The Voyage of Spectacle

As the southeastern-most island of the Marquesas, Fatu Hiva is the most remote of the inhabited islands.  With its 32 (mostly uninhabitable) square miles and population of 631, Fatu Hiva is also one of the most unspoiled of the Marquesas Islands.  There is no airstrip, and getting there by boat is no cakewalk either – it typically involves crossing the Pacific like we did, hiring a charter from a neighboring island or hopping on one of the sporadic supply-delivery ships from Hiva Oa.  There is only one road, eleven miles of dirt connecting Hanavave and Omoa.  It’s not usable during the rainy season.

The imposing Tauauoho peak stands 3,691 feet, and Fa’e One mountain ridge soars to 2,690 feet.  Most of the coastline is dominated by narrow valleys and headlands, carved by streams, steeply plunging in the ocean.  The Pacific Ocean relentlessly pounds the cliffs of the east coast creating an ever-present haze of sea spray.  On the western leeward coast, the village of Omoa is the administrative center of Fatu Hiva, and is located in the Bay of Omoa between Pointe Matahumu in the north and a one hundred feet tall rocky spire called Motutapu.

Many inhabitants of Fatu Hiva work on arts and crafts in the traditional Marquesan style for sale to tourists in Tahiti.  Intricate wood carvings, sometimes from the very beautiful and rare rosewood, of tikis, bowls, masks, oars, and clubs are prevalent, along with stone carvings.  Fatu Hiva’s particular specialty is the tapa, which is a beaten bark cloth painted with traditional pictures and Marquesan designs.     

The first European to see Fatu Hiva was the Spanish navigator Mendana in 1595.  He named the island Santa Magdalena after the saint whose day it was upon landfall.  Generally speaking, the Catholic explorers and missionaries proved at least somewhat accepting of the ‘pagan’ cultures of the South Pacific, and thus many artifacts remain intact in Fatu Hiva and the Marquesas overall.  This is a stark contrast to the Protestant missionaries who systematically destroyed centuries of archaeology in the Society Islands. 

However, prudish sensibilities did prevail in the renaming of Hanavave Bay.  The phallic appearance of many of the surrounding rock formations prompted early Spanish explorers to use the name Baie des Verges, or Bay of Penises.  The missionaries strongly disapproved and added an ‘i’ to the name making it Baie des Vierges, or Bay of Virgins.  Whatever you want to call it, the bay must win the award for most scenic anchorage we have even seen, especially as the sun goes down behind the jagged peaks.