June 23, 2007, Day 7, Saturday
Marquesas Islands, South Pacific
Vessel Underway from Fatu Hiva to Tahuata
Captain:
If you are thinking of coming this way, you will love it! It reminds me of Bahia Los Angles, Sea of Cortez - except for several MAJOR differences. Unlike ALL of Latin America we have seen, The Marquesas are CLEAN. No trash. Anywhere. Zilch. Nada. We actually saw a woman scold a child for leaving his trash behind; a real breath of fresh air after watching Salvadorians, Ecuadorian's and Peruvians toss trash out the bus windows. The other difference is that the landscape is green. Not just a little,
but LUSH. Be ready for rain, cuz that's why it's lush. But, the rain is warm, so it isn't as bad as it sounds. The people are warm; it's not a put-on, they are genuine; very similar to the Latin Americans.
We made landfall at Fatu Hiva. This is not an official port of entry, but if the navy boat is present, they will give you 4-8 days (depending on how they feel) to get to an official port. They are kind and efficient we are told, we didn't meet them.
Hiva Oa, one of the official ports of entry is having dredging done. We were told by some to pass on it and go tho Nuka Hiva. Others said it was no big deal. One person's nightmare is another's adventure. Go figure!
There are bugs here, but no worse than anywhere else; definitely not as bad as Puerto Refugio in the Sea of Cortez. Judy reacts really badly, so we anchor far out and cover the ports and hatches - the usual.
Be ready to use a stern anchor. The easier it is to set and retrieve, the happier you will be. If you are used to the Santa Barbara Channel Islands, stern anchors shouldn't be a problem. So far the only real windy anchorage has been on Fatu Hiva - 30+kts, but we didn't need a stern anchor. The places where we did, the wind has been real light. It's needed to keep the bow/stern into the swell.