Log Date: June 15, 2005

Location: Marquesas Islands

We are on the move.  Spent almost 6 weeks in the remote Marquesas Islands and could have stayed longer if the French Gvt would have given us visas for more than 90 days. The rest of our time will be spent in the "touristy" Society Islands, Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora..."Bali hai is calling..."

In short, the Marquesas Islands are not for the leisure/comfort-seeking traveler.  They have some of the most outstanding landscape, terrain, verdant green mountains, waterfalls, dirt roads and have very little of the "creature comforts".  Some of the bungalows in the "hotels" have AC and offer guided tours of the islands.  A number of people have "pensions" or rooms within their home that they rent.  Most restaurants serve goat (tons of "free-range" goat), poisson cru(our favorite), pig, and grilled fish, usually tuna or wahoo.  Everything is expensive...coke is US$6.50 and beer is $20 a six-pack.  A small bottle of Absolute Vodka was priced at around $65.00.  There are few white sandy beaches - most islands are volcanic rock right to the shoreline - there are some black sand beaches.

Deciduous and coniferous trees as well as coconut and fruit trees grow all over the hillsides.  Each and every harbor was unique, beautiful; most had spires (huge cylindrical volcanic spheres shooting to the sky, some just rock, some covered with greenery). There are goats and horses everywhere, we are told that if you catch a horse it's yours...we didn't try since there is no place on a 40' boat for a horse. So, if you want raw beauty, climbing wonderful trails through the woods to breathtaking views, Tikis and don't mind no-see-ums, mosquitoes (that carry Elephantis) and flies it is a wonderful place. Lets not forget the staph infection that pops up from just a small scratch. We loved it there!

According to one local, the way of life has changed dramatically in the last 20 years but not so much in the last 10 years...even with the introduction of "Satellite TV". The Polynesians were hospitable folks, we gather that they don’t really like the French nor their politics but are grateful for the subsidies.  The French government pays 80% of new home costs, all health care is subsidized, the price of a baguette is set by the government at $.45/loaf so everyone can afford it.  The 9,000,000 "Polynesian franc" home is a small one story house with probably 4 rooms, maybe glass windows, no bug screens, built on a concrete slab.

Many of the homes we were in had very little in creature comforts; they all had TV - some only a hot plate to cook on - did not see much for refrigeration.  Laundry was always hung on a line.  Some villages had a generator; some had a little solar power.  It was nice, on some of the smaller islands the villagers would still meet at the volleyball court or Bocce ball court every afternoon for a game or two.

There are chickens and roosters everywhere.  They have some of the most beautiful chickens and roosters we have ever seen.  The locals think that we are nuts when we photograph them but the coloring on these birds is just fantastic. I know it’s a rooster...how small our circle of importance has become.  With all those chickens all over the place, why are eggs $5/dozen?

We have not been to a grocery store that is even as large as a small "7-11" since Panama.  Here you don't find an abundance of fruit in the stores since everyone has fruit trees in their back yards!  At one store the apples were from Washington State, not NZ like we'd figure.  We are out of STARBUCKS coffee and Folgers purchased in Panama and have been reduced to "a coffee like product" (hot water with dried coffee crystals) and store brand cremora (Susan will not drink this at all).

We caught a rather large Mahi Mahi today but the sucker got away - haven't yet mastered the art of getting the damn thing in the boat when they are 4' long... so we had boiled cabbage, carrots, onions and potatoes with mustard for dinner...we were hoping for a fish so we didn't take anything out of the freezer.

Enjoying Life Onboard.

Laura and Susan

SV Mystic Traveler