An archipelago of rich and diverse landscapes
Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou, Ha Huka, Tawata, Fatu Hiva, Moho Tani... the names of the Marquesas Islands sound like a gentle melody to the ear. And yet, this Polynesian archipelago of just 12 islands, 6 of which are inhabited, expresses a certain ruggedness. Its wild landscapes, high relief often exceeding 1,000 metres in altitude, steep cliffs and coastline marked by the absence of a lagoon. Everything in the Marquesas indicates that nature is king.
This is even truer when it comes to the archipelago's phenomenal marine biodiversity, which has flourished thanks to the Marquesas' geographical isolation. Manta rays, eagle rays, sharks, jacks, tunas, dolphins, swordfish... the marine fauna here is incredibly rich. The rally crews who were able to experience swimming among the manta rays off Tahuata Island will certainly agree.
This flamboyance of nature goes perfectly hand in hand with the development of a rich, ancestral culture, naturally turned towards the sea, which is very present on what the Marquesans call "Terre des Hommes".
Settlement and colonization
The Marquesas Islands have been inhabited for around 2,000 years by settlers arriving gradually from Melanesia and the western Pacific. For a long time, it was thought that these inhabitants came from the coasts of South America: this is what the Kon Tiki expedition, led by Norwegian Thor Heyerdhal, sought to prove in 1948. But since then, science has clearly demonstrated the Asian origin of these populations. They came gradually from the west aboard large pirogues capable of sailing against prevailing winds and currents. And it was easy for these Neolithic explorers, if their attempts at exploration failed, to turn back, driven by the trade winds. Taking with them food and animals to last the duration of a crossing into the unknown, these Southeast Asian tribes are the origin of today's Polynesian populations.
The Marquesas Islands are located far from sea routes, and were only discovered by Westerners in 1585, by the Spanish navigator Alvaoro de Mendaña. Visited by James Cook on his second expedition in 1774, the archipelago remained untouched by sovereignty until 1842, when it was annexed to France by Rear Admiral Abel Dupetit-Thouars. Sailors, merchants, soldiers and missionaries, as well as convicts and other convicts and deportees, disembarked in large numbers. In the 18th century, the Marquesas had a population approaching 100,000, according to Captain Cook's summary account, and almost disappeared altogether within a century, under the effects of epidemics, alcohol and opium brought to the islands by Western and North American settlers. This population loss threatened the entire archipelago, to the extent that by the end of the 19th century it had only 2,000 inhabitants.
Legendary strength
The archipelago shares a founding legend, in which the six inhabited islands form the outline of a house on the surface of the ocean: this concept is known as the "House of the Creator". According to this island tradition, the Marquesas form a coherent whole, with a strong identity: the "Land of Men".
This tenacious legendary foundation plays the role of a unifying rite, which does not prevent a history of confrontations between peoples from neighboring valleys. Exuberant landscapes, sculpture, art of living, traditions, tales and legends all combine to make the Marquesas a territory of high cultural and emotional value. For these legends, in which the song of the bird, the light of the dawning day, the palm leaves and the volcanic cliffs defying the ocean, are the foundation of a magnificent culture and contribute to forming the profound identity of the archipelago.
Tiki statues are a central figure throughout the archipelago: the Tiki, or "First Man" of the Polynesian world, is a deified ancestor who is not, however, a god. For the Marquesans, Tiki art is both a cultural manifesto and a memory medium. Hiva Oa stands out from its neighbors for the richness of its various archaeological sites. One of these is "Takaii", the largest Tiki in French Polynesia, standing at 2.60 m tall. This red tufa statue with its smiling face symbolizes balance, strength and beauty. Numerous petroglyph sites and other lithic structures - most often the foundations of ancient community buildings - can also be found on this island.
Easter in Nuku Hiva
It was in Nuku Hiva, the administrative center in the north of the archipelago, that most of the rally participants arrived in the Marquesas. Nuku Hiva is the largest of the islands, and also the most densely populated (around a third of the archipelago's total population of just over 9,000).
Easter ceremonies, which are very popular with the locals, gave the crews of the Grand Large Yachting World Odyssey 500 the opportunity to attend a mass celebrated in Marquesan, and to share a traditional meal of goat's milk coconut and fruit. This discovery of culture through religion did not prevent the sailors from enjoying a pleasant hike through Nuku Hiva's sumptuous landscapes, both spectacular and unspoilt.
Prestigious visitors fall in love with the Marquesas
Arriving in the Marquesas Islands in June 1842, American writer Herman Melville was barely twenty-three when he landed on the island of Nuku Hiva. He did nothing more than desert the whaling ship on which he had embarked two years earlier. The ship's captain tyrannizes the entire crew - in part inspiring the terrible Ahab of Moby Dick. The Taïpi tribe, whose reputation for cannibalism seemed rather well-founded at the time, gave him a warm welcome. Melville set sail again a few weeks later. His life of adventure and navigation was not yet over, and in 1846 he published an account of his time in the Marquesas under the title "Taïpi".
Scottish writer Robert-Louis Stevenson, who visited the islands in 1888, more than forty years after Melville, describes a threatened paradise whose people are discouraged and whose sacred sites are trampled underfoot. An archipelago in peril, where the cultural divide between inhabitants and missionaries and colonizers is a source of constant conflict. Like all sailors who come into contact with these lands, Stevenson is nonetheless captivated by the beauty and atmosphere of the Marquesas Islands.
It has to be said that arriving by boat in the Marquesas is a shock: the smells, the mountains, the friendly people and the omnipresent tiki sculptures are, according to many of the Grand Large Yachting World Odyssey 500 crews, a real attraction.
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Hiva Oa, the Tiki island so dear to Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel
The painter Paul Gauguin, who came to live on the Marquesas between September 1901 and his death in August 1903, contributed in his own way to the survival of Marquesan traditions, depicting Tiki in several of his paintings. Settling on Hiva Oa with the vahiné Vaeho, he chose the archipelago as a land of inspiration, like Stevenson before him. His subjects, with their shimmering colors and sensual forms, leave a visible mark on the history of art and the identity of the archipelago. The famous red tufa tomb of the French painter, on the island of Hiva Oa, is obviously one of the archipelago's must-see sites.
Following in the footsteps of Paul Gauguin, the island of Hiva Oa welcomed another distinguished guest in Jacques Brel, who came from Europe to isolate himself from the world and eventually end his life here. Sailing double-handed on his sailboat with his partner from Antwerp, Jacques Brel announced shortly after his arrival in 1975, at the end of an eight-month blue water cruising : " We're finally staying here. The country is beautiful, the people pleasant, and thank God they don't know me!
His perception of the islands is reflected in an emblematic song, "Les Marquises". Is the Marquesans' immense respect for the ocean, expressed in the song, not a manifesto likely to suit the crews of the Grand Large Yachting World Odyssey 500?
Sailing from island to island, in total peace of mind
It's worth remembering that the formula of this round-the-world rally allows crews a great deal of latitude in choosing their itinerary. They are free to choose certain ports of call and skip others. In all cases, they benefit from the security provided by the presence of their fellow navigators. All this, under the discreet surveillance of the organization which, thanks to efficient tracking and communication tools, knows where each yacht is at all times.
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These reassuring elements allow each crew a certain serenity in their program. What's true for the long crossings is also true for the stopovers, and each crew member was able to choose which island to disembark on, where to spend some time and how to make the most of visiting and meeting the locals.
This serenity is the hallmark of all participants in the Grand Large Yachting World Odyssey 500, a community of blue water cruising enthusiasts who have embarked on a three-year round-the-world voyage in which they experience total freedom, while knowing they're surrounded by increasingly loyal friends.
In the meantime, the crews took part in a program of visits and festivities, including a Marquesan brunch by the pool and a traditional dance performance. All had previously visited the Gauguin Museum and paid their respects at the tombs of the French painter and Belgian singer.
The ocean, a space of infinite freedom
In any case, after several weeks spent in the Marquesas Islands, in contact with a very present cultural environment, the crews have since set sail again for Tahiti. For some of them, this crossing includes a stopover in the remote atolls of the Palliser Islands, part of the Tuamotu archipelago. There, from Rangiroa to Fakarava, they have plenty of time to rediscover nautical pleasures such as coral diving, swimming with blacktip sharks or lazing on the back deck of their centreboarder !
We'll catch up with the Grand Large Yachting World Odyssey 500 crews once they've dropped anchor in Tahitian waters. In the meantime, don't hesitate to check their position on the rally website.
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