We have now left the Marquesas and are en route to the Tuamotus, which are totally different islands, although still part of French Polynesia. They are all low sandy atolls whereas the Marquesas are high with magnificent swirling columns standing up, in some cases thousands of feet into the sky, the remains of volcanic plugs. Ua Pou, one of the smaller Marquesas, rises to 4,000 feet almost the height of Ben Nevis but is only about twice the size of the Isle of Wight. It thrusts dramatically straight up from the sea with a skyline of weird and wonderful shapes and from offshore looks like the back drop for a sci fi fantasy movie.

Ua Pou was the last stop for us in the Marquesas after a happy few days in Nuku Hiva, the most northerly inhabited island. We sailed north overnight from Tahuata en route from Fatu Hiva just over a week ago. We stopped at Tahuata to break the journey with some snorkelling which was wonderful with plenty of fish we haven't seen before. As well as enjoying the busy fish it is important to scan for sharks continually as they are very common in the Marquesas. They enter the bays looking for reef fish and the harbours seeking out the easy target fish that swarm in, as well as the entrails that the fishermen throw into the harbour waters when they have cleaned their catch. The fish and the sharks clear it all away. The speed of the sharks when chasing harbour fish is just scary, it causes a splashing rumpus as they tear through the water after panicked jumping fish trying to escape and I wouldn't like to get in the way.

Nuku Hiva

This is the administrative centre for the Marquesas and has a busy town with a lot of coming and going of the universal 4 wheel drive utility vehicles that the locals favour, they need them as some of the roads are little more than rough tracks which become lethal in the rainy season. Rocks fall from the roadside cliffs or massive coconuts plummet down so a robust car roof is a distinct advantage. Saturday night was music night so we duly went ashore and saw some memorable dancing with about 80 young men and women doing something that was a bit like a combination of square dancing and the Haka as performed by the New Zealand rugby team, it was apparently about hunting for wild pigs. We only left once the entertainment resorted to karaoke! These islands really are a bizarre mixture of old and new.

On the Sunday we went on a tour of the island with our chauffeur and guide Jocelyn who speaks excellent English and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the flora, archaeology and history of the island. We went to the far side of the island where there was an ancient site complete with the usual tiki (carved stone men) but also with the platforms and altars where ceremonial human sacrifices were carried out. There were also petroglyphs and stone dungeons where the selected victims, usually male enemies from another tribe, were kept until their time came. Many of the sites have what look like the remains of small wells but are in fact underground stone lined stores for a breadfruit mixture that was prepared and kept against famine. One of these stores was found complete with contents of about 100 years old and apparently still edible. These archaeological sites are quite easy to find as they all have banyan trees growing within and around them. These trees were sacred and the bones and skulls of sacrificed victims were placed within the massive aerial roots that are so distinctive of these trees.

A lot of territory was covered including the beautiful bays and villages of the coastal areas together with the high tree covered hills whilst moving from lush lowland palm and fruit covered slopes to equally lush highland slopes covered with abundant nut and different fruit trees. As in the Galapagos the guava was introduced to the Marquesas many years ago as a food source but now, as sometimes happens with non native species, it has become a vigorous weed which is difficult to control and adds little to the local economy. The villages in the Marquesas are just delightful, they are extremely well kept. People live in quite large bungalows often open, no windows so that breezes keep them cool and with large gardens planted up with coconut, mango, breadfruit, limes, pamplemouse which is a most prolific citrus here, bananas, bougainvillea, hibiscus and the national flower a small star shaped blossom of the gardenia family. The air is often full of a light perfume. Hedges are usually of a plant seen grown in pots in UK and known as Joseph's Coat due to its vibrant colours. Many of the locals have horses which were the only form of transport before roads and cars were introduced. The Marquesans are great horsemen and will often ride bareback. An elaborately tattooed, long haired Marquesan riding bareback down the road is a wonderful site to behold.

In Nuku Hiva at one of the three small self-service shops and in the restaurant we had visited with James and Lucy, there were shop staff and waiters who seemed to be transvestites. We were rather intrigued about this but Jocelyn explained it for us. Apparently in the past families suffered from having their sons comandeered for fighting, the Marquesas were islands of warring tribes that frequently carried out raids, particularly to carry off women from neighbouring tribes and to capture men for ritual sacrifice. In order to cope with this mothers kept one of their sons with the girls and brought him up as such so that he would not be taken. This worked, they didn't take these large 'girls' and even if the attacking tribe realised this large girl was actually a boy they did not want him either for work or sacrifice as he would not have the masculine traits they needed. These men, who grew to be as large and strong as their brothers,

 were not homosexual although apparently now some are and gay outsiders will come to live here because feminine men are not just totally accepted, they are a very real part of the culture. .

Daniel's Bay

The following day we left the town harbour and sailed to a corner of the island where there is a totally landlocked bay, it was difficult to find the entrance and once inside it seemed to disappear and was like sailing into a mountainous cathedral, it was silent except for the lapping water and surf breaking on the white sand beach. The bay has no road access but was used for one of the TV Survivor programmes where a group of people are left on a "deserted island" to survive with limited resources. Apparently the TV company bought rights to use the bay from Daniel, who was happily living there then they cut down all his mango and breadfruit trees so the TV survivors would not find it too easy to survive. That has all now finished although his house, which was torn down was never properly rebuilt afterwards. Daniel died four years ago, a rich man as a result of the programme and his descendants are there now using the bay for their cattle and horses.

A second bay off the first has a small but very beautiful village with fruit trees and well manicured gardens full of flowering shrubs. The homes are simple with no glass in the windows and as always very neat and tidy. One of the main ways they make a living is by selling a smelly fruit called Nomi. It smells like over-ripe cheese but is said to be a cure for cancer amongst other things and there is a big market for it in the USA once it has been pulped, refined and mixed with other ingredients to remove the taste and smell.

In Search Of The 2,000 Foot High Waterfall

Inland from the village is a walk up the valley which leads to what is claimed to be the 3rd highest waterfall in the world. We duly did the walk passing another archaeological site and through some beautiful jungle cut through by a small river and numerous streams. We met a very traditional Marquesan man with long bound hair, tattoos and with the three pocketed sheath for the knives that the men carry around their waists when hunting. He had his two hunting dogs that all the families keep, and his horse led by his two barefoot children. He told us he was hunting for wild pig. Chris asked if he used a gun but no he just used his dogs and his knives and the horse carries home the carcass. We had been asked for bullets when in Fatu Hiva, the locals will trade for them with their carvings or fruit; they also like rope, shoes and electrical goods. We wondered if hunting was on the increase because of the ever growing problem of cigueterra fish poisoning. Either way the jungle provides meat in the form of pork or goat and the gardens provide the rest. The markets here are usually quite small because everyone grows their own.

The hunter pointed us on our way so we took off our boots and crossed the river then walked on for another hour deeper into an impressive gorge with the mountains rising sheer all around us. It became more and more enclosed until the mountain walls were leaning in, trees gave way to ground hugging shrubs and a foot wide rocky path that brought us into the cul de sac of the gorge. We could only look up at the sky as though through an upturned funnel and it was heavy with silence. Here at the foot of the rock face were two large, still, clear pools and behind some great boulders was the black towering face of the waterfall. The waterfall was a trickle as there has been a drought and the rainy season has not begun properly yet. However, we were able to swim in the very cold rock pools at the foot of the massive drop.......... frightening but very memorable. We could see through to the waterfall through gaps below the large boulders blocking it off, too tight and too dangerous to swim through. Then we realised that we could climb behind the boulders and into the waterfall pool itself, this was quite scary being totally enclosed. Part of the pool lay in a high cavern, Chris wouldn't swim into it, it made him feel claustrophobic. As the walls overhung the pool it was darkish except for a ray of sun which fell on the foot of the waterfall where the water sprayed out like a sparkling shower, swimming here was awe inspiring and will stay sharp in the memory.

It was only when we got out and were getting dry on the bank that an enormous eel came to the surface and looked at us expectantly. A couple with their one year old baby from Norwegian yacht and two Argentinian crew from an English registered yacht had also arrived. They gave the eel some bread and it was clear that it had learnt that dinner comes after swimming! No one was sure if they would have gone swimming in this pool had they seen this large fellow beforehand especially when it was joined by an equally large mate a little later.

The Sting (or bite) In The Tale

On our way down on the outskirts of the village we were called into a garden by a local woman who gave us a banana each and wanted to sell us some. We chose our branch but unfortunately we had to wait for our Norwegian friends to catch up as we had to borrow some cash not thinking we would need any money when we left that morning. Whilst waiting Lorraine got covered in bites despite being fully sprayed with insect repellent. There is a particularly nasty fly infamous in the Marquesas called the Nono, which is almost impossible to see and produces a bite worse than a mosquito that develops just like chicken pox. Lorraine, now covered in calamine lotion, has 154 bites so is feeling very under the weather and sorry for herself as a result.

As a consequence we left the islands earlier than intended as we do not want to encounter Nonos again.....ever. They are now only found on the Marquesas islands as the French have managed to get rid of them from the rest of French Polynesia...not too good for the tourist industry, which hardly exists here but is big in Tahiti, Bora Bora and the other Society islands. A pity that this stage of our journey should have ended rather unhappily.

The passage to the Tuamotus is about 500 miles or about 4 days but we have to be careful to arrive in daylight as they have tricky passes through the reefs into the lagoons which can have strong currents and coral heads to catch the unwary. At the moment we would just like some decent wind.