June 10-15, 2014
Rotoava
Fakarava, Tuamotu
We sailed to the North coast of Fakarava and anchored in
front of a red roofed church in the village of Rotoava. We really enjoyed our
stay here. The diving and snorkeling was better in the South pass, but the village
and people here made it very memorable. For example, Theo woke up “early” one morning
to buy a fresh baguette for breakfast. When he arrived, all the bread was sold
out. As he was walking away empty handed (and undoubtedly sulking), the woman
from the bakery ran after him and gave him a baguette that she had saved for
her family. He did not want to take it,
but she insisted. Later that day, we bought many things from her store. Everyone
is so kind and generous.
There is one thing I have not mentioned yet. The locals can
pronounce our last name correctly, but no one (and I mean no one) can pronounce
THEO. We introduce ourselves, and when I say “Wanda” they say “Like the fish”
or “Ooh La La!” and shake their hips.
When we say “Theo”, there is a painful look of both confusion and concentration
on their faces, and then after much thought…”PHIL?” So after many attempts of
being sincere about Theo’s name, we have finally settled on Phil… so, there it
is. Et Voila… Phil.
We love meeting people on the boats around us. We had drinks
onboard Andiamo, a catamaran from Florida, sailed by a nice couple and their
son. We sat around and laughed at our silly sailing stories, and quietly
pondered the more serious ones. While at lunch we met Claudia and Tierry from Switzerland.
We have found out that word gets around quickly here... cruising the South
Pacific is a small community after all. We are known as the boat with the two
dogs and the boat that customs officers
fell in the water in Ua Pou. We have now
been told that the same customs boat hit a coral reef somewhere in the
Marquesas. This does not come as much of a surprise to us.
I could get really, really comfortable in Fakarava. The
atoll is peaceful and lovely. We have a nice balance of feeling far away from everything,
but at the same time, we have conveniences. We can walk or ride bicycles to get
anywhere we want. We have found a few restaurants with enjoyable food and the
markets have greens, eggs and I even found tofu! Happiness… simple.
Theo and I bantered a bit about whether or not to leave.
Finally it was decided that we should move on to Toau. I really want to
experience this atoll, so we are moving on.
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| Fakarava North Pass...our dinghy dock. |
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| No words needed... |
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| Et Voila' anchorage |
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| Children playing while we were riding our bicycles through town. |
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| I had not ridden a bicycle for one year!!! |
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| Fakarava Pearl Farm |
Lesson: You must go to the market VERY early to purchase
bread here.
Quotes:
“Wherever
you go, go with all your heart.” Confucius
“Kindness
is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Mark Twain
“I
still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.”
Anne Frank
French: Velo – Bicycle
Ya-t-il
une boulangerie par ici? – Is there a bakery around here ?
Oui, il
est tot – Yes, it is early
C’est gentil de votre part – That is
kind of you
June 15 – 19, 2014
Anes Amyot
Toau, Tuamotu
We arrived in Anes Amyot around 4:30pm. This is an extremely
tranquil anchorage on the northern tip of Toau. Gaston and Valentine live here
and that is pretty much all there is. After we moored, we jumped in the dinghy to go
say hello to them. Once on shore we saw that they had an intimate little party
going on. Gaston had made rum drinks and it seemed they had been enjoying them
for a while! This did not help the introductions AT ALL. I told them my name
was Wanda and they said “Oh, you are a fish!” I am used to this and I am okay
with it. When Theo introduced himself to
Gaston, he got an alcohol fueled look of confusion and concentration. Gaston
looked him straight in the eye and said “Steel, it is nice to meet you…Valentine,
this is Steel!” Theo and I just glanced at each other and shrugged… Steel it is.
We sat down and had a taste of Gaston’s Rum creation and it was quite good. We
asked if they needed anything because they are so isolated it must be difficult
to get any supplies delivered. Valentine said she needed kibble for her five
dogs and olive oil. No problem, we had plenty of that to share. Gaston gave
Steel a big emotional embrace, and very genuinely told him that no one ever
asks if they need anything… (What??). He went on to say that he had drank too
much rum to think at the moment, and if we could please ask him again tomorrow.
No worries…
The next morning, we brought the dog food and olive oil to
Valentine. She was a bit cranky, but grateful. It turned out that their diesel generator
and telephone were not working. They were in the dark and disconnected! She told us they had a gasoline powered
generator as a backup, but they had no gas. We went to the boat and brought 8
liters of fuel so they could cook and have lights in the evening. They were
very happy and decided that they were going to prepare a special dinner for us
and any other cruisers that wanted to join. Valentine told Steel to go to the
pigpen and pick a pig so they could prepare it for the special dinner…. My husband
loves pork, but he could not do this. Who was he to decide the fate of a poor
pig? Gaston ended up going lobster fishing on the reef instead. Personally, I
was very relieved.
We spent the day of the dinner with Valentine and Gaston
cleaning and preparing the food. I swept the floors, cut vegetables for poisson
cru, set the table and gathered flowers. Meanwhile, Steel was raking the yard,
husking and grating coconuts, and made milk for the coconut cake and bread. It
smelled soooo incredibly wonderful! Somehow, Steel got the job of “chopping”
the live lobsters in half for the barbeque. He was not comfortable with this,
but other people were watching and he had to put on an act of bravery. If it
were not for his deep tan, he would have been white as a ghost. Poor lobsters… In
the end we had the table set for ten, and the company and food was fantastic. I
ate too much, which gave me bad dreams, but it was worth it!
When I spent the day
with Valentine helping to prepare dinner, we talked about our lives. Theo is my
best friend, but he is a man. I needed some girl time! She eventually told me
her mother had died of breast cancer, so I told her about what I had
experienced a year ago. She began talking of Jesus and her faith… I listened
with an open heart and mind. I am not a religious person. That being said, this
world is vast and there are so many things that I have no explanation for. I
know there is an energy that powers it and guides us as humans. I have learned
to trust it. The morning we were to leave Anse Amyot, Valentine and Gaston said
they wanted to sing and pray for us. We were honored and felt it was the best
gift they could have offered us. We read from the Bible and sang songs while
Valentine played her ukulele. In the end, they put their hands on us and prayed
from their hearts. It was beautiful and I will never forget it… (I felt a bit
guilty when they were praying for “Steel” though). We had our tearful goodbyes
and Valentine said I was like her sister. When we left the mooring, Gaston blew
three times into a conch shell to say goodbye. I will miss them very much… It
was the best feeling ever.
Valentine and Gaston’s Menu:
Appetizer – Homemade focaccia with tomato, herbs, peppers,
cheese and fish
Main course – Chicken curry with vegetables, Poisson Cru,
Fried freshly caught fish with rice and coconut bread. The grand finale was the
Lobster, right off the barbeque. Delicious…
Dessert – Homemade coconut cake
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| "Steel" and friends husking coconuts for dinner. |
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| Shredding and cracking coconuts |
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| Making fresh coconut milk. |
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| Sweeping the yard. |
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| Preparing vegetables and having girl time with Valentine. |
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| Arranging flowers gathered from the atoll. |
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| The boys putting lobsters with eggs back in the pen. |
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| Gaston's catch. |
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| Chopping. |
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| The freshest Lobster ever... |
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| Our dinner location. |
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| Our dinghy and Et Voila' in the background. |
Lesson: Do not wear a white shirt while you are “chopping”
lobsters for dinner.
“Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are; it solely
relies on what you think.” Buddha
“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” Albert Einstein
“Prayer is not an old woman’s idle
amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of
action.” Mahatma Gandhi
French: Il s’appelle Theo – His name is Theo
C’est une plaisir – It’s a pleasure
C’est du gateau – A piece of cake
C’est
beaucoup – It’s a lot
C’est
pour vous – It’s for you
June 19, 2014
Totoro Motu
Apataki, Tuamotu
We are sailing to Apataki, but we are apprehensive. Mambo is
not well. He has been swimming with us a lot while in the Tuamotu and seems
relaxed and happy, but he is unusually tired. He sleeps all day after the
swims. One morning I noticed that he was not walking normally… he looked like
he could not keep his balance. Suddenly his whole body tensed up and he could
not move. We made him as comfortable as
possible and after a few hours, he seemed to go back to his regular free
spirited self. We still don’t know what happened to him. We called our veterinarian
back home who has known Mambo since he was a puppy, and he said it may have
been his heart. He still wants to go swimming and kayaking with us, so we have
been doing that with him, but suddenly he does not want to eat or drink. We will
leave for Tahiti and find a veterinarian as soon as possible.
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| Entering the South Pass |
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| The dangerous current...do not attempt this at home. |
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| Our anchorage |
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| Sometimes strolling you see the weirdest things....??? |
June 21, 2014
Sailing to Tahiti
We have left Apataki for Tahiti. We want to leave the atoll
through the Northern Pass because the Southern Pass is too scary. There are
many dangerous coral platforms in the atoll that are not charted. We left at a
time when the sun was facing us and it was very difficult to see. Theo and I
both watched from the bow for two hours. It was stressful, but we managed to
not hit anything. One of the catamarans that we have gotten to know did hit a
reef in Fakarava. They lost a propeller and bent one of their rudders badly. We
were grateful and relieved when we finally exited the atoll.
We are hoping there is a Veterinarian in Tahiti
that can help Mambo. Our sail to Tahiti was two nights. The ocean was kind to
us, thank goodness. Not much wind, so we motored most of the way. Theo and I
switched watch every two hours. We continued to give Mambo love and tried to
keep him comfortable. He was not doing well at all… his breathing was labored.
I made his favorite chicken and he managed to eat. I think he enjoyed it, but
he was still not drinking water.
June 23 - 29, 2014
Papeete, Tahiti
We arrived in Tahiti, anchored at the Tahiti Yacht Club and
had a veterinarian on board within the hour. He thought Mambo had developed an
infection. He gave him an anti-inflammatory shot and antibiotic shot, gave us
his card and left. Mambo passed away a few hours later. Theo and I are
bewildered. We knew he was older and there was a risk bringing him with us, but
we were hoping for the best. I desperately want to believe that he was happy.
Mambo spent the last few months of his life being loved, cuddled and swimming
in the ocean… his favorite pastime. Three days before he died, he was swimming
while we were snorkeling in Apataki. He was loved and we were with him at the
end. Our arrival in Tahiti is incredibly sad.
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| Leaving Catalina for the Marquesas... |
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| Comfortable on the Catamaran... |
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| Happy in the ocean... |
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| Best Friend... |
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| Swimming companions...always. |
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| Admiring the coconut crabs in Toau. |
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| The oldest puppy we ever knew... keep swimming big boy...We will always love you. |
Theo and I are stunned and walking around in a daze. Loosing
Mambo will take time to accept. Isabel seems okay, but she is alone now when we
go onshore. We showed all of her documents and immunization records to the
Department of Agriculture, but they still do not want her on land. This is
troubling news and now we have to decide if it will be best to fly her home to
live with our daughter when we go to New Zealand in November. I have faith that
it will all work out somehow.
We are currently anchored at the Yacht Club (sounds fancy,
but it isn’t) because it was the first anchorage to get to. Now we are
contemplating going to Marina Taina, but we wanted to go look at it before
moving the catamaran. We got our bicycles ready and rode the 12 miles to the
marina. The only good thing about doing this was that it was so incredibly frightening
that it temporarily distracted our minds away from Mambo and onto our present
predicament. It was like bike riding without a helmet in downtown Los Angeles
during rush hour, only there is hardly a sidewalk or bike lane. For me
personally, crossing the Pacific Ocean was much less scary than riding a
bicycle on the streets here. After two and a half months of being in quiet,
remote places, Tahiti will take time to get used to. We are back in a world of
traffic, billboards, exhaust fumes, sirens, leaf blowers (my pet peeve) and
cell phone hypnotism. I am not complaining… just stating the facts. Once we arrived
at the marina, we saw that we recognized a lot of the boats that were there. On
the upside, the marina has a marine parts store, laundry machines, water, two
restaurants and it is walking distance to a giant grocery store. We are moving
tomorrow.
It is Saturday and there is a lot going on in Tahiti, markets,
dancing and canoe races. It is fun to see. I am flying home on Monday to visit
family and friends and to go to my various doctor appointments. Theo is staying
here and will be visited by friends while I am away. When I return to Tahiti on
July 24th, I will bring our son, Jonathan, and my cousins from Italy
with me. I am really looking forward to that.
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| Tahiti |
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| Finally, veggies! |
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| Dancing on Saturday. |
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| No liquor sold on Sundays...What??? |
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| Theo schlepping groceries to the dinghy dock.. |
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| Canoe races in Papeete. |
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| Every canoe in Tahiti was here... |
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| Marina Taina |
Lesson: Call a taxi
Quotes: “Man was made for joy and woe and when this we
rightly know, through the world we safely go. Joy and woe are woven fine, a
clothing for the soul divine.” William Blake
“It is
some relief to weep; grief is satisfied and carried off by tears.” Ovid
French: En larmes – In tears
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