Fakarava in the Tuomotus

Fakarava in the Tuomotus

Friday, 20-May-2016

Up at 0700 to make preparations to leave. The outboard and dinghy were brought on deck. Sail cover and tarp are stowed. Coffee is on.

0830 Anchor is up. We are 6 nm from Arikitaniro Pass. We made a goodbye announcement to the fleet at the anchorage with hopes that we will meet up again further down the road.

0845: Through the pass with a 3 knot outflow. There is a standing wave in mid-channel which we should be able to avoid.

0915: Full sail at a speed of 4-4.5 knots with a light south easterly. Course is 250* and heading to Garue Pass on the north end of Fakarava

1555: 16* 05' S 145* 43' W and we are through the pass. The captain used the Guestimator and our timing was pretty good. We had a couple of knots of ebb against us but nothing Confidence could not handle.

We had a very pleasant day of sailing. Although we did not break any speed records we still managed an average of 4+ knots with relatively calm seas. The skies were mostly cloudy which is often a blessing when sailing for hours without much protection! And no squalls!

1730: Anchor was set in 36 feet of water as the sun was setting in the company of four other boats.

Fakarava is the second largest atoll in Polynesia with respect to surface area. The reef crown is rectangular in shape, 60 km long and 25 km wide. The two main villages are Rotoava on the north end and Tetamanu on the south. Fakarava is the Capitol of the Tuomotus. It has been named Natural Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO? Their aim is to accompany harmonious development with human activities while preserving nature.

This is evident throughout the atoll. Mooring buoys are available free of charge to reduce destruction of the coral by anchors. Garbage disposal is available with some attempt at recycling. Clean potable water can be found from the tap at the mayors office. Power and telephone lines are underground. You are forbidden to flush your holding tank in the lagoon. Heads must be equipped with holding tanks and use of biodegradable detergents is required.

Rotoava is a lovely town - very neat with a few good restaurants and pensions - cute little cabins on the beach for rent. Supplies come by ship once a week so fresh fruit and vegetables are limited until Thursday morning. Fresh baguettes come daily on the one flight onto the atoll - guess no one bakes here!

I did manage to score 6 oranges (from US), yellow watermelon, banana and a few lines - which I must save for Judy on Kalabalu! They left for the south anchorage and I promised to pick some up if I should be so lucky. 

I was treated to dinner on the town twice while we were here. What a treat. The menus are scarce with only a few things listed - poison cru, steak and frites (fried) and fish, usually Maui Maui or tuna, and chicken Chow mein due to the Chinese influence. I know it sounds silly but I ordered the Chow mein - no fish today - and it was very good - very authentic. Though a little scant on the vegetables they do what they can with chicken, cabbage, carrots and onion. The second dinner was further down the beach. But the people for Yacht Sevices calls the restaurant and they come and pick us up and the. Return us to our dinghies. I had fish and chips which they insist was tuna but I think it was grouper as the meat was very white. But it too was excellent!

We really scored when we found another little snack place on the beach with passion fruit and mango ice cream and free wifi!

I mentioned Yacht Services - a business run by Stephanie and Aldrich. They also provide free Wifi, laundry ($24/ load) OUCH, eggs ($10/20 eggs (OUCH - but free ranged) and bike rentals $5/hour - reasonable. They will also make any arrangements you require, shuttle to the airport, dinner reservations, diving tours, pearl farm tours. So we were able to sit on their deck and get connected, get some blogs posted and send out some emails.

Aldrich getting our bikes ready.

We rented the bikes for an afternoon and rode about 10 km north on a cement paved road. We would detour off to check out some of the pensions and snack shacks along the way. In some areas the atoll is very narrow and you can see water on both sides of you. There would be no safety from even a small tsunami. But the riding was easy as the road is fairly flat - good thing as bikes came with only one gear and breaks on the peddles - old fashioned but relatively new. A lot of transportation is by bike and it seems as if all the kids have them.

Stephanie and Aldrich have two girls in primary school. They ride the 7 km to school Monday to Friday and then back. The school has a kitchen and provides a hot meal every day. The issue comes when the kids get to high school. At this time the kids are sent away to a type of boarding school in Tahiti - government paid with two return air tickets per year.

We also went for a tour of a pearl farm. I never realized that there was so much work involved in growing pearls. It takes over two years to produce a pearl. Of course Gunther also had a shop where you could buy the pearls. It was pretty special to buy something from the person who was instrumental in making the pearl. He had quite a good selection of settings and grades of pearls - something for everyone.

And in case you didn't know - the Tuomotus and the Gambiers are famous for their Tahitian pearls. They come from the Pinctada Margaritifera oyster of the Comingi variety. They are best known for their diversity of size, shape, surface quality and endless natural colors and orient (shade).

We stayed until Wednesday so we could get confirmation on a connecting flight for Armon to Papeete in Tahiti. Air Tahiti is on strike which is affecting the flights to the small atolls. He has a flight booked for next Wednesday so we have decided to head to the entrance at the south end of the atoll where we hear the snorkeling is excellent.

Fakarava : North Anchorage

Fakarava: North End to South End Anchorage

Well you know that cruisers mantra is: All plans are written in the sand at low tide. Here is another reason why that is. We were preparing to leave the next morning but we kind of got hung up! Literally as the anchor chain was hung up on a large piece of coral. We tried maneuvering the boat, trying to unravel the chain with no avail. Ended up calling Top Dive to see if they had a diver available. Yes they had a diver but no boat! So David went into shore to pick up Franscisco. Even he had a difficult time getting us free. Cost: approximately $50 US but well worth it as it saved our chain and our anchor!  David brought the driver back to shore and I moved the boat to a mooring buoy. Armon tied off the bow line and we were safely secured by the time David returned.

But this delayed our departure for another day. This was a good thing as Armon forgot to mention that Air Tahiti office would not be open til Wednesday so we had to wait until then to confirm a flight. 

0800 on Wednesday and we head back into shore. During the night the sailing cruise ship Windward Spirit came into port

 - one of the Windward Cruise Ships. There was a bit of a welcoming group on shore with traditional music and souvenirs for sale. 

We checked it out and then headed over to the mayors office to pay our taxes and get 15 gallons of potable water. The tax was only 50 cents per person per day - to cover costs of mooring buoys and garbage drop off. 

Then we went to the Post Office to buy phone cards. It is quite interesting to note - phone booths are still quite prevalent in French Polynesia (poly for many, nesia for islands). We even found one on our hike up to the waterfalls in the Marquesas. But we were not able to get the phone card to work for us. Part of the instructions are in English on the card. But once you put the access number in you get more instructions in Tahitian! Maybe I could have figured it out if they were in French. All I could get out of it was Welcome! So my attempt to call Susan, Debbie and Paul failed.j

1018 Wednesday 25-May-2016 we finally set sail. I should say motor. The wind was very light and what there was was on the nose. We were happy to note that the channel was well marked on the GPS for the next 26 nm. Vern the larger coral outcroppings are not only charted but marked. Though on a sunny day, with the sun on your back you can pick them up due to the drastic color change of the water! This always has an upside as it allows us to put the inverter on and recharge the computers, cameras and VHF radios.

Lunchtime: I decided to open some canned chicken. I had used the canned turkey in the Mexican Soup - it was OK but resembled dog food. The canned chicken was actually flaky and made entirely of white meat. So I mixed it with mayo and cranberries with a fresh baguette. Unfortunately no lettuce, no celery, nothing green!

1700: Anchor down in 30' of water as all mooring balls were occupied. Fingers crossed! 

Water is crystal clear. We are anchored just inside the reef on the lagoon side of the atoll. It is calm but you can hear the surf pounding on the windward side of the reef!

Several black tipped sharks swam by to check us out. We stayed on the hook for the night. Two large black squalls were approaching us during dinner but parted and went on either side of Confidence!

Maritime Trivia for today: many days are spent reading and a lot of what I am reading is about sailing adventures. And as you non-sailing types have noticed - sailors have their own vocabulary. In my reading I have come across some of the origins of various words and phrases so I thought I would amuse you with some of them as I progress with my blog entries.

So why is a marine toilet called a head? An appropriate subject considering all the issues we have had with ours! Though happy to report that it is working well at present ( touch wood). In times past, as in Cook's sailing vessel, the Endeavour, holed planks were extended from the bow of the boat, making one exposed in more ways than one!

Many a ship's log has notations of lost crew whilst doing their " business".

Kauehi, Tuomotus

Kauehi, Tuomotus

We made it through the pass without incident. The lagoon inside the atoll is like a large lake but one had to be aware of smaller reefs, bommies (individual coral heads) and pearl farms.

The main channel to the town is well marked and is located at the north end of the atoll. An important bit of information to note: On the west coast of North America and in Canadian waters we are used to a buoy system where you keep the red channel markers on the starboard side of the boat when you enter port - Right Red Returning. In the southern ocean this system is reversed. That means that we have to keep the Green channel marker on our starboard side.

Marine Trivia: Starboard is the right side of the boat. The Norse used a single steering oar on the right or steer board side of the vessel - old English "steer" for right and " bord" for side.

     Vessels had to unload from the left side because the steering oars prevented the vessel from getting close enough to the dock. They would put a plank from the wharf "farboard" to the vessel. The French altered this system by cutting a door (port) in the side of the vessel to handle cargo.

We spent three days just hanging around on the hook. Care had to be taken in putting down the anchor and chain to avoid the coral heads. The first day was spent getting caught up on some sleep and swimming in crystal clear water.

The wind did play havoc on Wednesday - lots of rain all day. I went for a swim the next day and checked out our anchor chain. Nice to be in such clear water so I was able to see that the chain had loosely wrapped itself around a coral head. So I stayed in the water and directed David so he could maneuver the boat and unwrap the chain. We shortened our scope with the rest of the chain laying in sand. The next 24 hours were calm and we were able to raise our anchor without incidence.

We did make a couple of dingy trips into the town. The two stores did not have much to offer in the way of fresh fruit, vegetables, bread or fruit. The delivery plane had not arrived as scheduled due to a set of rotating strikes. Margaret on Storm Bay did score some bok Choy from a women who was growing it on the motu and was kind enough to share it with some of us in the fleet. It was a good additive to the Thai prawn noodle soup that I was making for dinner.

I cleaned the waterline on the starboard side, did some laundry and David tried once again to clear up the ground wire on the antenna. We are able to hear people on the single side band radio but are unable to transmit or send emails with winlink. We might have wifi when we get to the next atoll in a couple of days.

We took some time off from chores and went for a snorkel over by the reef. Lots of little fish, some beautiful clams and some nice coral. Then back to the boat for a fresh water shower and dinner. 

Wednesday 18-May-2016. We got a call from Al on Nauti Nauti on the VHF. He was making water and wondered if we wanted to fill our tanks. What a nice offer. So David went over with our Jerry cans - 2 trips and we had our tanks 1 3/4 full along with our 2 Jerry cans on deck!

Nauti Nauti was one of the boats that we were in radio contact with during our crossing from Mexico. It was nice to finally meet the people we had been communicating with. You will notice a correction to the spelling of the boat name from earlier Blogs.

I climbed in the water and finished cleaning the waterline on the port side. Then I swam the anchor line to make sure we were not hung up on any more coral. Good thing as we did have to maneuver a little bit to bring up the anchor with only minor hiccups.

1130: Anchor up and on our way to the south end of the atoll. 

1330: We dropped the hook in 17 feet of water in sand. Lunch was left over chicken stew. Watched a black tip shark swim by the boat while we ate. Apparently these sharks are curious but harmless. Kind of like the nurse sharks in Belize. 

Nauti Nauti ( from Wisconsin) and Belvanie (New Zealand)also joined us.

It is quite beautiful at this end of the lagoon. The water in unbelievably clear. The atoll is made up of a string of motus that surround the lagoon. At this particular section the motu is quite narrow and you can see the surf crashing on the outside of the atoll. Dark blue ocean on one side. Turquoise color water on the inside. White coral beaches. Just like the travel brochures! Beautiful!

We spent the afternoon beach combing and walking to the other side of the atoll. Preparations were underway from the other boats for a beach bonfire so we assisted by collecting driftwood and coconut bark. Judy and Margaret showed up with snorkel gear so I joined them and we swam back to the boats. No sharks seen!  Water was as clear as a mirror but few fish.

Back to the boat to prepare something for sharing and a main for us. We had received some Copper Creek smoked salmon from friends in Barra so I mixed it with some cream cheese, capers and onions to be served on crackers. We finally opened up the jar of spicy pickled green beans that we had received as a gift from Paxton (a couple of Christmases ago). They were and are absolutely fantastic. Thanks Paxton! We must make them last as this is the only green vegetable on board and we have no way of knowing when we will get more.

It was a wonderful evening on the beach - coals for barbecuing and then a huge bonfire where we burnt some of our garbage. 2 boats from US, 1 from Canada, 1 from New Zealand, 1 From Australia. 

I saw the green flash for the first time!!! Moon came up 3/4 full.

The most remarkable thing was the return ride in the dinghy. I have never seen such clarity in the water at night . With the moonlight you could still see the coral on the bottom as if it was high noon. Spectacular does not even come close to describing it!

Thursday 19-May-2016 Chore day - though nothing really seems to be a chore in these surroundings. A large section of the dodger window has given way. We tried using some sail tape which held for about a week or so but now that has pulled away. So more hand sewing for me. I could use the old holes in the plastic once I cleaned the old thread out but it was still a tough job to push the needle and thread through the holes - good old thimble comes in handy again. A lot of the stitching is starting to break down with the sun and salt water. This will be a temporary fix until we can get a proper repair done in Tahiti - several sail makers are listed in the directory.

Laundry on the lifelines. Window repaired and cleaned. Time for a swim.

Good new to report today. For no reason that we know of - David was able to transmit on the SSB (single side band). David will try to send off an email tonight.

Right now I am sitting in the cockpit, having a red pop, and thinking of my sister Susan and our times in Belize. She would love it here! No Crazy Canuck Bar, and no Harry and Sandra, but white coral sand beaches, crystal clear water, palm trees and turquoise water!

Decision has been made to head to Fakarava tomorrow. We checked the tides and it looks like slack water will be around 0930 tomorrow morning. Fakarava is only 26 nm away so it should be a pleasant crossing.

Again sorry for the lack of pictures. They will be added at a later date.

Marquesas to Tuomotos

Crossing from the Marquesas to the Tuomotos

13-May-2016

Noon Position : 14* 15.5' S and 148* 08' W

     Course: 244*T

     Mainly sunny with Easterly winds 10-15

     Speed 5-6 knots

     Broad reach 

The crossing to the Tuomotus was 438 mm and was quite good. The average speed for most of it was 5-6 knots topping out at 7.7 knots. We were hit by two squalls with winds maxing out at 25 - 30 knots. The Genoa was furled in, single reefed main eased out at maximum force.

The second squall sustained maximum winds for about ten minutes but the rain persisted for almost an hour. Armon and I had fresh water showers in our bathing suits. David preferred to stay bundled up in his Paddington Bear outfit. Can you imagine being out in the rain so long that your feet and hands are all wrinkled up? The boat also got a good washing to get rid of some of the salt.

As this was a last minute change of plans I did not have any meals prepared. The second morning out, with seas relatively calm, I got busy making Cole slaw, potato salad, meat sauce for pasta and cooking the pasta. I cook the pasta a little less than aldente and then store in a zip lock back with some olive oil. Then I do not have to worry about boiling water when heeled over! We had some nice German bratwurst and chicken cordon blu to supplement the sides. This ended up being a good decision as the rolly seas returned.

We were making such good time that we were actually going too fast to make our mark at the entrance to the pass on the atoll Kauehi. Tried as we did we were still maintaining over 5 knots with only a double reefed main! We would see where we were in the morning.

There was still a lot of cloud cover and good winds. Lots of evidence of squalls on the horizon but our angel in the sky was watch g er us as only tw more landed on the boat and they really were minor.

Moon came out at 50% to light our way, the clouds parted and the bright star of Arcturus (the eye of Scorpius) was very obvious on our port side - along with the Southern Cross. Orion and Ursa Major are still evident but no sign of Polaris.

17-May-2016 Tuesday

The current and the wind was setting us west of the southern passage for the atoll Kauehi so we decided to go around the top end instead. One last squall did land on our doorstep as we altered course to head down the west side of the atoll. 

Squall passed and we were right on time to make slack waters at the Arikitaniro Pass. 

Five more beautiful sunset photos and a GoPro video of one of the squalls.

Nuku Hiva to Ua Pou

08-May-2016 Nuku Hiva to Ua Pou

SPECIAL NOTICE: You will notice a lack of pictures for the next while. Wifi is okay for text but very very slow for photos. You will only get text for the next while!

We returned to Taiohae Bay to replenish our Polynesian franc

Supply, buy a few more supplies, post another Blog and send a few emails. I was excited to find some nice carrots, apples and a homemade ( still warm) almond tart. Eggplant was plentiful at the vegetable market so I decided to make Ratatouille. No zucchini so I replaced it with the carrots. I had some left over cooked penne that I had in the fridge with some olive oil - so I heated that up and served the Ratatouille over the noodles. Excellente.

1045: Anchor up and we departed the bay on a close haul - speed 5.5 - 6 knots. It is a beautiful sunny day with scattered cumulus clouds. We were on a course of 170. Our destination was Hakauka Bay on the Island of Ua Pou.

It was a great sailing day with an average speed of 5 knots being pushed by the trades.

1700: A squall was coming our way so we decided to change directions and head into Hakaheteu Bay instead, just below the five spires. 

The anchorage was a bit rolly but it had served its purpose as the squall missed us. It would have been a more exposed anchorage if we would have gone with our original decision.

Monday, 9-May-2016 We moved over to Hakatao Bay to obtain some minor provisions and check things out. It is the home of the College of Men - a small community college which also supplies accommodations for kids from other islands. One of their classes involves a couple of hours of paddling and racing their outrigger canoes.

 This is the national sport of French Polynesia and they take it very seriously!  I asked this girl if I could take her picture and tried to explain in French that I also used to paddle a six man outrigger canoe in Canada. She was impressed. 

Brought back memories of us girls, usually freezing our butts off, paddling on Thursday nights after work.

The difference here is doing an accidental flip (huli)is enjoyable as the water temperature is around 29C!

Position: 9* 41' S and140* 45' W 

We left with the  wind on our nose. Our original destination was another island in the Marquesas - Tahauna. The beaches are supposed to be quite lovely there. But the winds were not cooperating and the seas were quite uncomfortable. Did we really want 60 nm of this? We think not.

So the decision was made to change to a more favorable course and head to the Tuomotos - a series of atolls between the Marquesas and Tahiti.

Heading into this part of French Polynesia requires a lesson on Tides, Currents and Passes. 

So what is an atoll? From the chart it looks like an island when in fact it is a lagoon surrounded by a series of motus (small coral islands) and a reef. 

Some of the atolls have one or two passes for gaining access into the lagoon. Within the lagoon you will find more reefs and individual coral heads, called bommies. It is very important to keep a watchful eye for changes in color in the lagoon so you can pick these up. There may or may not be enough water under your keel to pass over them. Some of the larger passes and lagoons are marked and charted so this can be helpful. You would like to enter these lagoons when the sun is high and behind you as this will allow you to see these areas more clearly.

But first you have to get through the pass! Any of you reading this Blog, who have sailed in the Pacific Northwest are quite aware of tides and currents. There are passes in the Gulf islands where the current can reach speeds of 12 knots or more. If your boat maxes out at 6 knots and you are going against the current then you won't go anywhere - in fact you will go backwards. If you are also in a situation where the wind is blowing opposite to the current then you are in a wind over tide situation and the standing waves can reach 8+ feet.

My sister Susan can tell you all about this. I took my Aunt Doris and Susan and a friend Marilyn out for a sail on my sloop - Yogi. I insisted that we had to leave the dock at a certain time but they were late. My lack of experience was evident - I knew that the optimum time to go under the Lions Gate Bridge had passed but I really did not know what that meant. Thank goodness Yogi made it - but exposed to its limits - and Doris would still say that her fingerprints will be forever imbedded into the cockpit coaming of the boat! We had to battle through a current of 5 knots and waves of 6 feet. Sometimes you just get lucky - and then you have a story to tell.

But back to the atolls! We have heard of one sailboat that they went up on the reef. Rumor has it that they did not have a GPS on board. Four people had to be helicoptered off the reef and their boat is gone! So you have to be careful between atolls. They are usually only visible when you are 10 minutes away as they are very low lyng land formations with strong currents between them. There are 76 of them with only a few that are navigable

So we use every tool at our disposal to determine our course in order to keep us well off the reef and to approach the passes in the daylight hours at slack water - that time of day between the flood and the ebb tides. The GPS is our most useful tool but what happens if you lose power? We also have the charts on our battery operated computer. Someone has also put together a computer program called the Guestimator. This has been updated from year to year and is similar

 to our annual Tides and Currents Tables that we would have on board when sailing in the Gulf Islands. This allows us an opportunity to guess what the tides and currents are doing at a particular pass at a particular time. East facing passes are dicey on the outgoing current. West facing passes are dicey on the incoming current. But all bets are off if there has been several days of strong winds coming from the southeast or heavy swells. In these cases there can be no slack water making the pass impassable!

Now that you know all this - you will have to wait for the next Blog to see how we fared getting through our first pass. But no worries - we have Captain Fantastic on board!

Nuku Hiva Continued

Nuka Hiva Continued

There was a bit of a delay with regards to the paperwork for our duty free fuel. This was a bit frustrating for all of the boaters but well worth the wait.  Early Wednesday afternoon and the fax came in. And Thursday was a holiday and the fuel dock was going to be closed so the boys had to work fast to get the extra jerry cans into the dinghy and then head over to the fuel dock, fill them up, bring them out to the boat, syphon the fuel into the tanks, go back to the fuel dock and do it again. Not quite so easy as pulling up to the pump and saying fill her up! That whole exercise took 3-4 hours. 

The regular price of fuel is approximately $1.30 US a liter. But with the tax exemption we get it for approximately 60 cents a liter. 240 liters - that makes a substantial savings for us! 

The delay also gave us time to get a few things done on the boat. First and foremost was the head - yes we now have a working head. Thank you David!!!!

David also took a look at the wiring for the starboard solar panel and found some corrosion. Or as he put it - the positive wire on the starboard solar panel had turned into a green ball of crap. So he replaced the wiring and we are back to getting power from both panels.

There was also a leak coming from the fresh water pump. The rubber damper needed to be replaced. Done. No more leaks.

And then I had enough time to get the blog up to date. We can expect Wifi to get even more iffy as we venture to other less populated islands so it was nice to get caught up. I also got to send out a few emails to family and friends.

And as always - add a few more provisions.

Clearance was not necessary but it is recommended that you pay the Gendarme a visit - just to say goodbye.

0933 05-May-2016 Anchor up and we depart Baie Taiohae. Our destination is Baie Taioa or better known as Daniel's Bay and the town of Hakaui. There are only two families occupying this bay, providing services to the boaters.

1053: Anchor down in 14 feet of water. 

4 other boats in the anchorage. Sail cover is back on. Tarp is back on. Why bother to take it off in the first place? Especially for such a short passage? Well we always want to be ready to raise the main and be able to sail in those rare instances that the motor stops. Always be prepared for the unexpected!

Daniel's Bay is a beautiful well protected anchorage. In the early 2000 the government made a deal with the TV station filming Survivor to take over the bay. The family was asked to move out for the season and the cameras moved in. So for those of you who watch Survivor - the entire season of Survivor Marquesas was filmed here. I never did get into the Survivor series - maybe some of you will recognize some other the sites in the pictures. The story itself is kind of disappointing as the family bungalows and their restaurant were destroyed to accommodate the filming crew. Daniel and his family moved over to the other bay - not sure if they were given any compensation - the sad point was the fact that the family was not included in any of the negotiations. In the end their title to the land was never removed and they were able to return a couple of years later, once the film crew was done.

The main attraction in this area is Hakaui falls. It is 350 meters high and surrounded by large cliffs. Paul, a relative of one of the two families that live in this valley came to meet us as we portage up the river. At high tide you can get through with your dinghy. One's imagination does not have to stretch very far to picture what this area looked like 1500 years ago. And everyone is related at one time it was the home of the Royal family but you will not see any signs of grandeur. Just simple wooden frame homes but again, with lovely gardens.

They have a tap attached to a hose from a spring 3 km into the valley. Anyone is welcomed to fill their water jugs. And it is wonderful water. We topped up our tanks before we left.

But first the hike! Paul guided us along a trail ( I use the word loosely) that followed the river. Descendants from these two families have formed an association including roughly 800 people still living in the Marquesas and 2000 world wide. They return to this area for celebrations and as part of project groups to restore and preserve the natural beauty of the site. In 2000 they cut this trail to the waterfalls. They also come together to collect and dry copra ( dried coconut)' pick limes, pick pamplemouse  (large sweet grapefruit) and bananas for export. It was this group that was responsible for laying the 3 km of hose from the spring in the valley to the shoreline.

Paul started us up the path to our first stop to make arrangements with Monette and Marie and Matteus (his aunt, cousin and uncle) to have a lunch ready for us upon our return. Part of the trail followed an old road and then we were in the jungle. I am not sure if we could have found the trail without Paul. One of the guys from another boat had already tried it three times with no success. This time he came with us. We had to cross the river six times, which was a blessing as it cooled us off!  

After a little over one hour we made it to the first view point. And after more than two hours we made it to the base of the waterfalls and a large pool. It did not take anyone very long to jump in! Perfect for Northern Ontario standards. Cold for Marquesan standards. We were able to crawl over the rocks and swim right under the falls. When we were climbing back to the shore Paul pointed out the eels in the water. Not sure I would have gone in if I knew they were in there.

Something I forgot to tell you about our road trip. There are fresh water and salt water eels in this area. At Yvonne's cafe where we had lunch you can throw your fish scraps into the river beside her place and watch the eel feeding frenzy.  Some were over 4 feet long. The ones at the falls were not this long but still plenty full.

We dried off and proceeded back to the home of Monette, Marie and Matteus where we were in awe of the spread that they had put on for us. We started with large bottles of homemade limeade accompanied with green papaya salad, chicken and potatoes, poison cru (pickled tuna in lime juice and coconut milk) - wonderful! Bread fruit (plain and with coconut milk) - none of us liked this, rice and fried bananas (I really liked) Boiled chestnuts were put out for dessert - not a hit for us either but they were very proud to offer these to us so we ate them and smiled.

Before getting into the dinghy we stopped at a cousins and traded for some pamplemouse, bananas and limes.

It was a truly wonderful day and the cook got a day off.

The next morning David and Armon went back up to get the water. Then anchors up for the return to Taiohae Bay.

Road Trip on Nuku Hiva

Road Trip on Nuku Hiva

Nuku Hiva is the largest island in the Marquesas and the second largest in French Polynesia. The road trip was spectacular and the views were stunning.

We left the town site of Taiphae and had to stop many times for the views.

We stopped at the old festival site at Taipivai. Some of the tikis are original and some are newer. Tikis are found on old Me'ae or ritual sites and can be found all over the place - just walking in the jungle. Some have been cleaned up for display like this one but most are just found scattered around. They are usually associated with old village sites with the foundation walls still evident.

This entire area is one of the most fertile valleys of the island. We took the road down to the beach and had a wonderful lunch of curry goat.

Beautiful Church and statue of the Virgin Mary. All of the stone is original.

These large stone structures were used to mark property or village boundaries.

The town of Hatiheu is the place where Louis Stevenson the Scottish writer would come to write.

We also went on a hike to the site where Herman Melville andRichard Tobias Green hid after jumping ship. They fled for the Acushnet to hide out at Taipivai for a couple of months til the ship left. The captain had offered a$100 reward but to no avail. Melville's first book, Typee is a loose narrative of the times. I never did read it but maybe I will, now that I have been here.

Then we returned on the same road and crossed to the other side of the island to an area planted with Caribbean Pine. But someone did not do their homework. Though the pine grew well it was very susceptible to termites and not good for lumber. But it makes for nice scenery and the air makes one think of me!

And wild horses on the road!

What a beautiful day!

Nuku Hiva

It took us a couple of days to get the boat re-provisioned and get caught up on our sleep. We were tired but not nearly as bad as we would have been if Armon had not been with us. So we strongly suggest that you find a third crew member if you are considering such a crossing.

Kevin, at Yacht Sevices, and his wife Annabelle provide a wonderful service to the visiting yachts.

He provided us with all the necessary documents required for checking in with the gendarme ( police). We provided him with a copy of our passports, the bond exemption letter, the ship mandate and the crew list. Then he drove David to the office of the Gendarme and we became official. The paperwork then gets faced to Papiette in Tahiti. Once everything has been processed they will fax us a document so that we can get duty free gasoline.

Annabelle took our laundry - $15 US a load - this is not Mexico! We did have a lot of bedding and mattress covers. But now I am being more diligent about doing hand laundry - David is only allowed to wear t- shirts for one day and then I wash them. 

Kevin was able to loan us 5 more jerry cans - not really loan - more like rent for $2 each so we could get water. But for that price he also drove us to the town cisterns so we could fill them up and then Brought us back to the dinghy dock. So not really so bad.

My water boys!

He also had some diesel Jerry cans so we could make less trips to the fuel dock.

Rental cars can also be arranged through Kevin - a nice, fairly new For Ranger four wheel drive crew cab. Total cost including gas for 24 hours was $150. More about that road trip later.

There are a few places in town that provide some of the same services for a little less but Kevin is providing such a 360* service we just feel like we want to support him.

There are four grocery stores in the main town. 

No fresh vegetables - you go to the open market for those. The main one is on Saturday morning and you have to get their early as the local restaurant owners also get their vegetables from them. Lettuce and tomatoes go quick. And when I say early I mean early - we had to set the alarm for 0430 to be on shore by 5 am! But I scored with lettuce, cucumbers, egg plant, cabbage and bok Choy.

And bananas by the stock! So we have been eating 6-10 bananas a day! Banana pancakes is a must. Thought we had the oven fixed so I made muffins. Got them half baked and then no oven so I finished them on the stove top. Not so light and fluffy but edible!

You have to test all the stores as they each have different things. Wonderful New Zealand lamb chops was surmising! Good thing I bought that jar of mint jelly in Puerto Vallarta! You can get some good frozen vegetables, chicken and hamburger patties. The funniest thing was the corn dogs!

The French influence was also evident. Good cheese and duck fat! in a can. And good butter in a can - both great for the boat!  In case y did not know - duck fat is wonderful for home fries. Very difficult to find in a place like Victoria so I was surprised to see it here. And escargot and pate!

The supply ship comes in every second Tuesday - we were delayed getting our duty free document for fuel - good thing as we were able to get potatoes and carrots!

There are a couple of places in town to buy crafts. 

The Marquesans are known for their tattoos and their carvings in rose wood, Tau wood and sailfish bone. Beautiful work. Annabelle hand pains pares - and David bought me one. It really is one large square of material that you use as a cover up and can tie many ways!

My immediate impression of the Marquesas ? It is an archipelago of 12 islands (6 inhabited) with stunning peaks and lush vegetation. The towns that we visited on Nuku Hiva were neat and incredibly clean. Many of the people smoke ( French influence) but I have not seen one cigarette butt. The lawns are manicured with beautiful tropical flowers and fruit trees. The people speak French, Marquesan land pretty good English. The Marquesan language has a lot of vowels in the words, all of which are pronounced individually so the overall sound is quite melodic.

On Saturday we picked up our rental truck but I will have a separate blog entry for that trip.

A few more images to take home with!