Fatu-Hiva: Back to Nature

About the year the author spent on a remote island in the Marquesas, with his new wife. They wanted to escape modern civilization and live purely as a part of nature- no modern conveniences, little clothing, eating off the land, etc. For a while they found paradise on Fatu-Hiva, living on a plot of land in the jungle that used to be the cultivated garden of an island king. At first their time on the island was blissful, they reveled in the natural beauty and fresh fruit, collected specimens of local insects and archeological finds for Thor's studies back home and learned about the island's cultural history from the locals.

But the blissful period did not last long. Bugs ate their house, mosquitoes drove them crazy, and sores in their legs got infected and threatened never to heal. They had to escape to a nearby island where a doctor lived to get treatment, but determined to come back. Their second stay on the island was shorter; misunderstandings with the locals plus their dread of communicable diseases rampant in the village (elephantiasis and leprosy) drove them to try living in the highlands (where there was little food) then later to cross the island to the sparsely populated east side, where they lived with an old man, the last surviving cannibal (fascinating chapter!) Eventually things went wrong there, too, and they ended up staying on a small isolated beach in a cave while waiting for a ship to pick them up off the island for good.

Fatu-Hiva: Back to Nature is full of adventure, musings on the nature of man, descriptions of the island's wild beauty, speculations into the origins of its inhabitants, and thoughts on environmental issues. In the end, the Heyerdahls realized they could not live apart from civilization, and the fire was sparked to set Thor on his next set of adventures. Wonderful read.

from the Dogear Diary ( )

Fatu-Hiva: Back to Nature is great Norwegian traveler and scientist`s Thor Heyerdahl first book. After the wedding, he and his wife Liva travel to Fatu-Hiva, small island from Madagascara island group in Oceania. They hope to find the paradise here. Theoretically it`s possible: almost no civilization, only local indians, lots of fruits, fish and meat, warm climate. In reality paradise is spoiled by people themselves. Europeans have brought ilnesses and vision about consumption. Local people just want to exploit Thor and his wife in terms of money and presents.

From talks with other Europeans in Tahiti and life on Fatu-Hiva there is one conclusion - paradise is where you aren`t :).

Quite short, nice written novel, also not as professional as Ra and other books. Got the feelling like I was travelling with Thor and Liva. ( )