 Arriving in Hiva Oa was like finding paradise, heaven, Nirvana... whatever you want to call it really. 16 days later almost as long as our Atlantic crossing but felt so much more and looking back on this I now know why. Firstly because we have spent an awful lot of time at sea lately I'm feeling quite weary of it, plus the excitement of getting to French Polynesia particularly where Gauguin spent his last years was far too much for me to control myself :) Especially on reading his manuscripts Noa Noa. The time spent aboard Axonite is always enjoyable, as it's a splendid boat to sail. However, being solely responsible for cooking makes it feel like a never-ending task. It is not because the others on the trip don't want to help but clearly I am best at it and it does give me a sense of responsibility and creativity. The boys love eating pasta which is easy for me but I don't like eating it because I'm always worried I will put on weight. I did prepare some meals which helped give me a break some days. I do sometimes think about the nature of cooking onboard after having worked in the position for so many years and sometimes find it difficult not to treat it as a job. With time I am finding easier recipes and learning new ones by trying the local ingredients or asking locals how to cook things while at food markets and in supermarkets. This definitely keeps it more exciting when having to cook for days on end!! Arriving 8am on a Saturday morning meant we were in perfect time to get checked in early and could have the rest of the day to check out this paradise of lushness like I had only seen before in the likes of Brazil or Bali. It had a magic I sensed immediately and this is probably what had attracted Gauguin to spend his last years here. The combination of the thick lush mountains of all shades of green dotted with only a very few homes mainly concentrated in the area where we were anchored in Atuona. Immediately welcomed by Fergus & Jenevora from the World ARC Rally team we were invited up to the hotel on the cliff above, Hanakee Lodge, where they were staying. Apparently the only half decent place on island and after a few days I can understand why. Suddenly one's choice on places to stay had got very limited with only one or two nice places to eat and drink. We had booked a lovely home with a pool not far from the boat for 3 days in order to get away from the rest of the crew and give Marc & I some time out to explore and chill out after such a long trip to get here. The place we chose was fabulous it had such a lovely pool. A bit big for us 2 alone but good to have such space to be able to roam around after being on the boat in such a tight space. This was truly our haven for the next few days where we would be able to unwind, cry, scream and everything that went along with being at sea for so long. So incredibly good to get off the boat and hire a car as it allowed us the perfect plan to discover the uniqueness of Hiva Oa for ourselves. The first thing we did was to visit Gauguin's grave in the Calvary Cemetery along with Jacques Brel's grave, a famous composer, writer, actor and director from Belgium in the early 60's.
After having lunch in a simple shack next to the Gauguin museum, which we found closed for no reason coincidentally, we had a lovely drive down south to the area of Ta'aoa right along the water. The lushness along the drive was very unique especially the view looking back to Atuona after such a trip of 3 hours to and fro. The next day we were up a bit fuzzy as we had had a bad night's sleep. Finally all the apprehension of the past few months had come pouring out and I had an exhausting time letting all my woes out. I really felt I had no other option but to feel this way at some stage. The past few months have been challenging in various ways, starting from Trinidad and continuing right up until now. I've gained valuable insights into the types of people we enjoy sailing with and in this case less is more. I appreciate Marc's love, patience, and support, although I sometimes wish I could express my gratitude more effectively. This time onboard has certainly been a test of my resilience and has provided me with valuable lessons, as many sailors would agree. That day we did a very long and picturesque drive to Puamau to see the Grand Tiki which took us half a day to get there. On arriving in Puamau Village we decided it was best to eat lunch first. What we did not know is that we had to reserve a spot for lunch at Chez Marie Antoinette, but the lady there was very pleasant and asked us to come back once visiting the site. A very typical lunch not to be missed as we were told and actually not bad at all. Great sustenance for this big day out! Hailing from the island of Malta which such a deep and interesting culture as ours I was keen to understand the significance of Tiki symbolism and what made it so sacred. Tiki symbolizes power, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. They represent the force of Polynesian Art and the richness of the Ma'ohi culture. The ancient Polynesian craftsmen brought life to their tiki, sculpting the stone with skill and passion. This definitely encouraged me to learn more and looked into the possibility of following a sculpture session based on my knowledge of sculpture making. After much research I was unfortunately unable to find anyone who I could follow a workshop with on Tiki sculptures so I thought I would just wait till I got to Nuku Hiva, the neighbouring Marquesan Island. Time was closing in on our visit to Hiva Oa and my biggest interest in coming here, Gauguin's life in French Polynesia had still not unveiled itself. Gauguin's whole life has been punctuated by voyages. Hardly a year old he crossed the seas for the first time then later on in his teens and travelled until he met Mette his wife and had kids. French Polynesia was Gauguin's final destination and this is where he drew the ferment of his painting and definitely the firm conviction that this was his life path as an artist. He was considered a renegade by many. Gauguin knew for himself that keeping away from the artistic centre of Paris is what he needed. His quest for the primitive, the savage was Gauguin's driving force throughout his life as an artist. His work drew to a considerable extent from the representation of this life and the material and religious centre of both Polynesia & Brittany. Our visit to Gauguin's Art Centre was unfortunately very disappointing and I think the artist himself would have been horrified to know how his works had been presented. All works in the collection had been reproduced by very amateur locals definitely not giving justice to his work. It actually felt like a bunch of school kids had been given the job of putting together this exhibition. A very poor skill in reproduction, literature on his life and display of the work. Rather similar to what I had witnessed in the Gauguin Centre in Martinique a year ago in the Caribbean. Teohuata & Nuku Hiva Easter weekend was spent anchored off the beautiful desolate Marquesan island of Teohuata only an hour from Atuona Bay in Hiva Oa and what a sensational idea!!! This was the perfect place to finally unwind and take in the raw beauty of the Marquesas Islands while at the same time have the opportunity to swim in these beautiful blue seas I had so longed for. The weekend started with early evening drinks on the beach organised by one of our rally team and ended with a big Easter Sunday lunch I put on for our Irish friends aboard Navillus 3. I prepared Vietnamese spring rolls with prawn, avocado & mango for starters, marinated tuna Ramsay style served on veggie quinoa with a fruit salsa for main and poached pears in red wine & Antiguan rum on top of fresh home made brownies I had made that day :))) Easter Monday, rather hungover I must admit, we left for Nuku Hiva at midday after a big swim to wash away all the cob webs. One leaving Tehouata we passed the long way round past Puamau, which was a site I loved making a Japanese brush and watercolour of as we sailed past. This was my first sketch in a while as I had found it hard to paint with getting to land after so long, in a place I had dreamt about with the fair amount of conflict and super happy moments all mixed in one. I have to admit I have not learnt, as an artist, how to paint my moments of frustration, confusion or sadness. I still seem to freeze up and struggle to express myself rather than let it all out in a beautifully creative piece whether writing or painting!! I tried to paint and experiment with the wet on wet method which I really enjoyed on our passage while on my watch at sunrise. Life always gets easier once I get on passage and leave all I have behind me. Of course I'm not escaping life but leaving bad vibes means no harm at all, does it? Actually quite freeing and allowing one to move on.  Arriving in Nuku Hiva, Taiohae Bay is very impressive, almost overwhelming with its rolling green mountains lending to the sea. Nothing like I have ever seen before; astounding! We could not wait to see what the island had to offer and therefore decided to jump in a car and have a local drive us around visiting Taiphae & Taipavani. Opposite here in the map is the route we took that day with our local friend Fiona. A vibrant and proud lady full of information about her little island mid Pacific!! The following day the World ARC Rally program consisted of a full day of activities organised by the Nuku Hiva tourism board where they taught participants how to make traditional jewellery and other artisanal items. I once again enquired into making Tiki Sculptures but unfortunately the person doing that was off island. This meant the activity was not for me as I had tried so hard. That evening the World ARC rally collaborated with Tahiti Tourism in hosting a traditional meal and dance along with our Prize-Giving ceremony. I've never been a great one for re-enactments, much rather something ad hoc or from a dance school but the other participants seemed to enjoy it and that was good.
One of the things that most shocked me was when I heard that these islands still experience canabalism. The story I heard of the German guy who was eaten by locals on a sailing trip to Nuku Hiva with his girlfriend. I do still hope this story never really happened as it definitely put me off ever travelling back there. How shocking!! Our next few days were spent fixing our freezer, provisioning and getting organised for our next sail trip to the Tuamotus Atolls.
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