We had an enjoyable 50 mile sail to this wonderful island.

Anything I have said about Hiva Oa is out of date. This is the closest thing to paradise we have seen so far. We are anchored in a staggeringly beautiful bay called the Bay de Vierges or the Bay of Virgins. There are some very dramatic tall steep sided pillars that overshadow the bay and apparently the original name for the bay was the more fitting Bay de Verges which my guide book tells me is the Bay of the Phalluses (...French students please confirm) but the more prudish Catholic missionaries added the "i", as well as stopping a lot more fun..apparently.

Many of the men here are elaborately tattooed with intricate traditional designs, they are very different from anything seen in U.K. and in these surroundings they look marvellous against the olive skin of the Marquesans. The women also wear tattoos but much more discreet such as bands on the upper arms and designs on the lower back emphasising where they girate their hips in the traditional dance. Tattooing is apparently making a strong comeback after a decline during the heavy influence of missionaries and introduction of western clothing. The people seem determined to re-establish meaningful ancient customs and the renewal of tattooing is important to the young men in their transition to adulthood but it is also part of a rebellion against a European lifestyle.

We went ashore to see the village and try to find our way to a 200 feet waterfall, a walk of about 2 miles inland. When we landed there was obviously something about to happen so we waited on the quay and learnt that there was some dancing about to begin. It then transpired that this coincided with a small freighter arriving. Sure enough a hooter came from ashore (hidden by a large phallus) and then a couple of barges appeared and unloaded cargo onto the quay. It was while this was going on a woman started screaming and someone dived into the water to retrieve a body floating upside down. Once retrieved a rather shambolic man was gradually revived and it appears he had fallen in whilst watching the goings on. He looked rather odd and we gathered that he was disabled in some way. Once back on his feet there was no suggestion that he ought to have a check up or anything and 15 minutes later he was helping to push cargo along the road.

The barges then disappeared for a while until one returned with a cargo of...tourists. The ship is a regular visitor and brings about 150 tourists of mixed nationalities from Tahiti and around the islands whilst carrying goods to and fro. The main export was Nomi in about 24 large barrels, whilst the main imports (beside tourists) were oil, a new aluminium speed boat and stock for the small local shop. The tourists' arrival was the signal for the locals to prepare their dance session which involved some serious drumming from 7 drummers and a group of about 14 women and girls doing some wonderful hip wiggling and hand gesturing whilst singing off and on. A rather wonderful event made all the better for the slightly village hall amateurishness of it all. There was no hard sell but the locals produced their wood carvings, decorated calabashes and tapas (drawings on bark cloth ) for sale.

Eventually about 3 hours later than we had intended we set off for the waterfall that we failed to find, but still had a good walk up the hill with magnificent views back over the village. The people live for the most part in beautifully maintained bungalows their gardens dripping with fruit whilst chickens run to and fro. There are of course no foxes or other animals that would take a chicken, although I would expect that rats probably take the eggs. A number of gardens had a pig tethered whilst the odd cow was also happily munching on the luxuriant vegetation. Only the dogs looked a bit dejected.

There were a lot of young children wandering the streets and playing in the water of the crystal clear harbour, including one young chap in charge of a cockerel on a leash that looked suspiciously as if it was off for a spot of cock fighting. As it was a Friday we wondered why they were not at school until we went past the village school and saw a notice saying there was a "greve" or strike to you and me. There were no older children about and it only occurred to us later that they were off boarding on Hiva Oa, strike or no.

So is this paradise? Well it comes close. The people do not appear to want for much. They have electricity, running water, a soil and a climate that will grow anyhing, few pests and a sea filled with fish. However, beside the handicapped man who fell in the water we saw 2 disabled children, which seems a bit high for a village of 200 people. We suspect that interbreeding is a problem although there are regular dance festivals that the islanders attend on neighbouring islands and have a chance to meet a likely looking lad or lass that is not their cousin. Perhaps the fact there are so many young people about indicates that the life is a good one and that the future of this wonderful community will be preserved for many years to come.