The Marquesas (44/59)

The Marquesas (44/59)

In the middle of the South Pacific, just a four-hour flight from Tahiti, lies the island group of the Marquesas. The 14 islands, which belong to French Polynesia, are sparsely populated with around 9,000 people and do not at all tally with the typical notion of what South Sea islands should look like: instead of blue lagoons and white, palm-lined beaches, there are rough seas, rocky coastlines and rugged mountains. The region has not been developed for tourism; the internet only became accessible a few years ago. Modern acquisitions such as cars, refrigerators and washing powder are delivered every three weeks by a freight ship from Tahiti. When Herman Melville, author of "Moby Dick", arrived on the island of Nuku Hiva in 1842 the inhabitants were still fearsome cannibals. Missionaries changed the world view of the native peoples however and converted them to Christianity. On the little island of Hiva Oa - another of the Marquesas - Jacques Brel and Paul Gauguin are both buried in the same graveyard, a veritable world away from their homelands. This documentary in the "Distant Journeys" series explores the Marquesas of the South Sea.

Also available: 25 min version

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