This post is being written in my daughter’s home in Redwood City, California. My computer stopped working when we left Nuku Hiva in spite of the efforts of Klaus. I am working now on a Mackintosh, so the  editting of pictures is difficult. Also I cannot download the pictures from the Olympus. I will publish with what I have but will add more when I get home to my  regular PC.

P.S – O.K, pictures added. Also chart in “Charts” section. Jul 13th.

16-19.6.09 –  We left Nuku Hiva at 0525 Tahiti time (GMT – 10) planning to reach Takaroa in the Tuamotus early Friday morning. The Tuamotus are atolls, reef enclosed lagoons with one or two passes into them. The tide make strong currents in the passes so you have to plan the arrival to coincide with slack water, that is just at low or high water, when the current is at minimum or absent. With good wind, 120 degrees from the port, we made good progress. 170 miles the first day and 164 on the second. As the total leg distance was 444 miles we needed  to slow down in order to make the required ETA. Joel had his first experience of night watches and learned the number one rule:”When in doubt – call the skipper”.

We got  to the Takaroa pass at 0730 and entered the channel. At it’s end one has to turn sharply 90 degrees to port in order to clear the reef and go into the lagoon. At that point we saw ripples on the water, sign for a strong current. Just as I was turning the wheel to the left, the current pushed the bows to the right! Working the steering wheel and the engines I countered this swing and we glided into the calm water inside the lagoon.

current

Ahead of us a yacht was at anchor. Getting close I saw it was “Banyan” – a monohull I met in Herradura, Costa Rica. We met later and found out that they came in last evening, hit the reef at that 90 degrees turn, and damaged their propeller, their autopilot and steering!

Around us, close to the beach, were houses built on stilts in the water. The shore was covered with coconut palms.

On shore

We visited the village which was not as tidy as those in the Marquesas, though the people were as friendly as in all of French Polynesia. On the village dock the kids were having fun in and out of the water and the foreigners were an additional attraction.

local kids

20.6.09 – Saturday – We spent a quiet night anchored in this lagoon. In the morning we went to see the pearl farm. Nothing much to see as there was no visitor’s center and the real action, that of “impregnating” the oysters was probably done elsewhere. Going on along the shore we came up to the airport and a boat basin near it, in which people were engaged in the national sport of Pirogue rowing.

Pirogues

We struck a conversation with a young woman, Sandrine, who was happy to exercise her English. Born in Tahiti to parents who originated in Takaroa, she came back and married a local guy. They now have two kids, 3 and 1 year old. The husband worked at the pearl farm and the Copra industry. That, by the way, is subsidized by the government, making it a profitable occupation for the village people.

Sandrine

We gathered information regarding the best time to go out through the channel from the local fishermen and also went there with the dinghy to watch the pass. Raising the anchor from the rather deep bottom was not easy. It got stuck in coral and I had to maneuver the boat for a few minutes in order to get it released. Banyan, who succeeded in repairing their damages, followed us after having to scuba dive to release theirs.

Out of the pass with no mishap, we motored slowly, for there was no wind and we needed to cover 60 miles to the next atoll – Mahini – and arrive in daylight.

21.6.09 – Sunday –  Going through the pass of Mahini was not as turbulent as the one in Takaroa, but still we had a current of 4.5 knots and for a few minutes it seemed as if we were not moving ahead at all. We did go in and found a deep anchorage in the company of a Swiss yacht “Kopernik” and a Finnish one “Libertas”. The latter had one of her intermediate stays break and lashed in place with a rope.

Again, the shore was full of coconut palms waving in the breeze, the water were clear and inviting. As I jumped in, I was greeted by no less than 6 remora fish, those ugly sucker fish, generally following big sharks, who tried to attached themselves to “Two Oceans” and it’s master.

22.6.09 – Monday – Visiting the village we found a good store and replenished our dwindling stocks. Especially flour (I was baking bread!) and chicken. The Tuamotus are plagued with Ciguaterra so I decided not to fish in the lagoons, hence the need for more chicken. We went to look at the pass. The current at the time of our visit was still strong and we marveled at some of the locals who rowed their little pirogues in and against it.

braving the current

In the early afternoon we left for Ahe, 18 miles away. Entering the pass was relatively easy but once inside, I had to decide wether I wanted to proceed to the village, 4 miles away or find an anchorage near the entrance. I decided on the former, but could not find any good, protected place. The wind was blowing 20 knots plus and the water were choppy. The only sane thing to do was get out and proceed to the next atoll, Rangiroa.

During his watch, Joel sighted two lights, coming from ahead on both our port and starboard. He woke me up and I activated the radar to see where they were going. I could not get any  blips at all! As it was the end of his shift, I sent Joel to his bunk and took the watch. I opened the radar’s electrical contacts and sprayed them with cleaning fluid. This made it work and the ships appeared on the screen. The first was probably a fishing boat that came as close as 1.5 miles, sporting so much light that made it impossible to see her navigation lights. The other was a bigger ship, steering a constant course and passing well clear on our right.

23.6.09  -  Tuesday – Playing with reducing and putting on more sail, I adjusted our arrival to 0730, when – according to my calculations – there should be slack water. Rangiroa has two passes: Tiputa and Avatura, 5 miles to the west. We were aiming for Tipua. From afar I saw a yacht going in, seemingly with no problem. The truth be said, I was a little worried, since the wind and waves were right into the entrance and I knew that this could result in steep waves and turbulence in the pass.

As we got closer we saw a catamaran approaching the pass from the inside. We went into the pass, from opposite sides at the same time, and as we did the sea got mad. It quickly became apparent that the tide was going out in full force, making waves as high as 3 meters breaking against the strong current. Between those waves we were astounded to see dolphins jump vertically clear of the water. But this was no time for sight-seeing! I was concentrating on keeping “Two Oceans” in a straight line, fearing that a rogue wave will turn her beam to the waves. We caught one wave, surfing down it at 12.9 knots! With both motors at maximum power, we were making only 1 knot forward  and as the wind direction was favorable, I had Joel unfurl the jib to give us a little more push.

That's how it started

Slowly the boat inched ahead until we got to flat water and the current subsided. We rounded the reef, turning right to the recommended anchorage.

Time to relax and look around. Two mega yachts were dwarfing the normal boats.

Toy 1

Toy 2

We found our Finnish friends on “Libertas” and anchored near them.  Rangiroa is a huge atoll. It is said that you could fit the whole of Tahiti into it. Some people whom we met there were staying for three weeks, moving from one anchorage to another. We, as usual, had no time.  Joel has to fly out on July 2nd and we still have to find a place to leave the boat for the time I’ll fly home.

24.6.09 – Wednesday – The wind became stronger during the night. Juha, on “Libertas, had the forecast: wind over 20 today and tomorrow, better on Friday getting worse on Saturday until next Wednesday.  I decided to sail to a little island, a bird rookery 8 miles away. Went out with two reefs, giving Joel his first going to windward experience. Out of the protected anchorage the chop became unpleasant, and thinking about the way back I cut the trip short and we went back.

A visit ashore brought us to a dive club, where Olivier, the chief dive-master outlined their planned dives for the morrow: first dive near the Avaturu pass to see Silver Tip sharks. The price – outrageous – about 100 euro for two dives.  I decided to make just one in the morning.

25.6.09 – Thursday –  It was an overcast morning with strong wind when I showed up at the dive-club. The other divers were all French including a family that came from Europe on a Lagoon 500. We went by car to Avaturo village where we boarded the big Zodiac from which we were going to dive. The sea was choppy, the clouds covered the sky and the sun hid behind them but as we rolled back into the water and started the dive a different, calm world unfolded. Colorful, healthy reef, many fishes and – cruising below as if waiting for us – two silver-tip sharks.

Olivier brought down a big tuna head which made the fish and the sharks come close, circling us so close one could almost touch them. After having enough of the shark show, we proceeded to fin along the reef, escorted by those sharks. At one point there was a big ball of jacks. Noticing the sharks, a few jacks joined them in close formation, bumping into them intentionally (so it seemed). I have never seen anything like that before. A few turtles showed up, completely unafraid of divers who stroked their backs.

Back at the boat I put my mask and fins on again to try a scrub the green hairy algae that covered the underwater surface of the hulls. This is really infuriating since the boat was painted with antifouling only three month ago! I wonder wether the paint used in Puntarenas was simple black paint in antifouling cans?

26.6.09 – Friday – Getting up early to start for Tahiti I saw that the wind was still strong. I sent an SMS to my friend and part time meteorologist – Itzik – who checked the forecast and came up with easterlies of 20 knots maximum. As recommended by the dive club boat driver, we exited the pass just past 0700. Calm water, no current , piece of cake! Out in the open ocean, however, we got the cake in our face and it was not funny… Wind gusts up to 30 knots plus hit us mercilessly. Having gone around the tip of Rangiroa the weather stabilized and for a long time we were sailing at high speed in the lee of the atoll. Once out of it’s protection the waves became unpleasant and the only consolation was the knowledge that we  had only a total of 190 miles to go.

During my watch at night  the port bilge pump alarm light came on. This happens quite a lot when the boat is rocking and rolling and some water trapped in the bilge fill the pump sump and activate it. I always check the bilge when this happen to verify that it is only that small amount of water. This time I saw a considerable flow of water from the front compartment, where the watermaker and the salt-water sea cock are situated. I lifted the mattress off my bed to look inside and it only took a few seconds to see that a pipe from the sweet water tank disconnected from a filter. The pump sensed demand and started operating continuously, spilling water into the bilge. This was easy to rectify but I did have a few anxious moments…

27.6.09 – Saturday – At some point during the night the wind rose again to over 30 knots. A few big waves broke into the cockpit, one of them washing the tire/drogue with it’s chain overboard, a fact we only noticed later in daylight. Since the wind and waves were on our beam it became to rough and I took the main down completely and continued with just a bit of the jib and engine. The Pacific showing us again the fluctuating, unstable conditions of wind and sea that we do not normally associate with the open ocean, took mercy on us and gave us back the 20-24 knots. Main up again, we continued towards Papeete, the capital city of Tahiti.

Just after 1545 the clouds cleared and Tahiti came into view. We entered the harbour  and found a proper marina ahead. Docks with water and electricity but nobody to receive us. Some yachties helped us tie up and gave us the information we needed. The marina was practically empty – the reason was revealed when we heard the price…  About 60$ per night. We thought we had to stay there in order to do the proper procedure with customs and immigration, but the fact is that you can anchor anywhere and just come to the authorities, all in the same office in the harbour, with your papers. They do not require to see the boat.

28.6.09 – Sunday – We became friendly with the couple on “Traversay III” – Larry and Mary Ann from Canada and they took us with them to the market, which on Sunday attracts a lot of vendors and buyers. One of the most colorful markets I have ever sen, but the prices… 7$ for 6 peppers! We could not resist the abundance of fruit and vegetables and came back with loaded bags.  

Papeete market

Visiting Mary Ann and Larry, she showed us her grand digital piano, sliding out from under their bed, and gave us a recital of Chopin music. It turned out Larry used to be a captain for Air Canada flying a 767, the same one I flew… That was funny!

Mary Ann

Captain Larry

29.6.09 – Monday – With ship’s papers in hand we started in the direction of the office. On our way we saw the security guard and asked him at what time the office opens. “It does not open today at all! There is a holiday, Autonomy day”.  So what do we do? Just come on Tuesday. In the meantime we motored past the airport to the anchorage area near Taina marina where I thought I could leave the boat for two months. All the moorings were occupied so we anchored to the north of the marina for the night.

30.6.09 – Tuesday – A visit to the marina office made it clear that the chances of getting a place there is nil. A berth in the marina should have cost me more than 50 euro per day and there was none available. A mooring would have cost close to 200 euro per month but none were free at the moment. Anyway, we changed position and anchored near the visitors mooring to try and grab one if and when one becomes vacated.

Another option was the marina Taravao in Port Phaeton on the istmus between Tahiti and Tahiti Iti. I called them on the phone, was directed to Ivan, their docking manager who, although on vacation, consented to arrange my reception on Thursday. Price? “Around 43000 Polynesian Francs per month” (about 350 euro). I decided I preferred the marina to a mooring with no security and made up my mind to sail there on Wednesday, anchor in the bay and go in on Thursday.

1.7.09 – Wednesday – Motoring to Port Phaeton – first no wind then too much wind on the nose – beautiful, sheltered bay with the so small marina in one of the creeks.

2.7.09 – Thursday – Clement came with a dinghy to show me the way into the marina. He said the depth in the channel was 5-6 meters but my instrument read 1.1 meter. No problem. Tied “Two Oceans” in her berth for the next two month and prepared her  for our departure. In the office Mary -France was very efficient and completed our reception quickly. Price per month turned out to be 425 euro pre month, not cheap but that’s all I could get.

Taravao marina

In between showers of rain I glimpsed a couple walking on the dock. They looked familiar – could it be? – Pascal and Raymond, whom I met in shelter bay marina in Caribbean Panama! They are now in the Taina marina anchorage and rented a car to go around the island. “Can we go with you to Papeete?” “Sure!”                At 1430 we all went  towards Papeete, sopping on the way to visit a botanical garden. Pascal told me that there was a possibility of hauling out the boat in Apataki in the Tuamotus, that’s interesting! They took us right to the airport, which was exactly what we needed. Joel for his flight at 220 and myself in search of a cheap hotel to spend the night until my Air France flight at 0730.  There was nobody at the  tourist counter , but I found a flyer for Te Miti pension and called them on the phone. The price was right so Joel and I said goodbye and I went to the bus stop  to go to my shelter for the night.

Standing at the station with a lady and her son, a double cabin truck stopped  by us. A man changed his little daughter diaper, looked at us and said:” where do you need to go? I’ll take you!”  This is a thing you can do in French Polynesia. The man was glad for the opportunity to talk with somebody from abroad and took me all the way to where I needed to go. Te Miti turned out to be a low budget place. Despite the 50 euro price tag there were neither shower nor toilet in the room. Those were located further down the corridor. Oh well, it’s only for one night!

3.7.09 – Thursday –  Flew to LA and then to San Francisco.  Back to the boat in September. Thoughts about changing the plan to stay in Polynesia for the hurricane season and have more time there next year are bubbling in my mind. We’ll see! In the mean time  - ADIOS!

I promise to add a few more pictures later.

10.06.09 – Wednesday – Morning started replacing the belt on the port engine then breakfast and off to shore. First thing was going to the bank to change some money. Ahead of us in the line were four people and there were two tellers. Not so bad, I thought, but the clients being served just stayed there, and stayed and stayed… The local people sat there chatting, not at all perturbed by the long wait. Miki succeeded maintaining patience for 20 minutes after which dispair and nerves raised their ugly head. It took an hour to get to a teller and then the transaction screeched to a halt when the lady did not find Israel in her computer. Luckily Joel uses his American passport and we could take the money and run.

 We then went shopping for food, which is a pleasure in the French islands due to the availability of good, although very expensive products. We also went looking for a computer speciallist we were told about but his shop was closed. On the way back we happened to meet a bearded yachtsman who was very enthusiastic about the encounter with Israeli sailors. Later in the early evening, while I was relaxing in my room, I heard Joel speaking to someone. Came out to see Sylvan, that’s the bearded guys name, in the cockpit with Joel. He brought some beers (3-4$ each here) and wanted to hear about Israel. After asking him a few questions it became apparent that he is the owner of “Inherit the Wind” the yacht that almost sank on the way to the Marquesas. So, instead of speaking about Israel, we listened to this boat’s tale straight from the horse’s mouth.

Sylvan is a Canadian from Quebeq, a lumber expert by profession. After a divorce he worked here and there, from California to Central America, living on boats, first on a 30 foot Tartan and then on the 40 foot, 1962, wooden ketch “Inherit the Wind”.

Inherit the wind

He embarked on the trip to Polynesia out of Puntarenas, Costa Rica with a young, inexperienced, Irish lad whom he met three hours (or was it three days?) before departure. After a fortnight they discovered a leak from the keel area. Sylvan tried to stop the leak with rags and some other materials he had on board but was not successful. At the same time the engine stopped and they could not start it, thus losing electrical power. They had to resort to hand pumping. The leak was so severe that they had to pump two minutes every ten minutes to control the level of water inside the boat. Sylvan feared for the structural integrity of the boat so he sailed slowly not to stress her.

 This went on for SEVEN WEEKS during which the cooking gas depleted and the food situation became desperate! At one point he had enough electrical power, maybe by solar panels, and used it to ask a cruiser’s net to call his daughters in Canada and advise them about his delayed arrival. Somebody in the net alerted the Canadian Coast Guard and perhaps other SAR (search and rescue) agencies and a cargo ship was diverted to help him. As he tells it when the 250 meters ship arrived and towered above him, he could do nothing to maneuver close to her. The ship lowered two containers with provisions, they were able to retrieve one with some food and cooking gas, but lost the other. somehow the option of evacuation was not mentioned. The ship left them and it took another week to get to Hiva Oa, 62 days total time at sea.

In Atuona the young man left to go on sailing with “Ishka” the Australian catamaran. Sylvan, now at anchor, went diving by hookah to try and seal the hull from the outside. With the help of a Yachtie who had welding equipment, he repaired the engine, strightening a bent piston rod by heating and hammering it. He now had a working engine, electrical power and electrical bilge pump. Plans for the future? He wants to get to New Zealand and take the boat out for a permanent repair. Why not in French Polynesia? Because he had to pay the notorious “Bond” assuring his ability to leave by air to his country of residence to the tune of 1500$, leaving him practically with empty pockets. Sylvan is a driven man, and while I personaly think he is taking unnecessary risks, I feel sympathy for him.

Sylvan

After he left, we decided to give him some provisions.

In the evening I tried to work on the computer and my fears were realised. A virus, actually a whole bunch of them, rendered the lap-top useless. You don’t appreciate how dependant you are on the computer until you lose it; Electronic charts, tide tables for all the world – especially important in the Tuamotus, not to mention the writing of the blog, storing and editing pictures, watching movies, internet – a long list!

11.06.09 – Thusday – After leaving a parcel at “Inherit the wind” we filled up with fuel at the big ship dock and then motored, for there was no wind to speak of, to Baie du Controleur about 5 miles to the east. We went ashore looking for the way to a site of stone Tikis the guide book mentioned. The  village locals gave us directions that were not very clear, stressing the fact that it was far. 2-3 km away. I was determined to get there and after climbing a serpentine track on the mountain we reached the place. Not big, wild vegetation covering most of it, but still – when you think of the origins of the structures, they are impressive.

Tiki site

A Tiki

 We then moved for the night to the east cove of the bay. We were the only yacht there until a Catana catamaran named “La Graziosa” came and anchored not very close. Normally yachties wave to each other, comunicating in this way or another. The guys on the Catana seemed determined not to make any contact, even passing with the dinghy on the side of our bows while we were sitting in the cockpit. We, of course, did not care.
12.06.09 – Friday – Back to Taiohae and straight to the computer shop. I breathed with relief finding the man in there. Klaus listened to my description of the malfunction, I left the lap-top with him and was told to come back at 1600. At that time he was still working on it and asked me to come back at 1830. He got rid of the viruses but still thought that we should reinstall windows and put in an up to date anti-virus. The thing was, he could only do it on Monday. Decision: we stay in Nuku Hiva until Klaus fixes the computer.

13.06.09 – Saturday – Yesterday I complained to a greengrocer in the small market near the dock about the absence of tomatoes from all shops. “Come tomorrow at 0500 – there will be tomatoes”.

This morning I trained my binoculars on the dock at 0600 and saw a lot of activity. I jumped into the dinghy and raced there. An open market was in full swing! Fishermen were displaying huge groupers and other fish, people were having breakfast of various strage sea-food that i did not recognize.

Big grouper

I came up to the greengrocer asking for tomatoes. “All finished, you should have come at 0400…” I still found some fruit including breadfruit that I wanted to try for a long time. Back to the boat I found Joel awake and took him to enjoy the spectacle.

We then sailed to Taioa bay, 5 miles to the west of Taiohae (different names completely) were we knew there was a beautiful hiking trail to a waterfall. We found a lot of boats that we knew at anchor there and approached “Suwarov Blues” to ask about the trail. The grownups were away but Ester gave us the general direction. We started on the trail and then met the parents.

Jan and Witzke

Good thing that we did becase they briefed us on the way to the waterfall, giving us some important information about the stones coloumns marking the trail and the fact that one needed to cross a river a few times. Witzke said that the hike will take a little over two hours each way! Good thing that she did because we would have probably turn back after walking an hour and getting nowhere!

The way to the fall was great, though challenging, most of it in the jungle. On the way we saw quite a few old sites and Tikis.

Another Tiki

At one point, as we were standing in the shade, a juvenile boar came ambling in our direction, seemingly occupied with deep thought and not noticing the human presence. When about 10 meters away he woke up from his reveries and darted away in fright.

Some river crossings were quite deep in strong current.

Crossing

We met a lot of yachties who were on the way back and had the satisfaction of saying: “You are almost there”. Reaching the fall area, high cliffs with serrated, knife-like edges towered above us.

On the way to the fall

We changed into bathing suits and entered the cool pools leading to the fall, which, probably due to the season was not in full flow but still impressive. It  was interesting to see shrimps in the pool and also an orange coloured langoustine.

Pool and hiding fall

The way back was easier and we reached our starting point at 1545, tired and hungry… Great hike!

14.06.09  Sunday.  Back to Taioahe, waiting to fix the computer Monday. In the meantime we used it to see a movie and surf the net. Worked fine.

15.06.09 Monday. We came to Klause`s shop. He said he just realised that his CD for windows is in French and will not be of help to us. He did want to see how it worked but could not start it!  So now the computer is with him for further checks. Anyway, we are leaving tomorrow for the Tuamotus. There will be no internet for a while and no updates.  Thanks for all the comments received and all the best wishes. 

SEE YOU SOON,

MIKI and JOEL

3.06.09 – Wednesday – It rained all morning and we just passed the time on board reading and relaxing. In the afternoon we went visiting neighbours. First the yellow Brazilian catamaran called “Beduina” which we saw in San Cristobal, Galapagos, when we disembarked from our cruise on Millenium. The boat is a French design, 38 foot long and on board are Hugo and Jocelene and their daughter Thalita, whom I estimate as being about 12 years old.

Beduina

They arrived just a few says after us but had a very different voyage. It took them 23 days and they had strong winds and steep, short seas. Amazing what a difference of conditions a few days can make.

Next we went to Mary and Mike on “Carpe Vita” a 43.5 foot, designed by John Shuttleworth of England. As we came into the cabin we saw Mike sitting there with a big bandage on his left foot and both his toes dressed too. He told us that he was trying to get from the dinghy to the high ship dock, fell down to the roicks below and was badly cut by the mussels on them. He will take at least three weeks to mend and in the meantime they will stay in Atuona. Bad luck!

Carpe Vita

They corrected the “Inherit the wind” story for me. It seems the owner had a crew member, a back-packer, who – after the ordeal of getting here – jumped ship and joined “Ishka”. “Inherit” just disappeared one day and nobody knows where she is…As we were going aft to disembark from Carpe Vita, we saw a snapper right on the aft skirt of the port hull, eating the algae that grew there. A nice size it was, so when we got back to our boat I put some bait on the hook and put it in the water. After a few minutes – a strike by something big – I reel it in and it’s a 45 cm shark. I took the hook out from between the jaws, small but sharp, and tried again. A few minutes passed and another, or was it the same stupid shark? This time he wound my line about thirty times around the anchor chain and it took some effort releasing him. After that I stopped fishing.

4.06.09 – Thursday – Joel came today. Joel was born in the U.S and emigrated to Israel 1970. He is a civil engineer and live in Jerusalem. No ocean there but he did go once with his sister and brother in law for a sailboat charter in the Virgin Islands. He is very tired after a long flight so we just stayed on board relaxing. One of the cables of the outboard’s throttle gave up so we have a tech job tomorrow.

Joel

5.06.09 – Friday – Cables day!  Truely it took almost all day to replace those darn cables. I think a trained mechanic would have done it in no more than an hour, but Zvi and I, with Joel giving advice from aside, worked for four hours, doing some little thing wrong and having to start from the beginning more than once. At 12 o’clock I announced an intermission, we had lunch and then took the outboard into the cockpit and finished the job in 45 minutes. I took Joel to the village in the afternoon, to get him to know the place and do some shopping. In the evening we went to eat out at Moehue, a family hotel and restaurant. The food is O.K but the prices… A pizza costs around 20$, we ended up paying more than 30$ each, but they had ICECREAM!

6.06.09 – Saturday – At 1000 John, Marie-jo’s husband came to take Zvi to the airport. It was great having him on board, his personality, sailing abilities and sense of humour made him the perfect partner for our voyage. I hope to see him aboard again in the future! Joel and I went out from Atuona to Hanamoenoe, in preparation for the leg to the northern islands of the Marquesas. I was sure I’ll catch a fish in the passage between Hiva Oa and Tahuata and sure enough we caught a big yellowfin tuna – 23 pounds, more than 10 kgs! Lots of meals for the crew.

23 lbs

7.06.09 – Sunday – The distance to our next island, Ua Pou, is 65 miles and since we want to get there in daylight we start our day at 0245. We chose to go to a place called Hakamaii, where the guide book said there were :”Dramatic hiking trails from the village”. The island terrain is certainly dramatic, with magnificent rocks and spires rising up steeply, their tops hiding in cloud.

Rocky

Rocky 2

 Hakamaii, though, was disappointing. A small open bay without a safe landing for the dinghy. There go the hiking trails… Never mind, we’ll find some in Nuku Hiva.

8.06.09 – Monday – Around the island we motored, stopping for snorkling in Aneo bay and on to Hakahau, on the north east tip. This is a bay protected by a breakwater and so it is vary calm. A few yachts were at anchor, including some that we met in the other islands. We took the dinghy ashore, tying her to the fishermen’s pier and made our way into the village. This is the third biggest settlement in the Marquesas, but just like Atuana, you get a feeling of walking in a well tended botanical garden. We were looking for a shop to replenish our stores and an elderly gentleman tried to give us directions in a very Anglo accented French. We soon moved to English and Keith, that was the man’s name, gave us a lot of information in a few sentences. He is an Australian, married to a local woman and they have this boutique further down the road. Back from the supermarket we stopped there because I saw grapefruit in a basket inside. Got two of those juicy, tasty “Pamplemousse” (perhaps they are pomelo?) and continued to the boat. I told Joel I had to get some mangoes. The thing is, you cannot buy them anywhere because everybody has at least one huge, multimangoed tree in their yard.  I went into one, approached the people sitting there and said I wanted to buy two mangoes. A lady had a plastic bag full of them and immediately offered it too me. I took two big ones and wanted to pay. They all started laughing and explained that it was a present. Good, warm folks!

9.06.09 – Tuesday – We decided to go looking for the enchanted valley we heard about. Walked the road up the mountain, asking direction from locals we met. At one point, a youth on bicycles stopped a small truck for us and said:”This couple lives there, they will take you”. We mounted the rear bed and started a jumpy, bone jarring ride through mountain and jungle. It soon became apparent that the ride was much more than we could safely walk back, so we decided to go to the final stop, walk around there and find some ride back. After more than half an hour, the truck stopped in a village with just a few houses.

 The family of the driver greeted us warmly and the lady of the house agreed to have her picture taken with the house Tikis.

Lady of the manor

The driver said he will go back to Hakahau around 3 pm, another one we met said he will go at 11am or 1pm. The time was 0830… We started walking out of the village, hoping somebody will pass earlier. On our way we found a wild mango tree and had a delicious snack. Just after 9am a Toyota double cabin truck showed up. “Are you going to Hakahau? Can we join you?” The man answered in the afirmative and we jumped in. On the way we started talking. His name was Piri and he was a sculptor. This island is famous for traditional carvings. There were 80 people in the village 15 of them are children. His wife was the school teacher.

We had a pleasant ride and as we reached Hakahau, we disembarked, thanked the man and turned to go. He stopped me:”Taxi,taxi!” So, the man has a commecial mind and wanted quite a sum – 3000 francs equaling 35$. Although he should have advised us at the start we agreed on 2000 and went back to the boat. Right then the sky over the high spires cleared so Joel took my picture with the fantastic view plus Two Oceans in the background.

Mik and spires

It was only 1030 so why not go to Nuku Hiva, 26 miles away. Calm sea and light wind made for a pleasant sail. As we motored into the bay, the port engine alarm sounded – water temperature… Long time no see! Found out that the belt that I tightened just one week ago snapped. We’ll have work tomorrow…

10.06.09   Bad virus on computer! All this is done at a rediculously expensive internet cafe.  All is well, we hope to go to the Touamotus  on Sunday.