Pitufa.at

We reached Fatu Hiva around 3 o’clock this morning, waited outside the bay for the first morning light and entered the bay on the western side. The island’s absolutely spectacular: steep, volcanic mountains and lush tropical vegetation. We now anchor in the only good anchorage on the little island: the Baie des Vierges (Virgin’s Bay). It’s said to originally have been called Baie des Verges (Penis Bay), which the catholic missionaries later on change to the chaste Vierges (virgins)… Looking at the volcanic turrets behind the little village it’s clear what inspired the first name. The view around us is incredible: green, pleated hills with high coconut palms, sheer volcanic cliffs meet the water like in a fjord. The higher mountains behind the bay are covered in a dense cloud–it’s already rained twice since we’ve arrived and several waterfalls drop from the cliffs. Sorry, it’ll take a while until we can post pictures, as there’s no internet connection on the whole island… The anchorage is very deep (we’ve anchored in 24 metres) and more crowded than expected (8 other boats; during high season earlier in the year it’s packed here) and a bit rolly, but after the rough passage it feels calm enough. Our post-passage-ritual includes a bottle of sparkling wine, which knocked us out of our socks after a week without alcohol (especially as we had it at 7 o’clock with breakfast), so we haven’t explored yet, but are looking forward to going hiking, see the waterfalls, etc.