Tuamotu of French Polynesia

French Polynesia is divided into 5 archipelagos that cover a huge area of the South Pacific from roughly 8 degrees South to 128S and 133 degrees West to 155W .  The 5 archipelagos are:  MARQUESAS to the northeast, GAMBIER well to the southeast; TUAMOTU, the northernmost atolls are about 500 miles SW of Marquesas; SOCIETIES (now also called TAHITI NUI) in the west and northwest; and the AUSTRALS south and southwest of Tahiti.  Like most cruisers, we will not visit the Gambier Archipelago or the Australs.  There is not sufficient time to visit all of French Polynesia within the maximum 90 days that we as US citizens are allowed to remain in this territory, so we will visit those areas that make the most “weather sense” to follow traditional trade winds.  We visited only 3 islands in the Marquesas but that was enough for us.  (Forgot to mention earlier that the Marquesas were home to cannibals until 1930)   The most pleasant surprise to me was that we encountered not one single “no-no” (no-see-um) and I escaped the Marquesas without even one insect bite.  Most beautiful place was definitely The Bay of Virgins on island of Fatu Hiva.  We are now in the Tuamotu and this area is completely different.  The Marquesas are younger islands than the Tuamotu.  The Marquesas are high mountains and have no surrounding coral reef.  The Tuamotu are all atolls; meaning that the mountainous islands have long since sunk back into the ocean and left large lagoons encircled by coral reef and some tiny strips of islands have formed  in various places on the reef circles.

There are 78 islands in the Tuamotu, all but 2 of which are coral atolls.  The Tuamotu atolls extend almost 1,000 miles in NW-SE direction.  This area was called “the Low or Dangerous Archipelago” by the first European navigators because of the risks presented to ships during those days – and continue to challenge vessels today even with our GPS technology.  Due to their low-lying character, the atolls are only visible from a boat during daylight when the vessel is within 8 miles.   (Radar really helps at night!  We identified the atoll of Manihi from approximately 24 miles out during the dark wee morning hours and slowed down sufficiently to arrive during good daylight.)  The Tuamotu were discovered long before the Society islands or Tahiti.  The Tuamotu were discovered by Spanish navigator Quiros in 1605.  Tahiti was not discovered until 1767 by British navigator Wallis.  The Dangerous Archipelago was also visited by Dutch navigators Le Maire and Schouten in 1616 and another Dutch navigator Roggeveen in 1722.  The approximate position of the final 2 islands of the Tuamotu were not recorded until 1835.  It is generally assumed that whaling ships knew of this area during the 17^th century but they were very secretive of their whaling grounds and no charting was noted during that time.  But it is arrogant for anyone to say that these islands were “discovered” during the years noted above.  Polynesians had inhabited what is now known as French Polynesia at least as far back as 1200 A.D., and some archeologists place inhabitation back as far as 300 B.C.   We know so little about the history of this area.

The French government used the eastern Tuamotu as a nuclear testing ground from 1963 to 1996.  The area south of 17 degrees 20 minutes S latitude and east of 145 degrees 25 minutes W longitude still remains off-limits to cruisers or visitors.  That area contains many monitoring sensors for seismic, radiation and environmental surveys, and vessels could disturb the area and cause false readings.  Also, there is concern regarding the slight possibility of a partial collapse of the reef as was experienced in Bikini following US nuclear tests.  The other easternmost atolls which are not off-limits now have limited resources.  The inhabitants have turned to the cultured black pearl as their primary source of economic development; second only to tourism.  We have been told that the money behind the black pearl farming comes from Chinese companies but we do not know that as fact.

Tourism is booming on the more northerly situated atolls.  Many of the tiny islands at the atolls now have a small airstrip and it is possible to fly from Papeete, Tahiti.  There are tiny resorts (some built out over the lagoon waters) and truly the place to go if you want to really get away from it all.  Our friends on the catamaran went more southerly to visit atolls that rarely receive visitors.  They are the only boat in one atoll and have been warmly received by the inhabitants.  They have been invited to local homes for meals and celebrations.  They traded rum and were given a tour of a pearl farm.  They also traded a stalk of bananas for a couple of black pearls.  This is really funny to us because they traded a single pencil for a stalk of bananas in the San Blas Islands.  All things being relative, that means that 2 black pearls are worth a pencil.  Like that logic? 

Our experiences in the 2 northern atolls that we have visited so far have been nothing like what our friends have experienced.  In fact, Bill and I are somewhat disappointed in the atolls.  It is not like we expected.  Since we are visiting the atolls most frequented by cruisers, the inhabitants are not as friendly.  They see too many boat visitors to be interested in us. 

From all the photos we had seen before arriving here, we expected crystal clear waters of turquoise and many shades of blue – dotted with patches of coral throughout the lagoons.  Instead, the lagoons are so deep that the water just looks gray with only a few tiny areas near the islets that are pretty.  To be fair, however, the sky has been gray since we left the Marquesas and that is causing everything to look gray.  It is yet again drizzling rain as I type this log.  We will stop at one more atoll and hopefully the sky will be sunny for a few days so we can appreciate the beauty that is supposed to be all around us.

Leaving Manihi was interesting.  When we tried to raise our anchor we found that the anchor chain was hopelessly wrapped around and in huge masses of coral.  We were anchored in depth of 55 feet so it was impossible to see the bottom.  We struggled with it for about an hour and retrieved 30 meters of chain before calling a new friend for assistance.  Darryl on S/V LIBERTY CALL is a single-hander out of San Francisco in a Morgan 32.  We had met Darryl a few days earlier and learned that he is a diver, and he had offered to help if we needed assistance getting the anchor free.  We put the dinghy back into the water and picked up Darryl from his boat.  Took almost an hour with Darryl in the water and Bill on our bow working with the anchor chain and windlass and me on the helm.  Finally we were free!  Do not know how we would have managed this with just Bill and me. 

Darryl planned to go to Ahe -- the same atoll that we were headed to.  Bill brought Darryl back to his boat and helped get that anchor up.  Good thing that Bill stayed to help because that boat came within 10 feet of being up on the reef as they maneuvered to raise the anchor.    The guide books say to anchor in this particular spot because it is a good anchoring area.  Other cruisers need to be aware that the entire anchoring area is full of coral and will foul their anchor rode.  Coral can cut through anchor chain like a hacksaw, so one needs to use extra caution when anchoring in these atolls which are so full of coral.

During the 27 mile sail from Manihi to Ahe we caught a couple of fish.  The first was a barracuda about a meter long.  We have never eaten a barracuda; we have always thrown them back.  But so many people have told us that barracuda is good to eat that we decided to save this one.  If we caught a better fish later in the trip then we would discard the barracuda; otherwise, it would be dinner.  We stunned the fish by squirting alcohol into his gills and open mouth.  Then Bill curled it up into a large plastic crate/box and covered it with a wetted old cloth.  He wanted to make darn certain that this thing was really dead before handling it.  Barracuda have razor sharp teeth and are strong fighters.  Bill filleted it and tossed the carcass into the sea.  As soon as we had cleaned everything up there was another bite on the line.  It was another barracuda, smaller this time.  We definitely did not want another one of these fish since we didn’t know if we would even like it.  Bill played around with it hanging up in the air by the rod and eventually it dislodged off our lure and swam away. Didn’t want the fish but did want to save our lure.

We arrived at Ahe at slack high tide and had an uneventful entrance through the pass.  BTW, the C-Map electronic charts are not accurate in the Tuamotu.  But we also have some electronic French raster charts and those have been dead-on accurate so far.  It takes about an hour to cross the lagoon from the entrance pass to the anchorage area in front of the village – that is how large these lagoons are.  The lagoon is long and it would take 3 hours to go from one end to the other.  We could tell from the noise when we dropped the anchor that this is another area full of coral.  Darryl anchored near us and then dove on both our anchors and those of the other 3 boats nearby.  Sure enough, this anchorage is exactly like the one at Manihi --  not one anchor was set into the ground; all of the anchors are just lying on top of coral.  Only the weight of our anchor chains is holding our boats in place.  None of us are anchored correctly. 

We invited Darryl for dinner of beer-batted fried barracuda.  It was the first time for all 3 of us to taste this type fish.  Surprisingly it was not bad.  I had always equated barracuda to be the same as gar (boney and bloody), but that is not true at all.  Barracuda is a very firm, meaty type fish; very much like swordfish.  The taste is mild.  It would probably be very good in cioppino.  I seasoned it well with Old Bay Seasoning and then fried it in beer batter and served with a chipolte sauce.  You are not supposed to eat larger barracuda because of the danger of ciguatera.  They feed on smaller fish that feed on reefs.  Anything larger than a meter should not be eaten, and you should not eat the meat that is located near the stomach.  This is not our favorite fish but we would eat it again.

The GPS problem:  it is now solved.  Turned out that the problem with our Furuno GPS was a malfunctioning antenna.  Darryl had a smaller version Furuno GPS for one of his spares and he did not need it.  The antenna on his spare unit works with our unit.  So we bought his spare Furuno GPS so that we can use that antenna with our existing unit.  We still hope to eventually purchase another antenna and that will give us 2 complete Furuno GPS units, as well as our hand-held Garmin and the USB cube.  BTW, Bill did later get the USB cube GPS to work.  We do not know why it would not power on when we needed it during the passage from Marquesas to Manihi.  We think the problem might be related to the SSB radio.  I think the SSB radio grabs the com port used by the USB cube GPS.  I think this prevented it from transmitting data and caused it to appear not to be powered on.  At any rate, we again have a plethora of functioning GPS redundancy.

Bill went ashore to the village twice yesterday; once to try to buy bread and once to bring in a bag of garbage.  The guide books say that you can buy baguettes here but this is not true.  The store does not sell bread. There is no electricity and every building or home has solar panels for power.  Yet every single house has Direct TV and telephone service.  Got their priorities straight, don’t they?  The island is only about 5 blocks wide and maybe a quarter mile long, and there are 2 cars on this island!  Whatever for?  There are obviously no roads and no bridges to the other islands so why in the world does anyone need a car?  There is also a small front-end loader at the concrete wharf.  That makes sense because it would be used to unload the small cargo boats that come from Tahiti.  I have stayed on the boat both in Manihi and in Ahe.  Nothing interested me enough to make me want to explore anywhere.  Planned to snorkel are few places but it has rained each time.  Need bright sun to enjoy snorkeling and see anything.

Late this afternoon (Tuesday, June 17) we will leave for the overnight passage to Rangiroa.  Plan is to go slow and arrive there during slack high tide tomorrow early afternoon.  Winds have been non-existent for the past few days so seas should be quite calm.  Prediction is for winds of less than 15 knots for today and tomorrow so this should be a calm passage.  The guide books say that Rangiroa is the second largest atoll in the world.  I hate it when they say things like that.  Makes me want to know just which atoll is the largest and were it is located.  Here’s hoping the anchor comes up without difficulty this afternoon.  We are again anchored in 50-feet depth and cannot see bottom.

GPS failed while we were out in the big deep blue enroute to Tuamotus

2008-06-08 to 10  Sunday through Wednesday

Manihi Atoll, Tuamotus, French Polynesia

14.27.88S; 146.02.13W      Distance sailed 497 NM

It was a wild ride! 

We left Tahuata in the Marquesas at 0800 Sunday morning and arrived at Manihi Atoll in the Tuamotus at 0800 Wednesday morning.  That means we covered 497 nautical miles in 72 hours and sailed the entire way. Didn’t need the engine until it was time to enter Manihi.  Winds had been 20-25 knots for a full week before we left the Marquesas, so the seas were built pretty high and steep.  Winds were predicted to continue at 20-25 knots for Sunday, 20 knots on Monday and then moderate to 15 knots on Tuesday.  Winds and waves should have been on our port stern quarter so we figured we could handle it from that direction.  Unfortunately, the actuality was somewhat different than the prediction.  Winds stayed 20-35 knots until early Wednesday morning, when it finally gradually moderated down to about 18 knots.  Seas were 3 to 4 meters on 4 to 5 seconds– and those are really big waves when stacked so closely one upon another.   We have an inclinometer mounted at the helm and it indicated that we were heeled over at 45 degrees many times!  We have never heeled 45 degrees before!  Makes one really appreciate that 6500 pounds of cast iron keel bolted on the bottom of the boat so that the boat always turns back upright.  It was impossible to move around on or inside the boat unless we were holding on with both hands.  

The Tuamotus are a large group of atolls and comprise the middle section of French Polynesia.  Let me try to explain what an atoll is.  Imagine a volcano forming a mountainous island.  Then coral reef forms around the edges of the island.  Then the island sinks back into the ocean, leaving the coral reef encircling a large lagoon.  Over eons sand gradually fills some spots in the coral reef circle and forms scattered small islands around the lagoon.  That is an atoll.  Most atolls have a single pass through the reef which allows access in and out of the lagoon.  Current caused by tidal change often reaches up to 9 knots flowing in or out of these passes, so it is critical that one negotiates the pass during slack tide. 

Manihi Atoll has a lagoon that is 15 miles long and 6 miles wide.  There are at least a dozen tiny islands fringing the lagoon.  The lagoon is deep (we passed in areas of 132 feet depth on our way from the entrance/exit pass to the anchorage area), but it is also filled with coral heads.  Water can be 80 feet and then be 2 inches deep.  Luckily the water is clear and that makes it easy to find your way around the coral heads.  Manihi is famous for black pearl farming.  There are black pearl farming stations all over the lagoon and it really looks funny to see these houses built up on sticks (like beach houses in Bolivar but right out in the middle of the water).  There are also small floating balls marking where pearl strings are placed throughout the lagoon. 

As we began our entry through the coral reef encircling Manihi Atoll this morning so that we could reach the pass between 2 of the tiny islands, the wind suddenly jumped to 33 knots --- right on our beam!  This was somewhat nerve wracking to say the least.  We could not see the reef line because it started to rain and the high wind was blowing us toward crashing waves.  Thanks to our 100 hp Yanmar engine I was able to drive through the reef and through the pass without incident.  There is a shallow coral bar that one must pass over just inside the pass.  Our depth gauge indicated only 3.2 feet of water beneath our keel as we entered the lagoon.  Thank goodness we entered at slack high tide.  The depth quickly dropped to 80 feet and we managed to cross the lagoon without taking out any of the black pearl strings or stations or hitting any coral heads.

However, when we attempted to anchor in the 33 knots of wind we ran into problems.  The anchor chain somehow got wrapped around at least 2 coral heads which we could not see in the 60-foot depth where we had to anchor.  It was a challenge getting the anchor back up but we finally did it.  We then moved a short distance away and this time managed to anchor without incident.

On day 2 of our passage our GPS decided to stop working.  It could not get a fix.  Now that is a bad feeling being hundreds of miles out on the ocean and not being able to tell exactly where  you are or where you are going.  We remember how to do the vector triangles that we learned when getting our captains licenses, so it would have been possible to get where we wanted to land.  But not something we wanted to deal with.  Bill pulled out our primary GPS back-up – and the darn thing would not even power on!!!  So he pulled out our second GPS back-up and we were in business.   Reminded us of last fall when we went from 3 computers down to only 1 within one week.  We just went from 3 GPS units down to only 1 within a half hour.

We finished the passage using a Garmin hand held GPS connected to our laptop and it worked just fine with Maxsea.  Good thing we had lots of batteries in stock because the hand held GPS really eats batteries.  Once we were anchored Bill investigated the problem with the primary Furuno GPS.  It appears to be just the GPS antenna is malfunctioning.   Now we need to get someone to find a replacement for us and ship it to Tahiti.  Hope we have enough batteries to keep the Garmin hand held unit operating until we reach Tahiti.

Hiva Oa again and back to Tahuata

2008-06-03 to 07  Tuesday through Saturday

Atuona,Hiva Oa and Hanamoenoa, Tahuata in Marquesas

Tuesday we made the 10 mile trip over to Traitors Bay on Hiva Oa – directly into 20 knot wind and large seas and 1.5 knot head current.  Strange thing was that on our return trip the following day, we still experienced the head current going the opposite direction.  Traitors Bay was exceptionally crowded – far more boats than were there last week.  Boats must use both bow and stern anchors in this bay to keep nose into the constant incoming swell and to keep from swinging into one another.  This time the beam of our boat was only about 18 feet from the boats on either side of us.  That is way too close for comfort when anchored in such a crowded and rough bay.

The agent delivered our Duty Free Fuel Permit and she graciously gave us a ride into town so we could visit the ATM and supermarket.  Then the long walk back to the bay.  We tried to hire a taxi at the tourist center but the women working there would not stop yakking to talk to us.  Sometimes French people are the rudest people on the planet.  So we walked and some local driver missed out on making a decent fare.   We arrived back in the bay at noon and found that the Mobile station had already closed for lunch.  They do that here – everything closes for 2 ½ hour lunch.  That meant we were forced to spend the night in the crowded anchorage. 

At 0700 the next morning we were backed up to the rocks behind the Mobile station.  Do not know how boats manage to do this without a bow thruster.  We had to drop the anchor well out in front behind the breakwater and back up close to the large rocks on the steep shore. There was a lot of cross wind and current.  I had to use the bow thruster to keep the boat perpendicular to the diesel pump area while Bill got into the dinghy and brought our stern lines ashore and got them tied off.  Having to climb out of a dinghy and up the steep slimy wet rocks while holding the stern lines and the dinghy painter was not an easy job for him; but he managed to get it done.  He then fed the very long diesel pump line out to me on the boat; then he climbed back aboard and filled our main tank and some jerry jugs while I used binoculars to read the pump so he would know how much was being put where.  The Duty Free Fuel Permit was well worth the permit cost of 5,000 CFP (roughly $67 USD).  We bought 535 liters of diesel.  The regular price was 125 CFP per liter; we paid 88 CFP per liter; so we saved 19,795 CFP or about $264 USD by purchasing this permit.  The permit is only available if you use an agent to handle your clearance.  Otherwise, we could not have purchased duty free fuel until after we clear out of French Polynesia in Bora Bora in a couple of months; and we certainly could not have waited that long to get more diesel.

As soon as our diesel was aboard and paid for we again made the rough trip back to Hanamoenoa Baie on Tahuata.  This is such a nice little anchorage that it would be easy to stay here for weeks.  There are lots of manta rays in this bay but we never did get into the water and swim with them.

Friday was Bill’s birthday.  I baked him an old-fashioned Hershey chocolate cake with the Hershey fudge frosting.  Then we took our dinghy down a couple of miles to Baie Vaitahu to visit a tiny village that rarely get visitors.  Bill and Amy on S/V ESTRELLITA also did this little excursion in their dinghy.  It was a rough dinghy landing on stones being hit with surge and I almost landed in the drink except Amy managed to hang onto my arm and keep me from falling in.  This village was very clean and really nice.  Had a lovely church.  Photos to follow eventually.

Saturday we got into the water and cleaned the scum line off the boat.  The wind was so high and current so strong that it was all we could do to hang onto the lines and not get blown out to sea.  But we did manage to get the water line clean.  Tomorrow we leave for the passage to the Tuamotus.

Baie Hanamoenoa onTahuata (should be called Manta Ray Bay because there are hundreds here)

June 2, 2008 Monday

Baie Hanamoenoa, Tahuata, Marquesas

09.54.50S; 139.06.31W    Distance sailed 47.5 NM

Yesterday we sailed from Fatu Hiva to the island of Tahuata.  Yet again, it was a rough trip.  At least this time the 20-25 knot wind was from behind rather than on our nose.  It rained off and on all day and the seas were fairly large, but it was not uncomfortable sailing since it was a broad reach.  The wind was coming too much from the south and we were unable to hold course to clear the southern tip of the island and had to gybe once.   Then it was straight north up the western side of the island of Tahuata.  Once in the lee of the island there was no wind at all so we turned on the engine and motored to the anchorage.  We trailed one fishing line for most of the day and caught only one thing ----- a red-footed booby!!  Other people catch fish and we catch a darn bird!  Luckily this bird had not bitten the lure, but his wing had the fishing line wrapped around the tip and he could not get free.  Bill reeled it in and managed to get the line unwrapped from the wing without getting pecked or scratched. 

First we stopped at Baie Hanatefau and anchored long enough to eat a late lunch.  This is a very deep anchorage until you are practically on shore, and the bottom is nothing but big rocks so it is impossible to get an anchor to set properly.  Our friends on S/V FREE SPIRIT had arrived in this anchorage an hour earlier.  They decided to leave and go to another bay farther north on Tahuata and we decided to follow them.  None of us would have slept well because we would have worried all night about the anchors.  S/V ESTRELLITA also arrived from Fatu Hiva and also decided to move to the northern anchorage.  So all 3 of us motored to Baie Hanamoenoa, which has a nice sand bottom and is quite calm.  No problem anchoring in this bay.  We arrived just before sunset.

BTW, I know these names are probably difficult for many of you.  Basically, in Polynesia you pronounce every single vowel in a word or name.  An “a” has the soft sound like aahhh.  An “e” has a long “a” sound like in Spanish.  An “i” sounds like a long “e”.  An “o” is usually a long “o”.  Now you can practice Hanamoenoa.  It might be easier to start with Tahuata.

Tomorrow we will return to Hiva Oa to pick up our Duty Free Fuel Permit.  This will allow us to purchase diesel for approximately $5 USD per gallon vs. the normal local price of about $8 USD per gallon.  And you people back in the states think you are paying a lot for gas or diesel! 

Not sure if we will visit any more of the Marquesan islands.  We have learned that the sail loft in Nuku Hiva will not be able to repair the UV panel on our genoa because the sailmaker is in Papeete and not expected to return soon.  So there is no point in us going 150 miles north to Nuku Hiva as there doesn’t appear to be anything there of particular interest to us,  We might head out for the Tuamotus soon after buying more diesel.  That is roughly 600 miles and we are ready to get started soon.  We are now about half-way to New Zealand and would like to get some more miles behind us. 

These logs are being updated to the website by our son Trey.  We send text emails via SSB radio and he updates the website for us.  That is why there are no photos yet.  Also, FWIW, earlier I had said that internet access costs $26 per hour.  That figure came from another cruiser who was here last month.  Well, he was way wrong!  Internet access really costs only $6 USD per hour.  You have to purchase a 10-hour card for roughly $60 USD; scratch off to get a code; and then go into the post office with your laptop to get internet access.  Others tell us that the service is excruciatingly slow.  It is about 2 ½ mile walk to town at Hiva Oa, mostly uphill and I do not want to walk 5 miles through hills just to spend hours on the internet.  Not likely that we will hang around Hiva Oa when we go to buy diesel tomorrow so photos will have to wait until we reach Tahiti. 

Hanavave (Bay of Virgins), Fatu Hiva

Log covers 5/28/2008 to 6/01/2008

Hanavave (Bay of Virgins), Fatu Hiva, Marquesas Islands

10.27.889S; 138.40.068W    Distance sailed 42.5NM

Early Wednesday morning we departed Hiva Oa for the 42 mile sail down to Fatu Hiva.  Guess we have forgotten the proper way to sail because we forgot to check the GRIB files for weather prediction.  It was a very rough little passage that took the entire day.  We had 20-25 knots wind right on the nose and seas were 6-ft wind waves on top of 8-ft swell.  It was just plain awful with all the pounding.  The other 2 boats making the same passage that day opted to sail way off course and then tack back to destination.  That would have involved an additional 21 miles of sailing so we opted to just motor directly on the rhumb line and arrived there first.  Glad we did because we had an easy time anchoring in the spot of our choice and spent a pleasant night.  The other 2 boats arrived after dark and had to “anchor” in depth of 125 feet at the outside section of the bay and they had to stay awake all night for anchor watch.

The Bay of Virgins at Fatu Hiva is unbelievably gorgeous.  I do not see how any place could top this anchorage for sheer beauty.   In archaic Marquesan, the bay name of Hanavave means “strong surf bay” and it is a most appropriate name.  They have recently constructed a breakwater and it was easy to land our dinghy at the protected concrete wharf.  Supposedly the original name given by early explorers was the Bay des Verges (Bay of Phalli or Bay of Penises).  The later Christian missionaries were appalled by this name and inserted an “i” making it Bay of Vierges which translates to Bay of Virgins.  Erosion has caused rock pillars that are very suggestive of male virility so it is easy to see why this was called the Bay of Penises. 

We stayed at this anchorage for 4 nights and the winds howled down between the high mountains and through the bay at 30-35 knots every day.  It also rained many times each day.  One day we hiked to the waterfall behind the village.  This was supposed to be an hour hike but it took us about 2 hours.  There were 12 of us for this hike, including one local Marquesan man.  It rained several times and the lichen-covered boulders and stones on the path and climbing up the mountain were very slippery.  This was not an easy hike as it was mostly uphill over mud and slippery rocks.   At the end there was a 200-ft waterfall with very little water falling into the pool beneath it.  All the other hikers went swimming in the pool but both Bill and I opted not to join in.  The area was swarming with mosquitoes and I felt that it would be wiser to stay covered in my long pants and long-sleeved shirt.  There were large fresh-water shrimp in the pool.   One of the other couples had brought freshly baked sourdough bread, smoked bananas and pampelmouse and several people shared a small picnic.  The walk back down to the village was hard on the knees and quads and people slipped and fell several times.  We are glad that we did this hike.  Definitely do not want to attempt any hikes that one bit more difficult than this one.   It was probably our physical limit these days.

Friday evening we joined a pot luck dinner on another sailboat.  It was an enjoyable evening visiting with new people.

Saturday evening we ate dinner at a local house in the village along with another cruising couple – Bill and Amy on S/V ESTRELLITA.  A couple of German men who had arrived from the Galapagos that afternoon also joined in this dinner.  The 2 German men had been learning French during their long passage and it really paid off for them as they were able to communicate with Terez, our hostess.  Terez is Tahitian and is married to a local Marquesan man; so she speaks 3 languages – Tahitian, Marquesan and French.  We don’t speak any of those languages and would not have been able to communicate with her without the assistance of the 2 German men.  Local people volunteer to cook meals for cruisers; the cost was 1100 French Polynesia francs (about $15 USD) each.  Our meal consisted of sliced French baguette, poison cru (raw fish in coconut milk—sort of like ceviche and very good), plain white rice, chicken cooked in coconut milk, baked breadfruit, boiled pink bananas and shredded manioc cooked in a citrus liquid.  This was definitely not the best meal we have ever eaten but we enjoyed the local flavor and appreciated being entertained in the home of a local person.  Best thing served was the raw fish in coconut milk.  Worst was the boiled pink bananas (which I thought when eating them were some kind of weird sausage and later learned were bananas).

On our first day in Fatu Hiva a small boat with 3 native men came out and asked to trade with us.  They wanted beer or rum or gun ammunition or ropes.  We did not have gun ammunition or extra ropes to trade and did not want to part with our few bottles of rum, but Bill did agree to trade a six-pack of beer for 7 enormous pamplemouse and some bananas.  They delivered the pamplemouse and promised to bring bananas the following day.  Of course, we never saw these 3 guys again and never got the bananas.  But at least they never came back to ask for more beer.   Several days later another boat refused to talk beer trade with these guys.  The next morning this cruiser found his dinghy turned upside down in the bay --- with his outboard engine still in place and now ruined by salt water.   Better to part with a six-pack of beer than to chance angering the natives and sustaining some sort of damage to your boat.  BTW, the pamplemouse were delicious.

We very much enjoyed the Bay of Virgins at Fatu Hiva.  Cannot describe how beautiful it is.