The author       Wonderful to put your feet on solid ground again after 24 days at sea! I was especially happy to see all the fruit literally falling from the sky. We could pick up mangos and coconuts as soon as we came ashore. Marquesas is very lush and all the flowers make it as colourful as a Gauguin painting. The Polynesian art appears everywhere as decorations - patterns which reveals holy symbols form past times with a sophisticated sense of filling out spaces - one symbol, animal or tiki put harmoniously next to each other to become one big pattern. These decorations are probably most striking when seen as big black tattoos on the Polynesians themselves. The Marquesas was discovered in 1595 but there was no real European influence until the end of the 18th century. Hanavave, Fatu Hiva Waterfall, Hanavave Children, Fatu Hiva It has been difficult for us to learn the names of the places we have been visiting as we couldn’t relate the names to anything; they all seemed the same: Hiva Oa, Ua Huka, Fatu Hiva and Nuku Hiva - and I shouldn’t forget Fatu Huku!! The Polynesian language also seemed to be made up of short words as mai hai hoe hee kai repeated again and again. We went to church a couple of Sundays and enjoyed the singing very much. Everybody sings - children as well as the adults and it left a big impression on us to experience this feeling of community. French Polynesia belongs to France and it is a modern country with people driving 4x4, smart fibre glass kayaks and loads of imported goods. Chickens are imported from South America and Australia even though there are hundreds of live ones running around. Goats are seen and heard from all sides of the mountains. The landscape of Marquesas varies between smooth green mountains and valleys and steep bare rock formations. We have found beautiful waterfalls in the forests and had a swim after strenuous climbs among rocks and wild fig trees. Hakahetau, Ua Pou Spinner dolphins

The playful dolphins were competing with Little Swan and always won. They swim along her, cross in front of the bow, let themselves get behind and race forward again. Little Swan in Fatu Hiva Gry and Toni Reference for Toni May 2007 I have sailed with Toni and Little Swan from Denmark to the Caribbean in 2005-2006 and from Galapagos Islands to Tahiti in 2007 - all in all 12.000 nm or a bit more than 13 months. As completely inexperienced in sailing Toni patiently helped me to feel comfortable onboard Little Swan and gave me a good introduction to the art of sailing. I feel very lucky to have had a teacher like Toni when it comes to the technical parts of sailing but have enjoyed his company as well. He is a very inspiring person who gives you a trust in the good things in life. He is adventurous, curious and open-minded and this combined with his hard working eager and sense for practical tasks make the most unbelievable plans possible. My journeys with Toni and Little Swan have been of immense importance to me. It has thought me endurance, patience, respect for the mighty sea and team work in all its meanings. On top of all this I have had the most wonderful wild life and nature experiences. I have felt welcome and at home onboard Little Swan from the very first moment and can only recommend anybody to join for an adventure! Gry Bastholm