Windstar Cruises started crusing this 12 months to the Marquesas Islands — a distant, South Pacific paradise that welcomes only a few thousand guests per 12 months. In July, the Marquesas obtained broad worldwide recognition by being named one of many world’s latest UNESCO World Heritage websites.
Windstar is commemorating the second by providing a celebration cruise departing September twenty sixth, hosted by Windstar’s French Polynesian Attaché Hironui Johnston, together with three Marquesas Islands mayors. A further celebratory crusing will happen on March 27, 2025.
UNESCO acknowledged the Marquesas for its attractive geography and distant location, along with the encircling waters being “among the world’s last marine wilderness areas.” UNESCO additionally acknowledged the Marquesas’ distinctive tradition and heritage.
Windstar has been crusing in French Polynesia for over 36 years, creating deep relationships and partnerships with native officers throughout the area. With the growth to incorporate the distant Marquesas, the overall variety of islands the road visits within the South Pacific is 11. Windstar’s year-round cruises (additionally together with the Society Islands and the Tuamotus) deliver the tradition of French Polynesia onboard with a chosen cultural ambassador for all sailings.
All itineraries embody a complimentary Bora Bora Celebration Vacation spot Discovery Occasion, which is a personal feast on a seashore with native performances from music to fireside dancing. Native meals and beer/spirits are highlighted onboard, whereas curated shore excursions led by locals enrich the cruise.
“We are honored to host the mayors of these incredible islands on board Star Breeze for this celebration of the UNESCO World Heritage status,” mentioned Stijn Creupelandt, vice chairman of resort operations at Windstar Cruises. “This designation is a testament to their work at preserving their culture and environment.”
The mayors from the Marquesas’ Ua Huka, Fatu Hiva, and Tahuata becoming a member of Windstar on the September twenty sixth celebration crusing (a 14-day spherical journey voyage from Papeete) will converse to the method and journey of being acknowledged as an UNESCO website. They will even talk about rāhui – a conventional community-based strategy to useful resource administration; why the mayors of the Marquesas work collectively and the legends that encourage this cooperation; and the way they’re empowering the subsequent era to preserve and shield the vacation spot.
Workshops will even be led on board with hands-on matters like conventional Marquesas lei crafting, Haka Manu (Chicken Dance) classes, and culinary demonstrations on methods to make I’a mito (the Marquesas’ model of poisson cru – a dish just like ceviche) and Keukeu, which is a conventional dish of goat with coconut milk. Moreover, skilled photographers Pat and Rosemarie Keough will spherical out the programming with pictures workshops aimed toward expertly capturing the island’s pure magnificence and teeming underwater life.
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