Taiohea Bay, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas

May 23-28

Nuku Hiva

Taiohea Bay, Marquesas

We have spent most of our time on Nuku Hiva relaxing and doing errands. This is the capital of the Marquesas and it has all a cruiser needs to provision a boat before leaving for more remote places. The lazy bag for our main sail needed to be sewn together because we managed to rip it on the way here. We have been getting fuel and water, faxing papers that needed to be sent, and getting things we need at the pharmacy…etc… We got to experience almost everything here. Theo has a nasty rash on his thigh. Nothing we have on the boat is making it better, so we got to visit the hospital. They were very helpful.  Hopefully his problem will get resolved in the next few days.

Taiohea Bay

I will take you through a typical day for us… Coffee, jump in the dinghy and tie up to a very crowded dock that has a slippery ladder that we climb and then hoist ourselves up to a concrete slab… (For anyone who is planning to visit this bay, be aware that this same ladder will destroy your inflatable boat during low tide. We see deflated dinghies all the time outside Yacht Services). Once stable we look to the left and, if we are lucky, the fisherman will be there with their fresh catch of the day. This is usually Wahoo, Tuna or Lobster. Once we buy our fish, we watch as they throw the fish scraps and heads into the water which causes a frenzy of 6 foot sharks very close to where our dinghy is tied. The locals call them Marquesan cows.  We will have to climb down the slippery ladder later with all of our “extra stuff” and lower ourselves onto a very rocky inflatable boat. Knowing what is lurking nearby, we are always very, very  careful… especially when we have fresh raw fish in our bag.

 

Fish Market scenes

 

Just caught tuna.

Hungry sharks by the dinghy dock

Just a few steps away is a busy Café (Snack Vaeaki) that has free Wi-fi. We go there every morning to check our email and news. Then we usually go to the market to stock up on whatever vegetables are available that day. I have really enjoyed the fact that there are vegetables here. The other day we went to a restaurant and I had a green salad (not cabbage) AND green beans… a very good day for me!

After lunch onshore, it is usually back to Et Voila to repair what has broken and clean up. There is always something to do. Then we have an early dinner and read a while. We have been going to bed when it gets dark and waking up when the sun rises. Very nice for us.

We love the way everyone helps each other here. For example, we had met a young man in Hiva Oa. He had asked us if we could buy him a carved rosewood box in Fatu Hiva. He didn’t buy it when he was there and he regretted it…he wanted it as a gift for his mother. We agreed we would buy it and if we ever ran into him again, we would sell it to him. Here in Nuka Hiva, we saw the boat he was crewing on. The young man was gone, but we gave the box to the captain of the boat and he will send it to him. In exchange he gave us 5 very clean fuel cans that we needed very much.  Easy…simple. It is always this way. If you have too many groceries, someone from the market will drive you back to the dock. If we are seen struggling with heavy fuel cans, a person will come over and help us load them. If you want to know where fresh drinking water is, someone will show you where to find it on the island. The cruisers say “Pay it forward”… in other words, just help the next person. That is what we do and it feels good.

We are ready to move on. Needless to say, we have not been swimming here, so we will go to Hakatea Bay (aka: Daniel’s Bay) for a few days. After that, we are off to the remote Tuamotu. We may not have internet until we reach Tahiti towards the end of June.

Lesson: Do not tie up your dinghy in front of the fisherman’s tables. They will hose of the fish parts and blood into your boat. you will smell bad and be more interesting to the sharks as well.

Quote: “I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my very best each and every day”. Abraham Lincoln

French: Un café tres chaud   Translation: Hot coffee

Jusqu’ou allez-vous?  Translation: How far are you going?

Vous etes tres gentil  Translation: You are very kind

Aller  Translation: To go

 

Books: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

The invention of wings by Sue Monk Kidd

Ocean sightings: Manta rays, hungry sharks

Nono’s: Zero

 

 

 

 

Ua Pou

May 14-15, 2014

Hakahetau Bay

Ua Pou

We sailed from Hanaiapa Bay at 5 am. It was a wet ride with clouds dumping on us and the wind was all over the place. It was late afternoon before we reached the island of Ua Pou (Poe) and we still had a way to go to reach the anchorage we wanted. We tried to stop at Hakamaii Bay, which was a bit closer, but our instinct told us to move on… too unprotected and we would not have slept that night. We finally reached Hakahetau Bay and spent the night there.

When we woke up we saw an impressive skyline. Huge spires rising out of the island and they are truly striking. We had our morning coffee and decided to kayak to shore and explore. We tried twice to do this, but we did not make it (a humbling explanation in lessons section). Our instincts finally screamed at us to move on. We did not see the village of Hakahetau…

Lesson for today (with humility and embarrassment):

Do NOT assume anything… communicate with your partner ALWAYS.

Explaination: Our Kayak Drama (or as Marie would say “A little movie”).

We had read that it was tricky to get onshore in Hakahetau Bay. Motorized inflatables were not recommended, so we decided to take our double kayak and drag it on shore once we arrived. Our kayak routine is that I sit in front and hold on to our “stuff” and Theo sits in the back, gets the paddle and we go. There was a crazy current and swells. I got into the kayak and when I felt Theo sit down behind me…  I let go of Et Voila. A huge mistake that will not be repeated… EVER. I heard Theo say “I don’t have the paddle”. We look back at the boat and, sure enough, there it was. The current was so strong that we had already drifted an alarming distance away in just seconds. I began using my arms as paddles and Theo jumped in and tried to swim and pull me to safety. He reached the boat, but the rope had slipped from his hand.

I was still adrift and all this time I was still using my arms like crazy trying to move, but it was not happening. I will never forget the force of the current that day and how I used all of my strength with no results whatsoever. Thankfully, Theo managed to get me the paddle and I got back on the catamaran. We were exhausted. Okay, this was totally avoidable and in normal conditions would not have been a big deal… In this bay, it was a very big deal.

We are not ones to give up, so we tried again (with two paddles this time). The current and swells were too treacherous. We pulled anchor and left for Hakahau…

Quote for today: “If it is a mistake, at least you learn something, in which case it is no longer a mistake.” Eckhart Tolle

French Words: Oups Translation: Oops

Desole’ Translation: Sorry

Les faute Translation: Mistakes

C’est une ide’e bête Translation: Foolish Idea

Ocean sightings: zero (thank goodness)

Books: The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani

             Love With a Chance of Drowning by Torre DeRoche

NoNos: Zero

Tears: Zero

May 15-23, 2014

Hakahau Bay

Ua Pou

We anchored and saw another impressive skyline. It is cooler here with a light breeze and we have a protected spot next to shore. Hakahau Bay has one of the nicest dinghy docks in the Marquesas and the water is clear and inviting. We will stay a while.

Hakahau Bay skyline

Et Voila

 Our fresh vegetables have decreased to onions, garlic and two cabbages. I tried to make salad for lunch and Theo (who is usually quite tolerant) clenched his jaw and hissed “I do NOT want any more cabbage”. We heard there were a few well stocked grocery stores here, so we set out to find them right away. We found fresh croissants, pastries, potatoes, onions, garlic and cabbage. Thank goodness the pastries cheered Theo up for a little while.  If any of our friends want to play a prank on him while visiting us, just buy some cabbage before you come onboard!

Typical things we see around the village:

Shopping for starfruit.

On the way back to the boat we saw a sign that said “Pizza”. This sounded like a dream, especially with an ice cold Hinano Beer. We sat down and the owner, who was delightful and spoke English, showed us the written menu of the day. There was no pizza in sight. I ordered the Poisson Cru and Theo said he wanted to try what the locals eat. For those of you that do not know my husband, he loves to try different types of food, and over the past 26 years I have seen him eat some daring things. That being said… one plate arrived with different kinds of raw mussels and crabs ( we have seen these clinging to the rocks at every dinghy dock), different varieties of  fish which were both cooked and smoked, fried bananas and cucumber salad…. amazing. Not what we expected. The owner even let us use his Wi-fi…  we were extremely happy and will definitely go back.

Crab on rock

Crab for lunch

No comment...

There is also a pension that will serve you dinner if you reserve ahead of time. It is called Pension Pukue’e and the owners, Eliza and Jerome, are lovely. This is actually their home, but you can stay in the extra rooms and eat meals with them. The large covered patio is very pretty and has a nice view of the harbor. We ate our dinner at a communal table with the owners and some guests that were visiting from France. The company was fun and Eliza made us an unforgettable meal of lobster, sashimi, slow cooked goat with mangos, a breadfruit casserole ( I could have eaten the whole thing), and for dessert a homemade tart made of passion fruit, mango and kumquat marmalade with ice cream… Yum.

It is interesting to experience the “vibe” here during the week versus the weekend. This is a very traditional way of life. We can hear the school bells ring as children attend classed during the week. On Friday night we hear music as locals gather on the beach. We can smell the BBQ they prepare and serve on the picnic tables. On Saturday most of the kids are out laughing, swimming and playing together on the beach and in the evening there is more music. They seem really, really happy. When we walk through the town, children will lean out the window of their cars to give us a high five and then laugh hysterically when they touch us.  We sit at the stern of our boat and watch people ride their horses on the beach and swim. In the evenings everyone around us is sitting outside watching the sunset. On Sunday there are the church bells and after mass it is a family day. All businesses are closed and there is peace and quiet in the village.  That is it… Simple.

Stunning beach and spires.

One afternoon, customs officers dropped by our boat to check our paperwork. I will try to explain this the best I can, but it was so strange. Three officers approached Et Voila with their inflatable (no shoes). I locked up the dogs and Theo grabbed their boat line. After that, it was all in slow motion. One man jumped on board no problem, but then the second man grabbed our stern ladder. Our ladder is NOT fixed in place. It is meant to swing down into the water so swimmers can get back onboard. So you can imagine when he grabbed the ladder, he fell backwards as the ladder moved towards him taking the man behind him down as well. The two of them were in the water with guns, phones, sunglasses and everything else… Oops. I offered them towels, but they wanted to go change and said they would come back later. Theo and I giggled the whole time we waited for them to return. We had our serious, responsible faces on during the inspection and it went fine... Awkward though.

Theo, Mambo and our famous ladder.

There is one gentleman on the island that is extremely social with the sailing crowd. He was born in France, but now lives on Ua Pou among the Marquesians. He knows English so we were able to communicate just fine. Theo and I have nicknamed him “The Floater” because he floats around the anchorage on an old body board wearing his crocs. Every day he comes by for a chat, and when he is ready to move on, he floats to the next boat and repeats the same with them. One day he joined us on Et Voila for a lunch of French fries and Rum drinks and we all exchanged stories. The cruisers are like his family. Thank you for your time… We will remember you always!

Theo, Mambo and "The Floater".

On the morning of May 21^st a huge ship, the Aranui , docked in Ua Pou.  All of the cruisers were out on their boat bows at 6am with coffee to watch it maneuver into place. Fascinating! If I wouldn’t have seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed a ship that size would be able to dock here. Today is a big celebration on the island because the Aranui’s arrival means more tourists to entertain and feed, and also new provisions for the island from Tahiti. In the afternoon, we walked through a local artists exhibit and after we saw a traditional dance performance. In the evening there was a concert and barbeque put together for all the cruisers. The people here are generous and gracious hosts. We are thankful that we experienced this special day.

Arrival of Aranui

Kids playing with the Aranui dock lines

Traditional dance by Meheani

Dancers and us.

Meheani and me.

We will be leaving Ua Pou soon. We have lingered longer than expected.  That’s fine because we are meeting people on the boats around us and exchanging ideas about where to go next. We will definitely sail to Nuku Hiva tomorrow to buy some fresh vegetables and fish at the early morning market on Saturday. Then we are off to the Tuamotu Archipelago.

Lesson: Sharks are only a problem in the anchorages where the fishermen clean their fish on the docks. In Ua Pou, the fishermen only clean their fish outside the bay. They are very strict about this. It is so the children can swim without danger. Very nice.

Quote: “People will forget what you said; people will forget what you did; but people will never forget how you made them feel”. Maya Angelou

French: Au marche’   Translation: To the market

 Voulez-vous une chou?   Translation: Would you like a cabbage?

Oui, oui ! Duex choux s’il vous plait   Translation:  Yes, yes! Two cabbages please.

C’est bête comme choux   Translation: That’s foolish as cabbage

La Douane  Translation: Customs

Flotteur  Translation : Float

Fatu Hiva & Hiva Oa

May 4 – May 7, 2014

Fatu Hiva

Hanavave “Bay of Virgins”

We had a very relaxing sail from Hiva Oa to Fatu Hiva. We left around 7 in the morning and arrived in the Bay of Virgins by early afternoon. I encourage you to go online and look at these places and read the history. For example, this bay was named something else (I will let you figure that out), but when the Catholic priests came they promptly changed the name. This cove has dramatic volcanic cliffs and trees that show every color of green imaginable. It is crazy beautiful.

Bay of Virgins

Once on shore, we realized that there is just one paved road here. It will lead you to the main village. Along our walk we saw a school, a church, one very small market, and the medical and post office took up the same small structure. We repeatedly tried to go to the post office, but it was always closed. A local told us to knock on the door, but no one was there. No way to get cash or wi-fi here.

We have met many other cruisers. Everyone is extremely friendly and willing to share their stories with us. When we first anchored in Hanavave, we were surprised by the number of Catamarans we saw. There were at least eight. People are from all over the world…Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Italy and Brazil.  Some are couples like us, some are solo and some, especially the Catamarans, have children. When I asked about this, they explained that they had been sailing for years and were home schooling the children onboard… Wow! One boat has six children onboard, two in diapers! This is something that I never considered (the home schooling, not the six children). Good for them… The kids seem very happy.

We hiked with a big group to the waterfall. Once you go past the paved road the trail is marked by small stones stacked on top of huge lava boulders. It is a gorgeous 300 foot waterfall which goes into a large pool. It was a one hour uphill hike, so the cold water felt amazing.

On the walk back, locals came out of their homes and asked if we needed various things. We always asked for fresh fruit and were always given a baguette as well.  We would either buy some of their wood carvings or give them dollars. This is the last island in French Polynesia where tapa cloth is still made by hand. As we walked we could hear the sound of women pounding the tapa.

From generous locals! The bread did not make it to the boat...

 One day, while getting back on our inflatable boat to leave, the children started asking us for things. One of the things was candy. My sweet, generous husband casually said “ Bonbons” and I swear we suddenly had a swarm of kids clinging on to our boat and they would not let go.  We managed to leave most of them behind, but four refused to get off…One girl Caroline and three boys. We went to Et Voila and gave them their Bonbons, some goggles and snorkeling masks. They promised us they would share with the other children… Hmmmmm… doubtful.

Caroline.

They wanted to go fast!

There are no restaurants here, so the locals invite you for dinners in the evening. When we went onshore to go to one of these dinners, a girl came up to me and gave me a big hug… Caroline. The dinner was at her home. They served amazing fresh lobster, papaya salad and my favorite Poisson Cru in coconut milk. After there was music played by our hosts and Caroline was dressed beautifully in traditional costume dancing for us. Lovely.

Caroline  dancing for us after dinner.

Lessons: Do not feed the children.

Quote: “If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme”. Pinocchio

French word: Bonbon Translation: Candy

Books: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

WHY I LOVE IT HERE (In no order whatsoever):

*There is no need to think about fashion. We can wear absolutely anything and it is acceptable… no shoes are required.

*No makeup here, just sunscreen and bug juice, which rapidly slides off your face and body anyway.

*When we call for Alec to drive us somewhere we are told that he has gone fishing…and he really has.

*Just before sunset, we can see the locals with their kids lined up at the dock with fishing lines to catch dinner.

*My Vitamin D levels must be soaring.

*I love how easily the locals roar with laughter when we  explain that we have two dogs with us.

*If you slip on gravel and fall on your butt while walking and gazing up at the fruit trees, people will actually run over to help you and ask if you are alright.

*Small children run around naked and shoeless.

*I love how some locals tell you the sharks don’t bite in Taahuku Bay.  Then you ask someone else and they tell you there are no sharks. Then you ask someone else and they say that they are everywhere and they will most definitely bite you. We just try to stay out of the water.

*Gorgeous fruit trees everywhere. There are Mangos, Bananas, Grapefruit, Papayas, Coconut, Star fruit and wild berries. I especially love the limes. They are good on our fish and to flavor our water.

*Every day I feel like I have done a Hot Yoga class.

*My joints do not bother me at all.

*The air is very, very clean.

*Theo is happy.

*I am happy.

*I ate worms and I don’t care.

*We can take a shower outside with chickens roaming by.

*I am sunburned, scarred, bruised and sweating profusely, but no one questions this here. If I was at home I would be asked all day long if I was feeling well or if I was a victim of abuse.

*The customs agent was surprised when we explained to him that Greece is a part of Europe.

*I have no idea what time it is and have no to do list until July.

*We can hitch a ride anywhere very easily…no thumb required.

*The people here all seem genuinely happy and are always laughing…maybe at us, I don’t know.

*The only scales in sight are to weigh fruit, vegetables and fish.

*So far, the dogs have nothing to bark at…or they are just too hot to make the effort.

*People here pronounce our last name correctly .

*We meet people from all over the world and get to hear their stories.

*No one ever asks what we do for a living …ever!

*No CVS, Walgreens or Gossip Magazines in sight.

* I have not seen anyone texting and walking at the same time.

*When it rains here, people go outside.

* I get to fall asleep to the sound of gentle waves.

May 8 – 11, 2014

Tahuata

Hana Moe Noa Bay

We are now anchored in an uninhabited, idyllic bay on the island of Tahuata. This is the first place in the Marquesas where the “white man” came. Moe Noa means “long sleep”. We will always remember this anchorage because it is simply paradise. It has a white sand beach with palm trees, turquoise water that is clear, rainbows, and there is no noise….just peace and quiet. We have been swimming, snorkeling and kayaking. At night there are campfires on the beach. This has been a good time for us to clean the boat really well. Before it was too hot, but now we scrub for a while and then jump in the water for relief.

Nothing is perfect… I have read there are NoNos on the beach here. NoNos are blood sucking sand flies that attack during the daytime. I am not afraid of much, but I dread the NoNos. Their bites are supposed to itch terribly and last a while. Theo doesn’t believe me, so he went to the beach today to scout the situation (without bug repellent)… He came back with coconuts and a bright red crab clinging to a stick. Needless to say, he boiled the crab and ate it. We will find out later if he met the NoNos.

Our view for a while

On our last day here we swam and snorkeled all day. The Manta Rays were in the bay and we could not get enough of them. At first I hesitated to get out of the kayak, simply because I have never in my life been in the ocean with a wild creature bigger than myself (or Theo for that matter). I finally jumped in with my fins and snorkel. I immediately felt peace. They were so graceful and calm. The closest I have ever come to this feeling was in Hawaii with the Sea Turtles, but this was something completely different. The wing span on them was at least 6 feet and they have huge mouths that open to eat plankton. There were three of them and the largest one was the most “playful”. He would swim straight toward me with his big open mouth, and when he was really close he would quickly dive just below my body. I had to stay completely still so I wouldn’t kick him with my fins. He kept circling and doing this over and over…amazing. We are hoping to see them again tomorrow before we pull our anchor up.

Happy Mother’s Day!!

Lesson: Do not crack open a coconut on the stern steps of your boat…coconut stains terribly and it lasts a while.

Quote: “When you seek happiness for yourself it will always elude you; When you seek it for others you will find it yourself”. Dr Wayne Dyer

French word: Dormir Translation: To Sleep

Ocean Sightings: One very large Manta Ray that jumped completely out of the water twice as we were arriving in Hana Mae Noa Bay… Later we snorkeled with three of them. All kinds of reef fish, one  octopus, Sea Urchins.

NoNos: Zero

April 12, 2014

Hiva Oa

Hanamenu Bay

We swam one more time with the Manta Rays and then sailed to Hanamenu Bay on the Island of Hiva Oa. This bay has a completely different feel than the last one. We are in a lava canyon and there is a small beach with palm trees… it just doesn’t seem to go together… strange. It looks like a mirage you might imagine in the desert. We can hear goats on the cliffs around us but cannot see them.  Two other boats are anchored here with us.

 After lunch we went onshore to explore and search for a fresh water spring that is supposed to be very beautiful. We could hear the water and followed the sound to a very well maintained oasis. All the rocks were placed perfectly around a pool of clear water which was surrounded by breadfruit and palm trees. There were some young adults at the pool when we arrived. They were from LA and Santa Barbara. They seemed very, very nice but my gut flipped a little when I realized that one of them was holding a large machete (for coconuts). It just went against my better judgment to hang around, so we jumped in the pool.  The water was really cold, but we didn’t care... It felt great. We explored more and found passion fruit and lime trees. We filled up our bag and headed back to the boat.

Fresh water oasis

We walked over a creek that led to the ocean… really pretty. Once we were on the beach we became very, very sad. NoNos… They attacked from everywhere and we could feel them biting us. They are aggressive, obnoxious, hungry little s***heads and they gang up on you… Bullies. There was no getting away from them and we are covered with nasty bites… banana pancakes tomorrow morning and then we are out of here!

Lesson: ALWAYS reapply your bug spray after swimming in a stunning fresh water pool.

Quote: “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind”. Dr. Seuss

French: Mil moustique Translation: A thousand mosquitos

NoNos: A thousand

Ocean Sightings: Zero

May 13, 2014

Hiva Oa

Hanaiapa Bay

We had a very rolly ride to Hanaiapa, but it is a very beautiful anchorage. Arriving into the bay we had dolphins enter with us. There is a waterfall, blowhole, palm trees, little white dots on the cliffs (goats) and there are no other boats here. We took the kayak onshore to explore and ended up walking for nearly 3 hours. We had no idea that there was so much to see. This part of Hiva Oa is very well maintained with paved roads, streetlights and immaculate plants, trees and flowers. The natural beauty of it made us want to keep walking to see more. We were already tired and by the time we turned around to go back to the boat and we had forgotten to bring water with us.

We heard someone calling to us from a house to our right. We stopped and a man was waving us in to his home. He kept calling it the “Yacht Club”. We walked up his driveway and, sure enough, there was a bright colored sign that said William Yacht Club. We told him where we had traveled from and he pulled up some chairs and served us each an ice cold citrus drink which was the best tasting thing ever. Then he continued to bring out fruits and shredded coconut. William has lived in Hanaiapa for a while and he has three books filled with messages from cruisers that have walked by his home over the years. From what I saw, the first entry was made in 2003. We were honored to write in his famous book. We waved goodbye with bags filled with grapefruit, bananas and papayas.  As we continued to walk down the road we heard another gentleman calling us to his home.  He greeted us with kisses, showed us pictures of his family and offered us more fruit. We tried to explain that we did not need any more fruit, but he would hear nothing of it. We hauled all the fruit plus a huge stalk of bananas that he insisted we take with us to our kayak.  Getting in the kayak with all of this AND the bananas was very tricky given the high tide and waves crashing on the dock… but we did it. Once we unloaded everything we went back to the village to give our generous hosts some new shirts and baseball caps we had brought with us. They loved the hats!

Et Voila

William and Wanda

A happy goat!

We were exhausted from walking all day and went to sleep as soon as the sun went down.

 

Mambo and Isabel are enjoying their vacation.

Mambo was exhausted too!

 

A beautiful sky!

Hiva Oa. Marquesas.

April 25-May 2, 2014

Hiva Oa

Once we were safely anchored, Marie, Bruno and I went to shore. Bruno stayed with our inflatable boat and the sharks, while Marie and I went to check things out inland and find a cold beer for Theo. If you have been on a boat for 20 days and suddenly go on land…you feel like you are floating. It is okay if you keep moving, but if you suddenly stop, it can be unsettling. This lasts for an average of four days.

Marie and I walked to what looked like a bar area and went in… It was someone’s home. They had a lovely large lawn with Roosters sprinting from one side to the other. They enthusiastically waved us in; we introduced ourselves and told them what our goal was for the evening. The Marquesians are very friendly and helpful.  One of the women drove us to an ATM to get cash so we could by Theo’s beer (No Euros or Dollars here) and then told us that her husband would meet us tomorrow morning at the marina to take us to the Gendarmerie. This is like the Coast Guard and Customs combined. We returned to the boat with cold beer and a frustrated Bruno who, in his efforts to secure our inflatable boat, met with a shark. After a bit of cursing, deep breaths and beer, all was good.

Theo and I set our alarms so we would be on time to go to customs in the morning with our arranged driver. We brushed our teeth, dressed and made the morning coffee. Then we were joined by Marie, who told us it was actually 4 am. We stayed up anyway, drank our coffee and talked until it was time to go. Bruno was the only smart one who stayed in bed until we woke him. When we reached shore, our shirtless and shoeless driver was waiting for us smoking his morning cigarette.

Customs turned out to be fairly simple (other than having to hold on to the desk or sitting down because I was unable to stand in one spot and not fall over). The dogs are another story. They will have to stay onboard until a veterinarian in Tahiti can see them… We were pretty sure it would go that way. This is actually fine. I can only imagine the scene when Mambo and Isabel see all of the wild poultry running around everywhere.

After customs, we went to a restaurant and had a traditional breakfast. Beautiful warm baguettes, butter, fresh Mango and Grapefruit, homemade fruit spread and strong coffee with real milk… Merci!

Theo and I wanted to go back to the boat to check on the dogs. As we were walking, one of the locals offered us a ride to the marina so we hopped in. He explained to us that it was unusually scorching hot for the island. We believed him. The heat is like nothing I have experienced before. I am sweating profusely at all times. My clothes and hair are wet. There is no escaping it. Usually we would just jump in the water, but the sharks make it not worth it here. Once our local friend dropped us off at the marina, he gave us three very ripe, gorgeous papayas. He kept telling us that they were Bio (organic). We thanked him very much and continued on to by freshly caught Wahoo for dinner. We bought it fresh off the boat and 2 ½ pounds cost us 5 US Dollars. Wow…

Grilled Fresh Wahoo. Amazing tasting fish!

The next morning we woke up without any alarms. We went onshore to see Sandra. She is in a small building overlooking the marina and she answers any questions you may have, does your laundry, will drive you anywhere…etc. She is a very popular lady here. Merci…

Local Tourism office

Local Launch Ramp...

Amazing Picture of the coastline with our boat in the harbour.

Chicken everywhere!

When we returned to the boat, Theo and I decided to eat the organic papayas from the friendly local yesterday. We sliced them in half and devoured them with some limes.  We said it was the best thing ever and ate more. While I was eating, I saw something move. Worms… HHHMMMM. The papayas were definitely organic… I just hope we chewed it up properly… That’s all I have to say about that.

The next day, Theo finally figured out the problem with the water maker. He is sooooo happy. I always knew he would fix it. The parts would have taken a long time to get to us here, so it is a huge relief. We can use it until Papeete and then order parts to arrive in Tahiti. Shower tomorrow!!!!

Isabel helping Theo fix things

Marie- Jo is another very popular lady here. She drives us everywhere and is lots of fun. The first time we met her, Theo was still struggling with anchoring the inflatable boat onshore. When he appeared to get into the car, he had accidentally fallen into the water and was soaking wet. Marie-Jo said he could not get into the car like that. Theo took his shirt off and started squeezing all of the water out of it so he could sit in the car. All he got was a side wards glance and a disapproving expression. He finally said..” I am going with you!” So the compromise was to dust off a dirty floor mat from the car and have him sit on that. By the time this was figured out, he was dry and I was profusely sweating and completely wet…but no one seemed to notice. I need to expand on this and explain that this is an island where it is no big deal to see a grown man peeing behind the tourist office, poultry sprinting freely everywhere and horses tied to the back of moving pickup trucks.

Marie Jo and our boat in the background

The next day, we called for a ride to go to a very nice hotel on the island for dinner. It has the most amazing view and food. When our driver came to pick us up, it was Marie-Jo again. She told me I looked beautiful and then took one look at Theo and scrunched up her face.  His shorts were wet all the way to his crotch because he had to wade through the water again to get onshore. He tried to explain that this was a new fashion trend from California, but she just sighed and put a towel down on the seat for him to sit on… When we arrived at the Pearl Lodge for dinner, the hostess took one look at us and asked if we would like to sit on lounge chairs by the pool. Yes… Merci!

The next day, we went onshore to go to town. There was Marie-Jo again. She is like the Butler in the movie Mr. Deeds. She appears out of nowhere. When she saw us approaching she applauded wildly. Theo was completely dry!! She was driving us into town when I mentioned that Theo wanted to get a tattoo. She stopped the car and pointed off to the side of the main road. She said “My nephew, Renaldo, does tattoos”. We said we would think about it. At lunch, the restaurant owner was covered with tattoos, so we asked him who he recommended on the island. He pointed back to the kitchen and said “My cook does tattoos”. I looked at Theo and he said that he would like someone that does tattoo work for a living… not a cook. I understood. He called someone else that was recommended to him, but he spoke no Engish and hung up on him. Renaldo it was. Theo has a beautiful tattoo….Merci Renaldo!

Theo getting a Tattoo...

On Thursday we did a tour of the Island. It was wild and crazy beautiful. In the past, there were wild horses on the island. If you could capture one you could keep it. Now they are tied to trees like we would tie our dog in front of a store. They go from place to place tied to the back of trucks contently trotting behind to the next location. Goats and pigs are everywhere here… Occasionally, you will see a cow. Poultry is free to anyone that can catch them. We asked our tour guide how they usually catch the chickens and he said “Do you have a 22?” We said no, and he made a motion of firing out the window of the car. Ohhhh… So, if we are on the dock and manage to catch a chicken it is ours for dinner. No one spoke until lunch because we were so mesmerized by the scenery and stories. At lunch we all exchanged our life experiences and future sailing plans. No one asks why you are here, why you chose to do this voyage or what you do for a living. We all understand each other. Nice…

Horse tied behind a car

Our Tour guide had some diesel problems. We made it though!

Local Ruins

Local kids

We got back to Et Voila and had some visitors from a boat next to us. We opened red wine and talked. All of a sudden we heard yelling and it was a friend of Bruno’s named Matt. He had just caught a fish and was rushing over on his inflatable to share it with us for dinner. When you catch a fish here, you find a local to ask if it is edible or not. If you get a smile and thumbs up, eat it. We ate it…Thank you Matt!! See you in Tahiti!

Bruno left for Tahiti today to meet Erin, Marie and Marie’s husband. We are alone. Weird… As I am writing this, there are Canoe races. Behind the canoes, there is a small boat with a motor and one man and two young girls. I watched and the girls’ only purpose was to use cups to bail water out of the small boat as it followed the canoes… We are not in Catalina anymore….