The devilish mini-mosquitos that you can’t hear, feel, or barely see: these are the infamous No-Nos (also know as no-see-ums). They plague some of the beaches in the Marquesas.

Only the following day, you’ll feel hundreds of bites on your back. It feels like a book written in Braille, and itches like heck. Such was our fate after visiting Hanamenu in the evening, a picturesque cove with a river and fresh water spring.

The spring was directed into a pool of cold water, which was positively delightful. We met the caretaker of the property, Leon, who was walking out with a shotgun.

“I’m going hunting for pig,” Leon told us, and promptly excused himself. The pigs were coming down from the hills where they sleep by day, and he had to be ready in his tree stakeout.

  
We retreated back to the boat and woke up the next day with hundreds of tiny itchy bumps on our back. We decided it was time to move on…