Bay of Virgins, Fatu Hiva
Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Sat 22 Mar 2014 20:40
The trip over was calm, with little wind, so we ended up motoring just about the whole 45 miles. We had a later than planned start, due to the dinghy stern anchor getting wedged by the dock under some wire netting, John had to go diving to free it, and then a certain amount of messing around trying to release the boat stern anchor. Stern anchors are great when the anchorage is busy as it gives a lot more room, and more boats can fit, but when you are trying to get the blooming thing up, it is a different matter, it is a pain in the backside! Hopefully, we will not need to use it again until we return next week.
So we arrived about 5pm in the anchorage, which was quite busy already, to be told that everyone was using the dreaded stern anchors again - getting it down was relatively straightforward and we were soon set up. Arriving into the Bay of Virgins was spectacular, towering cliffs, with incredible lush vegetation, and huge rock pinnacles. The name was originally Baie des Verges, but again, Catholic Missionaries intervened - they were so horrified by the name, which translates as the Bay of Penises on account of the shape of the rock pinnacles, that they added an 'i' and changed the name to Baie des Vierges, translating as the far more appropriate, Bay of Virgins!
First view of the island, very rugged, the anchorage is about the middle of the picture, but you can't see it here.
The anchorage with the famous phallic pinnacles in the middle just above the yachts.
The dock and landing area in the village
The main attraction here, apart from the breathtaking beauty of the scenery in the anchorage, is the 200ft waterfall and swimming hole. The bay itself is a bit of a non-starter for swimming as it is very murky, and you can't see what is lurking under the water, also when it rains, which it does here, a lot at times, the water is turned brown by the water running of the hills.
After spending a morning doing a few maintenance jobs, we set off hiking with Sheldon and Ness from Nexus. The other couple on their boat had been in the morning and so were able to give us directions, but we still managed to take the wrong turn. Once we realised this, we turned round and made our way back to the road, we had taken the first left turn, not the second left turn. We had a bit of an adventure getting back to the road, and just as we did we saw another group from a different boat heading the way we had just gone. When we arrived at the waterfall, having gone the right way, they were just finishing their swim, we had probably been less than a quarter of a mile from the waterfall when we turned round!
The waterfall was, as promised, beautiful and after such a long and at times arduous walk, a swim in the cool fresh water was bliss!
Halfway to the waterfall, this is the view back out towards the bay, showing some more of the famous pinnacles.
Due to our wrong turn, it was a bit of scramble at times as we had to cross the river twice to get on the right track again!
Result - we made it to the waterfall. As it was afternoon, there was a rainbow halfway down the fall.
A well deserved cooling swim for me!
Fatu Hiva is famous for it sculpture and carvings and most of the people on the island are very skilled. It is also the only place where the traditional Tapa cloth is still made. This cloth is made from the bark of trees chosen for their colour. The mulberry tree produces a white cloth, the banyan tree a brown cloth and the breadfruit tree a yellow cloth. It is then painted with traditional designs. It is quite coarse, so I can't imagine it would have been very comfortable to wear.
The wooden carvings are beautiful and we purchased some made from a tou tree, which is grown only in the Marquesas. The French translation is labene, but we still don't know the English word. All the sales are done from people's homes where they create these artefacts. As you walk down the only street in the village you are beckoned in by the locals wanting to show you what they have to sell. We went to 3 places, and ended up with a necklace each, one of bone and one mother of pearl, a wood tiki carving, and two wooden bowls as well as three large papaya - it is possible to spend every last penny you have even on an island with only 600 people and 1 shop that was closed!
John picking his own papayas in this chaps garden, he knocked them off the tree with a long pole
As a special treat, and no doubt due to the fact that there were 10 boats anchored off the island rather than the normal 1 or 2, the local 'tourism committee', actually one women, organised a dinner for us all in the local village hall. They charged a minimal 1500cpf, £10 per head. We had chicken, rice, breadfruit, poisson cru, which is the local raw fish and coconut milk speciality, as well as papaya salad. It was all absolutely delicious. After the meal, there was dancing, which the local women were fabulous at, shaking and shimmering for all they were worth - when they got us up to dance, we made a shameful job of it! A great night was had by all and it was ended with a 'cultural exchange' in the form of a 'Beatles' tribute by the crew of Hebe, on guitar and drums and a lot of rowdy yachties singing along!
Sitting down for dinner in the village hall
Local dancers doing a traditional dance
The guys off Hebe adding to the entertainment!
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