Nuku Hiva, Taiohoe Bay, Anaho Bay

Kaoha from Nuku Hiva,
Last week we quickly zipped through the town of Taiohoe as we thought we would. Nice enough town itself including customs, decent magasins (stores) with bread, pastries and any other sundry you might desire but the anchorage was a wee bit rolly for our tastes. There were some fascinating tiki structures in a garden in the middle of town. So much history there with all the explorers that thought they found the islands first over the years. It is extra fun exploring the islands as well with the knowledge and ideas gained from our reading. In addition to our guide books, Bruce has just finished reading the Bounty, I am currently trying to read Ahab's Wife and Tristan has read his share of books on Captain Cook this trip.

The island of Nuku Hiva is famous for a visit from Herman Melville back in 1842, age 20 or so, when he and a buddy Tobias Greene abandoned their whaling ship the Acushnet here. His first and second novels Typee and Omoo (meaning wanderer) were about their misadventures on this and the island of Tahiti.

Wed. 5/10 we walked the length of the town and bay to find the lovely Keikehanui Inn which is run by a French fellow who used to cruise and charter boats. He recognizes boaters as they enter and tells you straight out, "I have what you need". In our case it meant a lovely tall glass of ice cubes ready for our choice of beverage. Simple pleasures, I tell you. A beautiful view overlooking the entire bay, great food and sweet bed & breakfast style bungalows for rent at $130/day if you are in the mood for some sleep on land. He said we could even run the showers for an hour if we wanted. He does know what we need. Maybe next time we are in the area.

Thursday 5/11 09 49.367N,140 03.870S Baie d'Anaho
One of the most completely protected anchorages and we've seen. On our journey there we enjoyed the display of a new species of dolphin to us. Known as Electra dolphins, officially melon-head dolphins, they played off our bow for a good portion of the drive. Always a great distraction. They seem to choose to hold their breath longer than other dolphins and though they jump a lot, are more playful just zigzagging around in front of us as though they were playing tag. Their eyes were more wrinkled looking like you would expect on a whale and didn't hesitate to roll over and peek at us. They are not to be confused with a very similar looking creature called the False Killer Whale.
In the anchorage itself we found another cruiser driving boat to boat to hand out bags full of freshly caught tuna. They had more than they could handle with this beast and we gladly took it off their hands. Capaz and we each took a bag full to marinate and cook up for a potluck dinner the next night. Lucky for us since we still continue to scare all the fish on to our neighbors hooks for them.

Friday 5/12 We dinghied, with the Capaz crew, over to a nearby beach in the anchorage that enjoyed the play of huge swell waves rolling up its banks. We had to anchor out and swim to shore they were so big. Due to the steepness of the beach the same waves would refract and roll back out again, often meeting in the middle with the incoming ones making for some fun play
in the peaks. You had your choice to roll over them, dive through them or Bruce's favorite style, sit in the shallows and let them throw you where they will. He still has the road rash tattoo on his side as proof. We spent hours floating there. When we thought we were wrinkled and pickled enough we set out on the beach to the delight of those pesky no-no bugs again. We made a quick departure back to our respective boats.

Saturday 5/13 Arrival of a few more boats, Lawur, New Dawn, Nereid and Serenity to this beautiful anchorage and we all enjoyed a down day of relaxing. With the swim set up on the side of the boat again, the 6 boys all enjoyed the water.

Sunday 5/14 Happy Mother's Day. Traditionally for us we would have our annual camping kick off weekend for Mother's day. But seeing as how we were already camping, sort of, we opted for a Mother's Day hike, now affectionately referred to as the Mother's Day Death March. Anaho bay itself is inaccessible by car, there are no roads that lead to here. There is only a trail to hike in from the neighboring anchorage of Hatiheu Bay approximately 1 1/2 hours to the East. After my own delightful breakfast in bed and home made cards gifted to me, we took off with the crews from Capaz, Laura from New Dawn and Lawur.

The dinghy landing is a narrow channel marked by buoys as the anchorage is host to the only coral reef in the Marquesas. You find the church on the beach and follow the muddy path up behind. It was a good hike over the peak of the mountains and it provided us an amazing panoramic view of the anchorage, neighboring bays and all our boats below. Laura kept us entertained with word games the entire way and
though it was hot and long, these boys stamina wins out every time.

Once in the next town of Hakatea we enjoyed a quick snack and water break while Niki found us a jeep ride up to the ancient ruins. The ruins were surrounded with ceremonial tikis, platforms and pits. A mystically large banyan tree claims to be the location where they placed their dead king in the base because they believed it bad luck to cover the head with anything after you die. Our money was well spent at $5 dollars an adult for the jeep ride as he shuttled us from site to site, back down to the market that they graciously opened on a Sunday for us and fed us pampelmousse and bananas, and then gave us a ride up the end of the paved road and the beginning of our trek back home. Though a relatively narrow path, we were passed more than once by locals and even an occasional one on horseback. We were impressed because this was no easy trail due to its steepness and rocky undertows.

Monday 5/15 Time to head back to the busy anchorage of Taiohoe for a night while we regrouped before heading around to Daniels Bay. We provisioned a bit, gathered some money and more fuel. We greatly looked forward to the next stop the next day. With out the ability to swim here, murky waters and we hear the sharks are prevalent due to the dumping of fishermen's left over fish parts, there is not much desire to linger here long. And we are not
ones to tempt that fate.

Until next time,
Lisa and the boys

The Martins on Ohana Kai
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Daniel's Bay

Wednesday 5/17 coordinates 08 56.663S,140 09.863W Baie Taioa - Hakaui and
Hakatea Coves

We took the few mile jaunt around the corner from Taiohae to Taioa, aka Daniels Bay named after a local gentleman named Kremont Teiketohe de Daniel. He lives in the Hakaui cove to the west and the original survivor show he will tell you was filmed in the Hakatea cove to the east. We anchored a ways off shore in hopes to escape the bugs known to inhabit the area, covered ourselves in long sleeve shirts and pants for the first time in who knows how long, dipped each other in vats of bug juice and set to shore to find the 3rd tallest waterfall in the world. We had heard many people talking on the radio regarding the difficult time they had landing their dinghy's on the beach, some even overturned. Not our masterful captain. He slid that baby right up onto that black sand where we hastily did the dinghy shuffle since the beach is where the dreaded no-no's live. Do you see a pattern here? AVOID THE BUGS!

We started up the trail following the river as instructed to do and what a treasure to find. First it follows through yet again, beautifully manicured properties, each dotted with all the breadfruit, mangos, coconuts, papayas, bananas, limes, and our favorite pamplemousse. As though the gorgeous backdrop of these steep peaks and green canyon walls wasn't beautiful enough, they each take the time to landscape with more colorful plants around their yards. Our new favorite sight is the jalapeno plants nearly as tall as me and completely covered with red, yellow and orange peppers. They all own weed whackers and let me tell you it looks like a never ending job
keeping things manicured the way they want. Their houses themselves are meager, almost always open air with four walls and a cement slab floor. Most people sleep on mats or futons of sorts, will little more than a few pictures taped to the wall, and bare bones necessities.

From here you follow the river which then looks like any trail right out of the Pacific Northwest. We were surprised to find the enormous excavator there actually moving the location and direction of the river. They have done a marvelous job of building and shoring up the edges. We got to know the river well as you have to cross it quite a few times in the duration of the hike. It never came higher than just above my knees that day but I imagine if there had been rain recently that would have been another story.

It was peacefully refreshing on this hot day with us in full gear. We continued to travel through a variety of scenes, some looking like jungle trails surrounded by ferns and coconuts trees, other times it looked like muddy, rocky river beds underneath groves of banyan trees. Then when you least expect it you are surrounded by high sheer rock canyon walls dripping with moisture and your feet are padded by a field of a special spring green ground cover that was actually almost hip high in spots. At the end of the meadow is a pool that is the base of the water fall. Though the fall itself sits much higher and around a corner so you only see the small base, the
canyon itself was breathtaking. We didn't swim in the pond as it was a bit murky and we heard is host to some rather large eels, no fish.

We snapped a few photos, added our trailblazers to the mix and headed back down the trail Martin style. We are becoming known as quite the fast walkers and trail blazers. Back in town we met up with Daniel and he invited us to sit with him awhile. Speaking very good English he is host to many a cruiser who passes by and has them all sign his book. He offered us some bananas and we gathered a few more pieces to his story. Though he never had children of his own, he did adopt a few boys. Most of them are have relocated to other islands or anchorages but some family still lives there. We signed his book, took a few photos and he declared himself two more grandsons with Tristan and Matthew. We watched a few coconut crabs run across the ground and hid in their holes, made our way back to the beach, quickly slipped Bob the dinghy back into the river ended a perfectly wonderful adventure.
Until next time
Lisa and the boys

The Martins on Ohana Kai
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Reaching our stride

5/18 Thursday We pulled up anchor and headed back to one of our favorite anchorages in Hakatea on the island of Ua Pou. It is prized because of it's very settled waters, no rolling for us, it has amazingly easy dinghy access to get to town, very well provisioned magasins, the water is perfect for swimming and best of all, you guessed it - NO BUGS. It is not that we are so against bugs, just their bites. And these no-no bugs leave a bite that initially you don't feel, though the next day they welt up into terrible itching mounds and then move onto the slightly dormant phase that head up like a chicken pox mark, choosing to flair up and itch when they please.
The scars themselves can last up to two weeks we have found. Some people are much more susceptible than others. Bruce and Matthew apparently are much tastier than Tristan and I.

Capaz and Sarabi joined back in this anchorage as well and we were please to connect again with our pals on Moorea and Sensei. We had not seen Sensei, a kid boat carrying 11 year old Clair, since Marina del Rey. We spent Friday and Saturday enjoying the water and everyone's company. We baked a lot of banana bread, made some pizza to eat with the Kelly's and had a pancake breakfast with much of the gang on Sarabi Saturday morning. We finished our last bits of provisioning and Sunday morning after we greeted one last kid boat Blue Sky into the anchorage we made our departure and began our crossing for the Tuomotus. It is a bit strange to be leaving the Marquesas Islands behind but it is time and we are ready for a new set of islands to explore.

5/22 Monday coordinates 14 01.703S,142 00.406W wind 25-30 knots ENE. We are on our second over night of possibly 3 that it will take to reach landfall in the Tuomotus. These islands are known for being very low lying atolls, which are sunken islands of sorts, hollowed out with shallow lagoons in the middle, surrounded by coral reefs. We will be proceeding very carefully. Many of the passes run so shallow into the lagoons that they are not possible to navigate so we will pick and choose our island choices wisely. In order to navigate around many of these coral reefs you need to stand someone at the bow and watch for color changes in the water to see
where the reefs are and direct accordingly. The darker the water the deeper it is. We are starting in the southern set, choosing a road less traveled in hopes of some fun adventures. The islands are also known for their crystal clear aqua blue waters, amazing dive sites, and black pearl farms. We hope to enjoy them all.

We have to say that having been in the South Pacific for almost a month now, we feel like we are really beginning to hit our stride. Daily routines work a little more smoothly whether it is a daily load of laundry by hand or the trek to the store with the back pack. You only buy a few items at a time as it is all you can carry and the sticker shock won't kill you with these high French prices. A box of cereal at almost $7, you choose wisely. We are relaxing a bit more finally, enjoying the tasks that need to be done to keep us going, and enjoying the company of the little community that develops around us. It is a life to be shared.
Until next time,
Lisa and the boys

TheMartins on Ohana Kai
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watery playground

We have covered a bit of ground and seen some beautiful locations since we last wrote. We enjoyed a couple more anchorages on Tahuata Island before heading north to some new spots.

Friday 4/28 09 56.251S,139 06.630W
As we entered Vaitahu, aka Resolution Bay named after one of Captain Cooks ships, we were escorted by magnificent spinner dolphins. We had been keeping our eye out for them but hadn't thought we would see them this soon. A comfortable anchorage, a friendly convenient town and we stayed a day or two longer than we had planned. There is a distinctive Catholic Church set
in the front of town with beautiful stained glass windows, built up with the rocks used as ballast from old ships combined with the wood from the island. Again, a similar service to any found at home only this time it was in Marquesan not French. The other main attraction was the well known tattoo shop visited by Ryan from Capaz who adorned himself with a new piece of artwork.

Monday 5/1 We headed just a few miles north to Ivaiva Bay where the boys enjoyed a bit of playtime on the beach.

Tuesday 5/2, coordinates 09 45.900S,139 08.422W
Back to the island of Hiva Oa. This time we entered a bay on the north side named Hanamenu. It was said to be the childhood home town of a gentleman we met by the name of Ozanne. From the water it looks like a serene black sand beach. We gathered ourselves into the dinghy and made a rush for the shore. In the back of the property was an oasis of a pool surrounded by lush hibiscus plants and trees of all varieties. We found a mini grove of citrus trees and lots of coconuts. The machete Bruce had been carrying around came into good use here. Unfortunately, that machete was of no help against the fierce nono's. Miniscule bugs with a fierce bite. We took a quick dip into the pool and made haste back to the dinghy. We made it out alive but poor
Matthew didn't put his shirt on and had the looks of a spotted leopard for quite a while. Bug spray and lotions had no effect on them. Tristan spotted a black tipped shark swimming in the shallows as we left as well.

Wednesday 5/3 09 21.516S, 140 02.834W
Ua Pou Island - We did one easy overnight passage from Hiva Oa to the island of Ua Pou (pronounced wa poe). We dropped anchor next to our pals on Capaz and met up again with Arctic Fox, another boat that carries a boy on board. That brings our total to 7 boys between 4 boats. Whew. The easy morning quickly got a little more exciting as we got word of an
earthquake that had occurs near the island of Tonga. A tsunami warning was sent out. Unfortunately the warning came in French and there is always a little bit lost in the translation. We were pretty sure that the info stated that we would only see a 10 cm rise in water, so we decided to wait it out. We pulled up a little bit of anchor chain to place us in a bit deeper water. Within 15 mins. There was an all clear and life settled back into regular rhythm. We went ashore at just the wrong time and found out again how to run on island time, even more relaxed than Mexico if that is possible. We were too late for lunch, to early for the check in at the Gendarmerie. They were to be back at 2:00 and by 3:00 they appeared. With a quick smile and jotting down our names we were checked in. As far as the island towns go this one again was impeccably clean, quiet and content. It seemed a bit more laid out grid style like a town you would see at home and much more developed than previous ones. Surrounded by green mountains and striking spires almost continuously hidden in clouds. We spent the next 4
days using the anchorage as our own personal pool. Each boat decked out with it's version of a swing, the kids swung like monkeys from boat to boat to boat. Thursday we celebrated Zack's birthday on Capaz, Friday night the Kelly's on Moorea took on all 7 boys for another movie night.

Saturday the town held an Outrigger Competition. Those are some amazingly strong arms and shoulders. Young and old boys took to the water in their colorful outriggers for some grueling races in one and 4 man competitions. In the afternoon over loud speaker they called all "American Boaters" to come to the shore for volleyball. We eagerly appeared and gleefully shelled out $10 per person to enter 2 teams of three into their competition. Luckily we realized what we were getting into and we were more than happy to lose our money this way. One could be rather begrudged when handing over $60 for 6 t-shirts and a few very hot, sweaty games of volleyball that of course we lost. The announcer did feel obligated to let us know that there
was no prize for 3rd and 4th place. Ya think. We were proud of our efforts and had a great time getting some fun exercise. I am not sure what they think of our skills though. Sunday we rested and provisioned in anticipation of departing for the next island in the chain. The one
provision you can be assured of getting in the French Polynesian Islands are baguettes of bread and the only item that is reasonably priced. The bread is price controlled and very cheap at 40 cents a loaf. You do have to be the early bird though. We have seen their shelves emptied by 7am on busy days.

5/8 Monday 08 54.907S,140 05.976W
Tahiahoe Bay, Nuku Hiva Island.
A short day sail, perfect 12-15 knot winds out the East as we made our way to the next island of Nuku Hiva. One of the larger and more populated destinations in the chain. As we entered the bay we noticed 4 or 5 enormous manta rays feeding in circles. From the surface they looked to be at least 5 to 6 feet wide. Bruce quickly grabbed his goggles and dove in to swim with them while we circled him. He said their mouths looked like they could swallow him whole. We set anchor and head to shore just before dark with the crews of Capaz and Lawur. A bit of walking in the dark and we found a great pizza place. We will get checked into to customs here quickly and get out to the other anchorages to sneak a peak. The island is a bit more famous as it was the island where the "Survivor Marquesas" shows were taped. We will check out the bay and let you know what we think. We have heard that they bay, also known as Daniel's bay, named after the local gentleman who lives there, has never quite been the same since the show took over that year. Such is the price of technology and entertainment.

Until next time,
Lisa and the boys

The Martins on Ohana Kai
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Email not working

Hello Everyone, First of all I would like to let everyone know we are okay
and the Tsunami in Tonga barely made a ripple where we were in the Ua Po
Marqueses. Thank you everyone for your concern. As with regards to our
email..... well lets just say technology is great when it works and when it
doesn't work well ... it doesn't work. We unfortunately have not been
getting or sending any email for the last couple of weeks soooooooo, If you
have sent us an email within the last 2 weeks or so and have not received a
reply that is why... Sooooo RESEND those babies!!!! We have made a temporary
fix so the email system is up and running again and hopefully will continue
to work. If you don't receive a reply feel free to resend the email
directly to the boat at ke7dqv@winlink.org instead of the website
themartins@ohanakai.net Both SHOULD be working now but again if you don't
get a reply resend to the Ke7dqv@winlink.org address.. Sorry for any
concerns we may have caused you all and please feel free to email us and
tell us all about it. Till then... Fair winds

TheMartins on Ohana Kai
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