10:29.8S 138:40.0W Arrived at the Marrquesas!

Meryon.bridges
Tue 27 Apr 2010 04:50
Ares arrived in the Marquesas at 13.30 local time (10.5 hours behind UK Summer time), after completing the crossing of 3000+ miles of the Pacific Ocean.  It's taken us 20 days and 3 hrs which is a pretty good time for us.  We arrived in a spectacularly beautiful bay of dramatic volcanic scenery in Fatu Hiva, originally called the Baie des Verges.  This name deeply offended the early missionaries who changed it to the Baie des Vierges.
 
Perhaps this requires some explanation.  The native Polynesians named it for the dramatic rock spires that populate the valley behind.  Unfortunately for the missionaries this gave "The Bay of Penises", a concept too lewd for their delicate sensibilities so with the introduction of a single letter, they transposed it to "The Bay of Virgins" - boring lot!
 
The original name seems better to us, but then perhaps this view is coloured by the Norwegian boat next to us which has a couple of very lovely girls aboard.
 
We plan to be here for another day and then work our way up the chain of islands to Nuku Hiva over the next five days.