate a very narrow and very shallow river entrance with ocean swell. To add to the excitement, a local woman and her children were in the water with fishing nets across the mouth of the river and energetically gestured to us to indicate the way around their nets. After a couple of days there we headed farther around to Anaho Bay on the north side.
Anaho does not have road access so it’s an opportunity to experience smaller community living. There are opportunities for beach combing and wonderful hikes, including the 90-minute hike along a footpath over the col to the neighbouring village of Hatiheu. The village has a renowned eatery, Chez Yvonne, and several archeological sites that attest to the extensive size of villages from several hundred years ago, before European explorers brought disease and strife which decimated the local population. Much effort has gone into restoring these sites and the Marquesan people are proud to share their history and culture. Anaho Bay also has a ‘pension’ where locals and tourists come by water taxi from neighbouring Hatiheu to stay for a week or several weeks. One can arrange ahead to eat the daily meal, although insect repellent is recommended as the tables are set on grass at the edge of the beach with many nonos – tiny black flies that inject an anesthetic when biting, leaving the person unaware that they are being bitten until the welts surface in the next 1 to 2 days. We only needed to experience that once to know to avoid any sand activities without a good dose of insect repellent! Anaho was also the calmest anchorage we experienced and was the chosen place to finish the task of mounting our rigid solar panels.
Hakatea Bay, aka Daniel’s Bay, on the south side also provided several days of fun activities ashore that included walking to the falls along the river valley bordered to the north by jagged peaks, eating some of the island’s best grilled tuna at Kua & Teiki’s home, and snorkeling in the bay. There are extensive coral bommies on the southeast side of the bay where we snorkeled and saw tropical fish, turtles and manta rays. All of the Marquesan Islands have sheep grazing in the wild, and many wild chickens around all the villages. This makes for soothing distant pastoral sounds of braying sheep and crowing roosters while at anchor on the boat. The highlight of Hakatea was meeting up with the crew of Alma Feroz, whom we had not seen since La Paz Mexico over 18 months ago. They had spent hurricane season in Chiapas and made their way down to Panama before crossing the South Pacific. It was wonderful to get caught up and spend time with them on Nuku Hiva.
There are a couple more northern islands, Ua Huka and Eiao, and we look forward to exploring those in the austral spring when we are back in the Marquesas. Our plans are to head to the Tuamotus in the next few days.
Cruising Connections
Although we haven’t found any morning radio nets in the anchorages, we met boaters in many anchorages and often crossed paths again on shore, arranging hikes and generally connecting either on land or on the water. Because of our timing we’ve connected with boaters cruising more slowly who have also applied for a Carte de Séjour, or European Union citizens who can stay for several years.
The villages in the Marquesas are small. The two largest are Taiohae, the capital of the Marquesas on Nuku Hiva, and Atuona on Hiva Oa, which is the main village for the south islands. Each have populations of around 3,000. All other villages are several hundred people at the most. Spending 5 to 6 days in one place one usually has repeat encounters with locals. One fellow whom we’d met at a singalong at the holiday parade in Taiohae, saw us about a week later when we’d ducked into an overhang during a momentary downpour. We recognized each other and said Kaoha. He was shooting the breeze with a couple of buddies. Once the rain abated and we looked to continue our trek back to the dinghy dock, he offered us a ride in his truck. We thanked him and declined, saying it was the only exercise we get!
As in any remote village, you can find a diversity of items in the local shop, not unlike a general store in small towns. For instance, the marina in Atuona is a 45 minute walk around the bay from the main town. We were pleasantly surprised to find some produce, baguette, baking and refrigerated foods in the gas station at the fuel dock adjacent to the dinghy dock, saving us boaters the long trek into town in the hot sun.
We’ve been delighted with cruising the Marquesas – being awed by the mountainous landscape and volcanic spires, meeting the Marquesan people and learning about their history and culture, and getting to know a truly international group of cruisers who have made the trek across the eastern Pacific. It has been a good place to provide distractions from completing the boat repairs that were needed after our 25-day passage.
Great article, good information on anchorages in the Marquesas. It truly is one of the first places Canadians are exposed to international cruisers, if they choose to cross from Mexico. We made great friendships along our journey as you have started too. Keep up the great articles.
Ann, Thank you for the feedback. The cruising community makes for wonderful connections and super nice people who are always keen to share knowledge on anchorages and any other boating related queries. We’ve thouroughly enjoyed the next leg of the journey in the Tuamotus.