Irish Times: "A cruise of a lifetime on a cargo ship where the maitre d’ doubles up as the ship’s tattooist"

Extract:

"Cruising on the Aranui is an incredible adventure that brings you just under a thousand miles from Tahiti, through the turquoise lagoons that inspired Henri Matisse to start using different colours, to the remote cluster of islands, where an astonishing array of people, including Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel, ended up. Officially in French Polynesia, the Marquesa Islands are thoroughly beautiful, while also encompassing a cluster of opposites: lush and rugged, powerful but fragile, presided over by a mingling of Christian and more ancient gods, and celebrated in art and literature yet also remarkably untouched. The people are warm, friendly and open, but may be smiling at you from behind striking facial tattoos and necklaces of animal tusks."