Marquesas, Ua Pou – May 2007
We left Tahuata for the Northern group of the Marquesas, firstly Ua Pou, a spectacular island with rocky outcrops which are in fact innards of ancient volcanoes where the outsides have eroded away. We sailed overnight for the 60-mile passage, and the approach was amazing. The island was high but cloud-covered, and occasionally the peaks were revealed between the clouds, doubling the height of the island! In fact the harbour at Hakahau, the largest village, has a great view of several of these volcanic plugs, which were revealed completely to us on some occasions, a stunning backdrop.
The village was just beautiful, all the gardens were filled with fruit trees dripping with breadfruit, grapefruit, mangos and so on, and beautiful flowers. The boats anchor behind the breakwater fore-and-aft and the anchorage is very calm. The water is fine for swimming from the boat. A swell does break onto the beach and shore and the best landing is onto the quay with a stern anchor for the dinghy. It is a short walk into town.
Here again the people were friendly, we bought loads more delicious fruit especially when we found who sold it, because that wasn’t obvious
Ua Pou is comparable in population to Hiva Oa and Nuku Hiva, and is partially covered in lush greenery. It rains a lot here too!
One day while at Ua Pou, Lisa was on deck in late afternoon as has become a habit, and she finally managed to stand up all by herself! She is also unfortunately now able to climb out of the cockpit by herself, so will need watching more carefully.