The laid-back French Polynesian lifestyle and the leisurely Aranui cruise timeline are conducive to solace and contemplation, as is the region’s natural splendor. We gazed out from the ship at a brilliant blue sky laced with billowing white clouds that caressed lofty peaks and cast drifting shadows across rock faces and soaring spires on the mesmerizing Marquesas island of Fatu Hiva.
Cockeyed Cargo-Cruiser
The cargo-cum-cruise ship that sails from Papeete, Tahiti, offers the romance of hopping a freighter to the South Pacific but with comfortable cabins and distinctive dining. Air Tahiti Nui offers the convenience of nonstop flights from Los Angeles and Seattle with gracious Polynesian crews.Aranui Cruises’ one ship, the 410-foot Aranui 5—the latest iteration to bear the name, which translates to “The Great Path”—has a cockeyed profile. It is formed by the low and flat bow stacked with shipping containers and surmounted by two yellow cranes juxtaposed against the stern that houses the superstructure of a cruise ship, honeycombed with balconies.
Polynesian Pedigree and Authenticity
“I am part of the family who started the shipping company and cruise line,” Eric Wong, executive vice president for North America, said on a business trip from California just before the ship left port in Papeete. “Aranui has always been about the people of French Polynesia. We’ve helped the Marquesans develop the native economy of their islands.”Drops of Land in Pacific Solitude
Nine hundred miles northeast of Tahiti with a population of about 9,000, the Marquesas are among the most remote islands in the world.
During his 1907 quest in his ketch to the Marquesas, Jack London chronicled: “In years and years no sailing vessel has attempted this traverse, and we found ourselves in the midst of one of the loneliest of the Pacific solitudes. ... We sighted no sail ... no steamer’s smoke above the horizon. A disabled vessel could drift in this deserted expanse for a dozen generations, and there would be no rescue.”
My wife, Maria, and I recently embarked on Aranui Cruises’ 12-day round-trip adventure from Papeete. The nine-island itinerary encompassed Bora Bora, the Tuamotu atolls Fakarava and Rangiroa, and the six inhabited Marquesas Islands—Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou, Hiva Oa, Fatu Hiva, Tahuata, and Ua Huka.
The Marquesas are volcanic islands of rugged coastlines and crystal-clear bays, lush mountains and dense forests, craggy cliffs and cascading waterfalls, and luxuriant valleys imbued with beautiful blooms and birdsong.
“They are the tableau on which travellers can paint their fantasies,” Paul Theroux confided in his 1992 travelogue “The Happy Isles of Oceania.”
The Marquesan weather is moderate because of the trade winds, with two-degree changes in average temperatures from month to month throughout the year. Rain often occurs in short downpours or thunderstorms and is less frequent from September to December.
The diminutive island group boasts a good standard of living based on agriculture, fishing, and tourism, bolstered by Aranui’s 19 annual visits. The archipelago benefits from being part of the French governmental and economic system while retaining its own heritage. The 2,000-year-old culture and native language are distinct from the rest of Polynesia.
Chicago passenger Janet Oppenheimer shared some of what she learned on the trip about the Marquesans and their way of life:
Mystical Marquesas
The mystical Marquesas are celebrated in art and literature. In his 1846 novel “Typee,” Herman Melville described “strange visions of outlandish things,” such as “groves of cocoanut—coral reefs—tattooed chiefs—and bamboo temples; sunny valleys planted with bread-fruit trees—carved canoes dancing on the flashing blue waters—savage woodlands guarded by horrible idols.”Paul Gauguin’s post-impressionist Marquesan paintings portray golden-skinned natives and vibrantly colored idyllic settings. The French painter died a pauper in 1903 and is buried near Belgian troubadour Jacques Brel in a hilltop cemetery overlooking the ocean, near the town of Atuona on Hiva Oa.
Cultural Tapestry
Passengers are encouraged to delve into the rich tapestry woven into French Polynesian culture through the ship’s engaging and educational activities: traditional music and dance classes and cooking lessons, multilingual lectures on history and customs, and interactive workshops on indigenous artistry.
Each island excels at uniquely honed crafts, which were demonstrated on several of our tours. Tahuata is known for its tiki-theme jewelry and ornaments created from cow and swordfish skeletons that have been displayed at the Louvre in Paris. Fatu Hiva villagers pound breadfruit tree bark into tapa cloth and weave floral headdresses from pandanus leaves and plumeria.
One of Aranui’s knowledgeable lecturers was Didier Benatar, who moved to Tahiti with his family from France when he was 15 and studied primitive art in Paris at the Ecole du Louvre.
Culinary Delights and Sacred Symbols
Tropical flower arrangements and colorful tablecloths adorn the bright and inviting casual dining room with its attentive, smiling waiters. A bountiful buffet breakfast caters to all appetites. Lunch and dinner are culinary delights. French and Polynesian entrées served with red and white wines often feature fresh seafood and locally grown fruits and vegetables, finished with gourmet pastries and parfaits.Australians Mark Faucett and Michelle De La Coeur, who celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary, advised, “Take photos of the desserts; they are sensational!”
Grand Maneuver and Chess Game
Other than the French officers, the ship’s staff is largely Polynesian—many from the Marquesas. Much admired by his crew, hands-on, informally dressed Capt. Arnaud Demesy was no stranger to the cargo deck and once drove our tender, extending a steadying hand to passengers as they disembarked.Aranui Cruises takes measures to protect the French Polynesian ecosystem.
“Sometimes, we leave earlier at night, allowing us to proceed at a slower speed to be more fuel-efficient,” Demesy explained on the bridge. “We work closely with organizations, such as Green Marine, to implement new processes to reduce our environmental footprint.”
Maria and I stood on an upper deck just after sunrise at Ua Huka to watch the captain perform “la grande manoeuvre.” In a narrow channel between rock-ribbed canyon walls scarcely wider than the length of the ship, he almost imperceivably negotiated it into a remarkable 180-degree rotation before setting anchor at the entrance to the “Invisible Bay” of Vaipaee.
At every port, the stevedores leaped into action. Forklifts shifted freight around in a chess game to clear space and rearrange the goods from above and below decks. Cranes swung out to unload stacks of lumber, crates of concrete, drums of gasoline, boxes of food, cases of Tahitian Hinano beer, and even Toyota pickup trucks. Islander cargo was loaded on pallets laden with copra, citrus fruit, fish, and barrels filled to the brim with noni fruit.
“Cargo is in our DNA,” Wong declared. “Passengers are fascinated by seeing how a cargo vessel works. We’re like a well-oiled machine.”
Warrior Dance and Heroic Odyssey
Taiohae is the archipelago’s administrative capital, located on Nuku Hiva, the largest and most populated island—18 miles long and nine miles wide, with about 3,000 residents.A muster of drivers met the ship and escorted us in their four-wheel-drive vehicles along the island’s winding mountainous road to the Kamuihei archeological site, notable for ancient petroglyphs and six-centuries-old banyan trees. Wearing boar-tusk choker necklaces and fern fronds, menacing warrior-style dancers fiercely grimaced and grunted a gruff chant, stomping their bare feet to the pounding drum beat in front of the immense banyan.
After the performance, lunch was served at a lanai restaurant in the village of Hatiheu. We feasted on breadfruit, pork, goat, and small red bananas slow-roasted in an umu, or underground oven. The Marquesan meal also included raw fish in coconut milk, stir-fried chicken in sweet soy sauce, and Po’e, a chewy banana-and-coconut pudding.
Thirty-eight years earlier, Aranui 5 passengers John and Heather Scint sailed their 44-foot yacht 7,000 miles from Long Beach, California, to their home in Auckland, New Zealand. The couple made landfall at Nuku Hiva without a major incident. On the last lap of their odyssey, they were engulfed in a ferocious storm with hurricane-force winds and ocean swells more than 100 feet high.
Island Songs and Hollywood Script
Our last port of call was the white-beach-and-turquoise-sea French Polynesia of your dreams. At Bora Bora, we swam with sharks and stingrays and escaped to a private island. A festive barbecue featured customary Marquesan singing.“The meaning of many of our songs relates to nature, family, culture, and, very importantly, to God,” ship tour guide Spencer Awatai avowed. “It doesn’t matter what island we are from; we are all singers.”
After the evening’s farewell banquet fanfare, we relaxed on our balcony, beguiled by the resplendent sunset and the ascendant crescent moon over the distinctive silhouette of Bora Bora’s signature Mount Otemanu. It was a Hollywood-scripted ending to a perfect day in paradise.
