May 15, 1998-The Marquesas

Teenagers

Maybe we expected a grass hut village on the sand next to the beach, with dirt paths and luau's under coconut palms, but that is not the Marquises. Instead we found high mountains covered with lush green foliage, paved roads, and wood or concrete western style houses with metal or composition roofs, street lights, telephones, cable TV, and scads of 4X4 vehicles. The Marquisians live in nice houses and drive Toyotas, Land Rovers, and motor scooters. It seems like some kind of affluence has hit these islands, even if I don't know what it is.



Atuona Harbor

For one thing, few people seem to be working. Oh, some do, but many are just hanging out, in their nice vehicles. They are beautiful people, the women wearing flowers in their hair and the men with their shoulders tattooed in Polynesian art, and they in no way look primitive. To me they look alert, intelligent, educated, and comfortable with their place in the world.




Atuona City Center


In the afternoon after school the kids crowd the supermarket to buy candy, and to giggle at the foreigners (us).

Canoe Racers

Then the youths signed up for the canoe racing team practice in the harbor with their parents watching from shore next to the parked sport utility vehicles. The coach races around in a whaler shouting instructions.


In lieu of Pangas, the Marquesians have speedboats which look like small "cigarette" racers, with big outboard motors. The day before the holiday at least 24 of these boats showed up at the harbor, dad driving in his baggy shorts, Tee-shirt, and baseball cap, loaded on about 10-12 kids and then headed out to another island harbor. Mom took granny and the babies in the 4X4 to meet them there.

Other than giving us rides in the back of their Toyotas, they pretty much ignore us gringos as we shower under the faucet at the wharf, walk the streets in town, or pack our groceries back to our dingies. But if you say "Bonjour", and smile, they always say "Bonjour" back to you, and they always smile. Actually, when it comes to primitive, the cruisers have the Marquesians beat 10 ways to Sunday.

Gauguin's Grave

Polynesian Kids

Seattle Star

The islands themselves are stunning, with high volcanic peaks, steep sided valleys with rivers and waterfalls cascading down to the sea, and the whole place continually enshrouded in rain clouds. It is humid and wet here, at least during our stay, but nice, very beautiful. We have visited four harbors and they were all beautiful. The last one, called Daniel's Bay, for the Marguesian who lives there with his wife Antoinette, is the most beautiful we saw. It is a narrow inlet with high jagged cliffs on three sides and a storybook valley on the third, where Daniel lives. It reminded us of Princes Louisa Inlet in BC. We went ashore and met Daniel and his wife, and to ask if we could fill our water tanks from his faucet. He agreed and we took three dingy loads back to the boat in jerry jugs. On one of our return trips we o took some Ibuprofen which Daniel requested for Antoinette, and we filled in a page in Daniel's guest log. I asked him if he had a 4X4 and he said, "No, a horse only.". I asked him if he often rode it to town and he said, "No, the boat comes often with supplies I order. Once a week a tour boat comes from the Club Med and I take people around on a visit." He was nice, and gave us a bunch of fruit when we left.

Daniel's Bay


So, once again, we have a new experience to savor, and new places to get to know and to love. Now we are off to the Tuomotu Islands, on our way to Tahiti where we will send this.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, The Marquesas