The next three days are spent exploring the island on foot, tracing the footsteps of Thor Heyerdahl on Fatu Hiva Island. I walked narrow roads in the valley; ate fresh papaya, juicy mangos and pomelos, a huge sweet and mild grapefruit with white thick flesh. I swam in the waterfall a few miles out of town. Exploration allowed me to recover from the 16 hour crossing.
The following night the wind started to blow hard bringing strong gusts down the valley. For me with a tent on land, it was no problem but for the boats in the bay it was another story. One after the other, they dragged in their anchors. I had given a bag with some of my electronics and valuables to Dick and Monique from the catamaran I stayed on. They tried four times to re-anchor after which they decided to leave the bay, but with my gear! Luckily they realised and spent the night outside and returned with my bag the next morning. Without my GPS and compass it would have been hard to do the crossing to the next island.
On the third day on Fatu Hiva I wanted to hike to Ouia, one of the valleys where Thor Heyerdahl lived with his wife for part of his stay on this remote island. An eight hour hike across the mountains on a small single track is the only way to get there. Although it was eighty years ago, I feel the same excitement he must have felt; it’s such a beautiful hike through the forest and over steep mountain ridges to the pristine green valley which is still uninhabited. I did the hike barefoot and on cheap slippers for which I paid a price with some blisters and sore muscles the next day when I left Fatu Hiva to cross to Tahuata.
