Travel to the Marquesas Islands with the rallie World Odyssey 500, an archipelago with a taste of paradise

An archipelago of rich and diverse landscapes

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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, its high relief often exceeding 1,000 meters in altitude, its steep cliffs, or its 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 rallie crews who have swum 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.

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This flamboyance of nature goes perfectly hand in hand with the development of a rich, ancestral culture, naturally oriented towards the sea.

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Settlement and colonization

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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. Since then, however, science has clearly demonstrated the Asian origins 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.

Then came sailors, merchants, soldiers and missionaries, as well as convicts and other convicts and deportees. In the 18th century, the Marquesas had a population approaching 100,000 people, according to Captain Cook's summary account, and almost disappeared completely within a century, due to 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.

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Legendary strength

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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 past of confrontation between the peoples of the neighbouring 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 bird song, dawning daylight, palm leaves and volcanic cliffs defy the ocean, are the foundation of a magnificent culture and help shape the archipelago's profound identity.

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.

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Numerous petroglyph sites and other lithic structures - most often the foundations of ancient community buildings - can also be found on this island.

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Easter in Nuku Hiva

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It was at Nuku Hiva, the administrative center in the north of the archipelago, that most of the participants in the rallie 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.

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Prestigious visitors fall in love with the Marquesas

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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 captain of this ship tyrannizes the entire crew - he was to inspire, in part, the terrible Ahab of the novel 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, the omnipresent tiki sculptures, all demonstrate, according to several accounts by the crews of the Grand Large Yachting World Odyssey 500, a real capacity for attraction.

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[...] Stevenson was nevertheless captivated by the beauty and atmosphere of the Marquesas Islands. It has to be said that arriving in the Marquesas by boat was a shock: the smells, the mountains, the friendly people, the omnipresent tiki sculptures [...].

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Hiva Oa, the Tiki island so dear to Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel

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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?

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Sailing from island to island, in total peace of mind

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It's worth remembering that the formula for this rallie gives crews considerable 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 of their fellow sailors. All this under the discreet surveillance of the organization, which uses efficient tracking and communication tools to keep track of the location of each yacht at all times. What's true for the long crossings is also true for the stopovers, with each crew member able to choose which island to disembark on, where to spend some time, and how to enjoy the visits and hospitality of the locals. This serenity is shared by 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 to experience total freedom, while knowing they are surrounded by friends who are becoming increasingly loyal.

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.

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The ocean, a space of infinite freedom

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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 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 the pleasures of the water, such as coral diving, swimming with blacktip sharks or lounging on the back deck of their centerboarder !

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We'll catch up with the crews of the Grand Large Yachting World Odyssey 500 once they've dropped anchor in Tahitian waters. In the meantime, don't hesitate to check their position on the rallie website.

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