FATU HIVA
Now, more then 80 years later, I found myself on my way to Fatu Hiva to relive Thor’s journey, only this time on a 14’ stand up paddle board (Starboard Touring 14’ x 30”) which I could also windsurf. The wind is light and it is a hard upwind reach. If you miss the island it is more than a 1000 miles to Easter Island. Although I had water and food for 4 days, it was better I made sure I got to Fatu Hiva. I was hoping to reach it by nightfall, but I still couldn’t see the island on the horizon. My compass said I was on course and my GPS was telling me I was halfway, which was good, but it also told me I would arrive there in the middle of the night. Just when I thought the wind was totally giving up on me, I felt a fresh breeze from a slightly better angle. I had started in the early morning and paddled for 6 hours just to get around the eastern cape of Hiva Oa, the second largest island in the Marquesas Islands archipelago. I had arrived there the day before with a small propeller plane from Tahiti. Pifa, a super friendly local picked me up and drove me to Puamua on the other side of the island. Here you can find the largest and best preserved Tikis of French Polynesia. Tikis, statues carved in wood or stone, represent Ti’i, an ancestor – half human, half god, who according to legend was the first man. They are placed outside of houses to protect the inhabitants. It seemed only fitting to start my crossing to Fatu Hiva here.