The small Calvary Cemetery above Atuona on Hiva Oa contains the graves of Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel, two very different artists united by the same impulse to find peace in one of the world's most remote places. Gauguin's grave is marked with a reproduction of his sculpture "Oviri" — a fierce, wild-haired figure that he specified for his tombstone. Brel's is simpler, decorated with fresh flowers.
The cemetery sits on a hillside above the village with views across Atuona Bay. The walk up takes about fifteen minutes from the village centre. Standing here, with the ocean below and the volcanic peaks above, it is easier to understand why both men came and why neither left.