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HIVA OA 'Paul Gauguin's island' |
Above the steady rumble of the Pacific surge, the sharply sculpted mountains of Hiva Oa (Marquesas map : click here) hide their summits in the mists of rain-filled clouds. The largest and most fertile island in the southern group of the Marquises, Hiva Oa has deep valleys, lush plateaus and thickly wooded forests.
Located 1 184 km. (740 miles) northeast of Tahiti the town of Atuona is the administrative center for the southern Marquises. Framed in a theatre of mountains with the Bay of Traitors providing safe anchorage.
Atuona is a favorite port of call for yachts and copra ships. Atuona village has a gendarmerie, small hospital, post office, banks, weather station, Air Tahiti office, pensions, restaurants and snack bars, stores and shops, telephones and TV. There is a Catholic mission with a boarding school and a Protestant church.
A path up the cliffs behind the village leads to Calvary Cemetery. Here are the simple graves of two men who chose the Marquises as their final home and resting place the French painter Paul Gauguin and Belgian singer Jacques Brel.
Points of interest
Sightseeing highlights include a visit to Puamau Village, where Gauguin descendents live. In the steamy jungle above the village is the Oipona me'ae temple and the 8-ft. tall tiki Takaii, the largest stone tiki in Polynesia. Several other stone carvings adorn this quiet spot. Visit the very picturesque village of Hanaiapa; the petroglyphs carved in stone in Eiaone and Punai; the me'ae temple and black sand beach of Taaoa and the pretty bays of Nahoe and Hanamenu.
Hotel in Hiva Oa
Pensions in Hiva Oa |
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