The previous evening we’d agreed to meet Etienne at 7:30 to take us down the coast to the town of Hakamaii to visit the local Marquesan tatooist who lived in that village. We filled his truck with 5 gallons of diesel which was part payment for the trip as well as required to get us there. The trip took about an hour over a route that was occasionally paved but mainly a dirt track carved out of the side of the mountains and through lush vegetation. We eventually stopped at the home of Kina which we reached by climbing a dirt path through many fruit trees.
We sat down and looked through Kina’s book of tattoos selecting one we each liked. We had wanted someone who was less familiar with foreigners and hence less influenced by outside tastes and from the selection this looked to be the case. Given the Helen was positive towards this I let her go first lest she change her mind while I was having mine done. Helen chose to have hers done on her thigh so it could be hidden but shown easily as well as being able to see it herself. The pattern comprises sweeping curves with lots of intricate detail with lots of symbols representing travel, family, the Marquesas, etc. I chose a different tattoo but with similar curving style and symbols which went over my shoulder blade.
Having the tattoos done was a little painful at times but mostly relaxing, particularly when we relaxed and took our mind off of what was happening.
Despite the tattoos being quite intricate, Kina completed them quite quickly so we had some time to wait for Etienne to return. While we waited Kina gave us some fruit from his garden. Loads of fruit. We ended up with mangos, papayas, pampelmousse, bananas, oranges, some spiky delicious things we don’t know the name of and some aubergines (egg plant). He then invited us to join him for lunch which was a chicken stew with bread and rice. It was delicious. Kina also turned out to be a tapa maker and a sculptor. He showed us some of his work which we thought was fantastic.
Etienne eventually arrived and we headed back to Hakahetau and to the boat. We immediately left to head south to join Whiskers who had moved down to Baie de Vaiehu. We’d promised Gerald we’d take a look at his computer which had died and we wanted to show off our new marks of passage.
Dianne and Gerald were very impressed with our tattoos. Helen’s is very strategically placed as it just occasionally shows below her hemline giving the hint of something exotic just out of sight. Quite sexy really.
Gerald’s computer was unfortunately pronounced dead looking like it needs a new motherboard. We spent a little time giving some advice about his laptop which we’ll follow up on next time we meet. We spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening sitting around on their foredeck eating and drinking and watching the sun go down and the stars come out.
Whisker’s are off to the Tuamotus today and we’re off north to Nuku Hiva and our water maker pump so our paths again go different ways. It’s almost certain we’ll meet again in a few weeks though.
We are both very pleased with our tattoos and would thoroughly recommend Kina to anyone else following our wake both for his tattoo work or for someone looking for some unique wood / bone sculptures. Furthermore, given that, from what we can tell, few sailors have their tattoos done on Ua Pou and that each island as it’s own style, Kina’s tattoos should be more unique. His number is (689) 925-585. The town of Hakamaii is not easily accessible by sea so using Etienne from Hakahetau would be a good idea. Hiring locals to drive one around is not cheap in the Marquesas so I’d recommend tying this in with a general visit of the island. Etienne also suggested that if groups wanted Kina’s services he could perhaps shuttle him to Hakahetau instead.
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