The Marquesas Islands

Wow, in a strange way the crossing seemed to fly by. It certainly had it's challenges but overall we had an amazing run and luckily a very quick crossing. We surprised even ourselves with an official time of 18 days 16 hours if we went by local time, but whose counting. We rounded the point to come into the island of Fatu Hiva on Monday and were surprised with how strong the winds kept up. 25 knots never let up as we entered Hanavave Bay (Bay of Virgins). It was fun to enter the anchor and recognize one out of 7 boats in the anchorage, Sarabi was there to greet us. A couple of attempts and we had the anchor down in 100 ft of water. Had to dust off all those technical skills again.

The island and anchorage itself were absolutely breathtaking, especially at sunset as we got settled. It took a while to all sink in. As Capaz aptly put it though, a deserted desert island would have looked good at that point. Luckily, we were blessed with lush green, tropical jungles, rock spires with imaginary faces in each turn. We enjoyed a most wonderful full night of sleep despite the winds and rain that continue to pick up and whip though on a whim. The temperature is comfortable, not to hot or humid, and though the rain can come down in heaps and loads, you dry quickly and a bit more refreshed.

Capaz and Lawur sailed in the next day Tuesday and we visited the town. From here, there were so many fun stories and events that it got difficult to keep up. We went ashore with Capaz while Lawur worked on anchoring. Immediately we were met by locals who want to trade or sell, good such as tiki's and tapas and food. A quick walk through the village and you are instantly on the other end of town in someone's kitchen eating papaya or filling your backpacks with pamplemousse (gigantic yummy grapefruit). The language is a fun mix of Marquesan, not to be confused with Tahitian, French and English. We felt like we knew very little of any and yet communication rarely a problem. Many of them have gone to school in Hiva Oa and speak very good English and are happy to teach you whatever you need to know.

A gal named Florida, (there are two in town she informed us), gave us our first taste of bartering for goods and food. We viewed her tapas, the bark of banyan trees that are pounded and drawn on in special polynesian motifs. We admired her brood of pigs and she offered us lemons and pamplemousse. We promised to return with goodies as she greatly admired Ryan's (Capaz) soccer ball and our clothing. Despite the fun goods that they like to trade for that may be a bit harder to come by, it appears that they are a thriving community that want for nothing. It is an interesting mix from bare feet to weed whackers, entire families under one roof but pressure treated wood stacked nearby for new construction, women wrapped in beautiful sarongs with flowers in their hair creating decorations for the church out of palm fronds and satellite dishes in the front yards.

Next we met Serge (goodwill ambassador or Fatu Hiva), his daughter Lorena and his large extended family from his parents all the way down to grandchildren and neighbors. Everyone in the family makes something from tikis to ukuleles and while we were viewing them all we found ourselves quickly commissioned for a sewing project in exchange for a special tiki. Serge had a nice new 30HP Yamaha outboard that he would like to have a cover made for but he had no material or machine. Bruce knew someone who could get the job done. hmmmm. We found out that Serge's brother Jean-Pierre needed one as well and got Niki in on the action. It was lucky for us they offered the trade as we certainly didn't have the $200-300 it was going to cost to buy one of those lovely tikis. We wrapped up the day watching the locals enjoy a rambunctious game of soccer with Tod and Ryan from Capaz while the sunset over the bay. The crew from Sarabi, Capaz and ourselves boarded Lawur for a quick toast to our successful crossing and exciting adventures in the future. Careful what you wish for.

The next morning, Wednesday, we awoke to see Lawur drifting within 20 feet of us, that's peculiar, they were anchored way up in front of us. Again, as so many blessings line up just right, even this challenge came out ok. The line that held them to their anchor disconnected leaving the anchor on the bay floor and them adrift. Luckily it occurred just as their son Sebastian awoke and happened to go up and check the line. They quickly tossed a line to Sarabi and rafted up for the day. Bruce and Robert were able to retrieve the line, repair and reattach Lawur to their anchor. We made a quick trip to shore to show Lawur around and were invited to dinner by Lorena and her family for the next day.

Thursday we got our acts together and went to shore to make a nice hike to the waterfall. We were met nearly right off the dock by the local policia municipal, oh oh. He stopped all 3 boats worth of people and informed us that we had one hour to leave. Since we had made the choice to come to Fatu Hiva before going to Hiva Oa for official check in with the Gendarme, we knew that this was a possibility. A bit of quick talking and some help from Lorena and her family, he gave us 24 hours before departing. It is a tiny community, and I hardly doubt Serge was going to let his not yet finished outboard motor cover slip away that easily, but it certainly was putting a crimp in our time schedules. We hiked for a good hour through the lovely countryside, lots of mud, over rocky hill and dale and were rewarded with a refreshing waterfall and freshwater pool. Cool but certainly worth the swim. We ate some quick snacks, hiked our way back down to finish our sewing projects before dinner at the Koheueinui household. Though my machine broke as the last stitches were being placed, Serge was very pleased, and I was able to put the finishing details on using Niki's machine later. We were treated to some local foods such as chicken cooked in coconut milk with mangos, breadfruit fried and baked to name just a few. Chilled mandarins for dessert, topped off with ice cold red Kool-Aide I think. Serges and his family took turns playing the ukuleles and singing for us. It was a special time. We did a bit more trading for goods and were on our way.

Friday morning, today, I took a quick walk back into town to deliver the finished motor cover and say good-byes. It was fun to see that a sleepy town looks and sounds the same nearly everywhere. Children playing, breakfast cooking, neighbors meeting at property lines to discuss something important. The smell of fresh gardenia everywhere certainly added a romantic flair to everything. I handed out my last few bits of "bon-bons" (candy) to the children that follow you everywhere, took their picture to show them as they giggled one last time and we pulled anchor to head for Hiva Oa. We shall start our official check in and see what adventure lies next.

Nana, (good bye in Marquesan)
until next time,
Lisa and the boys