Nuku Hiva

Baie D’Hatiheu. Quiet nice anchorage. Met up with our friends on Nexus here. Which is good because here you need to ride share to get ashore. The swells run across the dock and make egress quite interesting. I should gopro a video of us getting out or back into the dingy. It’s like jumping into or out of the bed of a truck into another truck. We have been watching the locals for better ways to do it. They tie up their small boats (of which there are 4) to mooring balls then swim for it. They time the swells and get literally ejected onto the rocks. And it is rugged. They know where to land. I think we would be head to toe abrasions if we tried that route. One guy paddles out in a truck inertube. One guy had a kayak but he wiped out on the approach.  Maybe we provide them with as much entertainment as they provide us.

Went in for dinner the first night. Very nice. The only restaurant in town is owned by the mayor. And we were its only customers. Next day we went looking for the three archaeological sites that the book notes are in the area. No secret map this time. But we have our secret weapon. Iris. She asks around and yes, they are here, here, and here. Take you about an hour to walk there. Will drive you up there for 2000 fpf. 20 bucks. So we load into his pickup and head off. He drops us and gives us some local info. There is a sacred Banyon tree there. Huge. Said to be 600 years old. It looks ancient. And a very large ruins of a Polynesian community. It went on and on. Couple thousand people lived there at one time he told us. Now there are only 300 people who live along the shore of the bay we are in. We hiked all over the place. And were the only ones there. No trails or park rangers here. I know we didn’t even see all of it. It just kept going and going.

Today we head to Baie D’Taiohea for the rendezvous that is a couple of days from now. Get some laundry done. Hopefully. Get some wifi. Hopefully. Get ready for the roughly 600 mile passage to the Tuamotus.  Heck 600 miles! When we were 600 miles from here we figured we were there already. Looking forward to it.

Not a whole lot here. The dinghy dock is not life threatening so that’s nice. On the backside the fishermen clean their catch and toss the guts out into the bay. Schools of sharks gather and feed. I guess we will not be cleaning the bottom anytime to soon here.  We did get a chance to dive the bottom and do some cleaning in the previous anchorage. Iris leaned how to replace drive shaft zincs. A task I don’t mind delegating at all. On shore there is a small town and a couple of dock side establishments. One place has become the ARC hangout. Great wifi. Simple menu. Fruit juices and something we had not seen before. Seems if you have a stem of bananas that is getting ripe and you will not be able to use them all you bring them here and hang them on the guide wires that keep the awnings up. So there are hundreds of free bananas hanging there. Can’t be good for business but maybe everyone is as tired of bananas as we are. We have about ½ dozen varieties on board. Ones you cook. Little thumb sized ones. Ones that look like a yellow zucchini. And most of them were given to us. We are going to fill the freezer with them as they start to go and have smoothies all the way to Tahiti. Or we will be so tired of them they will still be in the freezer a year from now. While we are on that we do need to get better about cleaning out the fridge and freezer. There are two slices of pizza in there, (not mine), from the friggin Galapagos. That is a month and 3,000 miles ago. A biology experiment. Maybe we will take them to Australia and if they ask what it is we can say, don’t know, open it up and see. We hear they do go through everything.

How many bananas can you eat before you actually turn into one.

There was a major earthquake in Chile last night. It initiated a tsunami warning for the pacific. We stayed up till 1:30 in the morning watching for it but as it turned out there never was one. But it was an interesting drill. The fun turned out to be the next day. About mid morning a squall line came through and blew up a heck of a storm. Rain coming down sideways. Boat spinning all over the place. Boats dragging anchor. Did a major rearrangement of the anchorage. Then done and blue sky. The whole thing was maybe an hour. But is was a very powerful little storm.

Yesterday we hooked up with our friends on Nexus and went around to the next bay to hike up to a waterfall. Supposed to be the third highest waterfall in the world. So far on this trip the waterfalls have been, at most, an hour hike. This one is 2 ½ hours. Each way. And it was a bear. We probably only went a couple of miles up a canyon but it was muddy, slippery, very wet and incredibly beautiful. You expected King Kong to jump out of the sheer canyon walls. It looked like Jurassic park. There is a small and very remote village along the way. They do not have any roads going to this village. You get there by boat or horseback. Very few people go there. So we are walking along the trail to the falls and a local couple is coming up the other way with a load of coconuts in bags on the back of a donkey. And Iris knows them! She ate at their house last year when she came through here. She was looking for them but we really didn’t expect to find them. So they invite us back to their home after the hike for coconuts, fried bananas, stories. It was quite an experience. He, Thahitit (sp?) I think, is probably the most animated person I have ever met. Very Marquesian. They talk with huge gestures. He spoke no English but we got all kinds of stories about life on the island. Hunting, with knives only, spear fishing, coconut harvesting. Merc asked if he ever hunted tourists. He laughed and said no no but his grandfather did. And that may actually be true. The practiced cannibalism here until about 50 years ago. Don’t talk about it much but they did. But what a great couple of hours we spent with this young couple in their home. Bought some taro root and oranges. Don’t know what to do with taro root but Iris says she will figure it out.

This fellow was a wonderful host. 

Hard to put into words how incredible this was.

Pretty close to being done here. We have really loved the Marquesas’ and its people. I will come back here some day.

And we welcome Lorenzo to the Vivo crew. He was on another ARC boat that is taking a different route and the owners are going back to Europe for a while. He is from northern Italy near the Alps, speaks three languages, just graduated with a degree in marine biology and is reported to be a heck of a cook. He will be with us through Australia. Also quite a good guitar player. We jammed a bit last night. Should be fun working up a couple of tunes to take to some of the ARC get togethers.

So this afternoon we are off to the Tuamotu Archipelago. Should be quite a change in topography. It is, for the most part, atolls. Sunken rims of volcanoes. First stop Ahe. Should take us about three days. Then Rangiroa where Dawn joins us. No wifi for a while so I am guessing so this might be the last post for a bit.

Take care

M

Ua Pou    Continued

There is an interisland delivery ship that we have run a cross a couple of times now. They run cargo and passengers around. A cruise ship of sorts. Big deal when it comes to an island. Means commerce being delivered and means some passengers to sell items to. Creates quite a hubbub. They set up shop in a pavilion on the beach. Very nice handcrafted local art. Ua Pou considers themselves to be the best artisans in French Polynesia. The carvings are incredible. And they are there doing the work for you to see. Not the O’l made in China sold in St Thomas stuff.

The view out the back door. The rock formations are called the Sentinels  They look over and protect the island. Most of the time they are shrouded in clouds. This was a rare shot.

Vivo in the anchorage. 

The local art sale. Bob and Merc being tourists.

Virgin Island Beer Club makes it to Au Pou French Polynesia. This is Ato. Of Piza Ato. Very nice fellow.

We went and picked up our produce from George. The fellow from the previous post. We are loaded up now. I dropped off a T-shirt for his son Ato. VIBC makes its self known in the Marquises. Ato drove us around looking for some other items they thought we should have. Very kind and generous people here. It is a cultural tradition to be so they told us. Kind of a contest to see who can be the most generous.

Leaving tomorrow to go around the corner to another anchorage.  Bale D’ Hakahetau. Supposed to be beautiful and a waterfall there to swim in. We’ll see. Might be the end of Wi-Fi for a while though. Sure was spoiled here!

Peace

M

Ua Pou        Pronounced,  Lyn-erd Skin-erd      Just kidding. It’s pronounced WaPoo.  (Not sure if my Mom will get that joke but I think a couple of you 80s rock degenerates will.)

Very small place. Population 1000. ½ of which live in the town on the bay we are in. Baie D’Hakahau. Everything has some form of haka or hika or hiva in the name. No idea how they keep it all straight. We got the dingy tied up pretty well on the town quay. A few months ago I would have bitched about the setup here but after the docking we have been doing this is A-OK! Stern anchor. Up the slippery cement wall. Nicks and cuts for all. Awesome. Took a couple of bags of laundry to try to find the local Laundromat. And someplace for dinner. No luck. No one here has even heard of a Laundromat. So then we go to find the one restaurant that the guidebook says is here. No dice. Supposed to be by the church but nope. So eventually someone points to what they say is the only place that serves food. But it’s all take out. At least that’s what we gathered. Kind of a plywood shack that says Piza on it. Missed a Z there I guess. Were golden! Piza! But it’s not open yet. Opens at 6 they say. So we go back to Vivo. With our smelly laundry still on our backs. Actually a little smellier now with all the sweat that has been added. Kill some time. Enjoy the beautiful view off the stern. Huge rugged spires covered with deep green foliage. Most of the time they are in the clouds. Gorges that I doubt have ever been walked. So steep it seems to not have any interest in gravity. Local fellows in small outrigger canoes shooting the swells that come into the bay and wrap around the breakwater. Who gets to do this stuff? Incredible. Except we are getting kind of hungry. So we head back to town. Same routine with the dingy. Find the shack. No they are not open yet, but welcome. Come in, have a seat. Pick any table I guess. Since we are the only ones there. And will be the only ones there for the next 2-½ hours.

But as we have come to expect. When you least expect it. Some one or something comes along. This time in the form of the proprietor of “Piza”. George. Light skinned, “his words”, descendant of a Scott named George Lawson who came to Marquesas’ in 1840. Married a local Marquesian and off you go. Very nice fellow. Quite good English. Well traveled. Five kids. Six grand kids. Some light some dark, again, his words. Family in Hiva Oa where we just came from. Family in Tahiti where we are going. Retired teacher who, with a couple of his friends, started a cultural revival of Marquasian art and tradition. That was back in the 80s. Is now a rather large event held every four years at one of the islands. Big deal. Lots of sponsorships. Big press. Quite a grass roots effort to keep their old traditions and ways alive. Not particularly embraced by the youth but they are hoping.

George is also a farmer. Has quite a garden going it seems. So we ask if he has any fresh produce that we might be able to buy from him. It’s a little scarce here. And that starts a grocery list that is out of this world! Mangos, bananas, papaya, pineapple, lemons, grapefruit, dried bananas, lettuce, peppers, onions, WOW! We will be the envy of the fleet. If this guy had Stolies and Captain Morgan he would be held as a deity. But alas. Just fruit and veggies. His son works with him and will meet us there tomorrow to pick up our order. I told him I am bringing a Virgin Islands Beer Club T shirt for him. He kind of reminds me of Ryan. And he wants Ryan’s email address, so Ryan, If you get an email from a fellow named Atou (sp?) that’s the guy. He is interested in your business model.

But if nothing else. Other than meeting a couple of pretty interesting people. And having some really awesome thin crust brick oven piza. (I have permanently removed one Z from the word. Seems its not required.) I did find something to buy. It’s not a dress! It’s a sarong. Or pareo. Pronounced parauu. Not a dress. Sure is comfy though. Not sure where to put my cash or granola bars. And no, not looking for any suggestions for either issue. Thanks. I will handle that.

Ahhhhh   free and breezy!

But we are in the process of drifting all over this anchorage. Anchor alarm went off twice while I typed this up. Tide going out. Ripe tide sifting back around the corner of the breakwater. Wind shifting. We are everywhere at once. Glad there is only two other boats here. I have a reasonable chance of not hitting anything or ending up on the beach. But the night is young.

I have wifi at this anchorage. Quite a treat let me tell, you. Usually its planes trains and automobiles to get to some wifi. But tonight I am dangerous. Its getting late and I just might go on ebay.

Or maybe I should just go to bed.

M

The Marquesas

Quite a culture shock going from Galapagos 17 days ago to French Polynesia here. Our port of entry is on Hiva Oa. Nice place. Very Polynesian. The people are very friendly. Lots of tattoos. Not small people. Some of the fellas are downright BIG! Faces all tattooed. Shaved heads. Fierce looking. And then they give you a huge smile and a bonjor. We go from very Spanish Ecuadorian Galapagos to here.

It’s a 45 minute walk to town. There is nothing at the warf area. The dingy docks are horrible. Cement, falling apart, dingy eaters. The dink is getting the !$!#$ beat out of it. I have given up all pretenses of keeping it nice looking. Now I just try to keep it running and not leaking too much air.

So we hit the town to do some provisioning. We are out of everything fresh. They have a couple of nice markets. We load up. I went to the ATM to get some cash. They use Polynesia Francs here. US dollars are not too useful here. 100 FP France to a dollar. So on the ATM I keep hitting other for amount until I get to a 1 with a whole lot of zeros after it. So I am loaded for bear. I got me a pile of 10,000 bills baby. Most of which we blow on the first trip to the grocery. It is EXPENSIVE here! I’m glad we are stocked up on booze. A bottle of rum is something like ½ billion dollars here.

Did an island tour with a guide. More like a driver who grunted and pointed. Not a whole lot to be guided to it seems. We drive 45 minutes then hike for 20 to get to a Tiki carving of a smiling person wearing glasses. Very famous Tiki totem I am told. Says its 500 years old. But if that thing is not wearing glasses I will eat my smelly hat. A smiley face, nearsighted, supposedly female, Tiki.  Oh well. When in Rome. Then on to several other locales.  More totems. Lunch at a local place. Family style. Local cuisine. Very good. We didn’t recognize about ½ of what we were eating. They have some interesting ways to use up burned coconut and animal parts. But it was very good.

So, how does one find a 500 year old Tiki Totem of a smiling nearsighted girl?
You find a map on a tree, thats how. Duh! 

500 years old eh? With glasses? OK, I'll go with that. Don't want to tick off the locals. They do eat people here after all. Or they did.

This is at an old cemetery. Some of the markers mark the burial of the head of an enemy. With large rocks piled on so the spirit cannot escape. Only the head? What happened to the rest of them says I? Lunch.

The island has countless small inlets like this bay. Very steep. To deep to anchor . Very isolated. Beautiful. 

This is the anchorage on Hiva Oa. Got rather crowded. I'll bet the regulars are glass to see us leave.

Second night here we hear about this place called Alexes. He is Ex French military or spy or something. Runs a B&B  with his Polynesian wife out of his house. Which is way up the hillside. So we, and a couple of other boats, ring him up and he comes down and picks you up at the waterfront. In a POS pathfinder. Squeaking rattling bone crunching suspension. We pile in. I am stuffed in the back hatch with Russ from Nexus. We were bitching but should have held off on that. Because when we got the ride back down there were four of us stuffed back there. Four grown men. Getting tossed all about on these barely passable switch back mountain roads. We laughed out asses off. Andrew from Hebe and I had gotten on the pool table and ran it for several hours. He is a very proper British fellow. Until you load him up on beers. Then he is an absolute riot. The ARC “yutes” kept challenging us and we kept beating them. Then they have to buy a round for us. We got properly sloshed. For free. Reminded me of the old days with my old roommate Yoko. Back when we were the “yutes”. What’s a “yute”? There are a bunch of younger crewmembers on a few boats. The under 25 crowd. Nice group. They refer to themselves as the United Nations. Must be 10 nationalities and I don’t know how many languages spoken. They are very entertaining. And when we get into a port they cut loose! And after a three-week passage they really cut loose.

So we did Hiva Oa pretty well and are now on the way to an even smaller island called Au Pou. WaaPoo I am told is the correct pronunciation. It’s an easy overnight passage. Its 2:30 AM and we are about 3 hours out. Got a wind shift a minute ago and got a whiff of the island. Smells like grapefruit. Hoping for a little larger anchorage. Hiva Oa was pretty tight. The island population is around 1000 people and they are reportedly very friendly to cruisers.

Got some hot wifi in the anchorage. Expensive but fast. First time we have had wifi on the boat in months.

All for now.

Peace

M