Excursion Sights of atuona tour at Atuona
Cruise line: SilverseaDifficulty:
After a dry landing onto a concrete jetty, you will be able to free roam this picturesque village in the Marquise Islands. Enjoy the beautiful scenery adorned with the fragrant hibiscus and frangipani and a Mave Mai traditional welcome, including traditional dance, polyphonic group singing and percussive rhythms of traditional pahu (drum). Shuttles will be available to transfer you to a small village of Atuona where you can visit the Paul Gauguin Museum and cemetery.
Atuona, a peaceful little port at the head of the Taaoa Bay, also known as Traitors Bay, has emerged from obscurity due to having had the privilege of being the last resting place of Paul Gauguin and of the singer Jacques Brel. The tombs of these famous personalities are on the side of the Calvary cemetery looking out across the bay and are places of great pilgrimage. In the village, the Gauguin Museum displays items related to the painter's stay there at the beginning of the century and has copies of his works.
The 'House of Pleasure' where Gauguin lived has been rebuilt with copies of the carved wood panels and the lintel bearing this inscription. In the outskirts of Atuona, heading towards the airport on a site dominating Tahauku bay and Hanakee Islet a memorial to the singer Jacques Brel has been erected. Near the airstrip, Brel's little Beechcraft Bonanza airplane, baptised 'Jojo', is on display. Also, very close to Tahauku, a track leads to Tehueko a petroglyph site whose carvings bear a strange resemblance to the ones on Easter.
The island's beauty is tropical, but rugged. Unlike other islands in French Polynesia, the Marquesan coast has no fringing reef or coral-clad turquoise lagoons, and the pacific swells crash right onto the rocky coast. Of volcanic origin, the islands consist of eroded and partially submerged peaks of extinct volcanoes.
Note
Please note: Activity level and duration of this activity are approximate. More specific information and logistic details will be communicated by the Expedition Leader on board. Entrance fees to Gauguin Museum and Espace Brel are included. Transportation is very basic; vehicles used are the best available. Lightweight, comfortable clothing with flat, closed-toe walking shoes are recommended. We advise guests to bring water, a hat, sun protection. Walking in the village is at the discretion of each guest. Please note that all explanations in the museum are in French and not in English. This shore excursion doesn't need to be reserved.