The Aranui. The Marquesas Islands. Both have become legends among travelers. Together they bring back the kind of classic South Seas adventure of which nineteenth century seafaring novels are made.

The Aranui, a nice freighter, is the lifeline that links the distant Marquesas in French Polynesia, 750 miles northeast of Tahiti, with the rest of the world.

Their primitive beauty and erstwhile cannibalism have attracted writers, artists, and adventurers since the time of Captain Cook.

Travelers go along for the ride to watch the tattooed crew sling sacks of copra (dried coconuts) by day and strum ukuleles by night. They go to put tropical flowers behind their ears and learn the Tahitian three-step in the Aranui's bar.

To see the lush landscape and wild stone spires of the islands. To explore ancient ruins, discover overgrown tikis, visit the grave of Paul Gauguin, and roam the valleys that inspired tales by Herman Melville, Jack London, and Robert Louis Stevenson.