Passage Hangover

We have now been here in the Marquesas a week.  I really apologize for not getting something up sooner on the blog, but the truth is that I have been really tired and unfocused…..Passage hangover, I suppose……

And it’s not just me….Seems like we’ve all been a bit slow.  We’ve kept going, getting our chores done and also seeing the islands, but none of us can seem to fully recover.  I keep thinking that the next good night’s sleep will be enough and I’ll feel “normal” again, but each day I wake up still tired.  I’m not really complaining, but just think it’s weird…..

Well, let’s face it…..It started with the party to end all parties, and we were moving a tad slowly the next day.  Sandra, the representative from our agency, did manage to get us checked in and sorted, in spite of ourselves.   We got our cheeseburgers and beer (Hinano – yummy!), loaded up on baguettes, and even did a tour of the island.  Hiva Oa is quite scenic, with dramatic mountains and valleys that remind me very much of Hawaii.  Once you leave Atuona, there are but a few villages and remote farms, and many of the bays are only accessible by boat.  The roads are quite steep, narrow and serpentine, so we were glad we hired Ozonne (Mari Jo’s husband) to take us around.  He was a very interesting guy, having lived most of his life on Hiva Oa, and was a well-known fisherman in the community for many years.  One of the highlights of the tour were the tiki ruins in Puamau, reportedly the largest in French Polynesia.  Seems like not too much is known about the ruins and the exact purpose of all the platforms, but they were interesting and fun to see nonetheless.  The resemblance to many of the ancient carved figures that we saw while in Central America was striking……

In between sightseeing, we did odd projects to try and get Mystic cleaned up a bit.  The guys took some time to wash the algae off the hull that had grown during our passage – it was a mess and quite the chore, but they got it done, and she looks much better now!  Fortunately, we didn’t have any of the gooseneck barnacles, like many of the sail boats complain of.  We also did laundry and sent some in to be done on shore, in the interest of efficiency (and yes, Jo, we did finally get all the towels washed and dried! 🙂 )

We also had to add some fuel to the boat.  There was supposed to be a pump to the dock for fueling, but apparently, if it ever did exist, it was broken now and the repair part(s) couldn’t be gotten from Papeete for several months.  In any event, our major refueling will now have to be done when we reach Nuku Hiva in another week or so.  In the meantime, in order to get by until then, we had to schlep 768 liters of diesel fuel in 9 jerry cans (which we ended up borrowing).  We basically did an assembly line with Les driving the dinghy, Rose filling the jerry cans, John doing the major schlepping between fuel station and dinghy dock and then onto Mystic Moon, and then me siphoning the fuel into Mystic’s tanks.  Wow…..Now that was some afternoon…..Took us 3 hours, 90% of which was in pouring rain.  Don’t tell me we’re not livin’ the dream!

Having gotten some fuel, we left for Fatu Hiva the next morning.  Fatu Hiva is where Hanavave Bay is, and is a ‘do not miss’ place for cruisers – Remember the brochure?   And, yes……it is spectacularly, stunningly beautiful!  The mountains rise steeply out of the sea, towering above the village nestled in the valley.  There are numerous rock spires thrusting skyward, and indeed this bay was known as Baie de Verges (Bay of penises) until the missionaries came along and renamed it Baie de Vierges (Bay of Virgins).  Seriously…..You just can’t make this stuff up!

In any event, the anchorage was about as scenic as any we’ve ever been in.  In some ways, it was reminiscent of some of the more rugged and dramatic anchorages in Alaska, with mountains in startling shades of green.  Of course, these were palm trees instead of firs, and it was 40° warmer, but nonetheless…. We were only 1 out of 4 boats there, so it was blissfully peaceful.  Les, Rose and John went ashore that afternoon, but I opted to stay aboard and soak in the scenery.

Ashore in the village, the children were waiting.  The children here really enjoy having the cruisers come ashore, and they greet them with great exuberance whenever someone comes to visit.  All in French or Marquesan, they chatter away excitedly.  Our crew walked the clean and colorful streets of the village, trailed by so many kids, all speaking at once.  Rose did manage to find several wood carvers, though, and bought a beautiful hand-carved bowl.

Returning the next day intending to hike to a nearby waterfall, 3 of the boys were waiting for our arrival with a large bag filled with pamplemousse (like a mongo grapefruit, only greener and sweeter – delicious!) and limes.  Again, they asked the captain if they could ride in the dinghy and visit on our boat.  Being the firm marshmellow that he is, he promised them they could, but first we needed to revisit the wood carvers and do our hike to the waterfall.  Oh yes, yes, they would be so happy to guide us to the falls!

And thus we went, a parade of 4 cruisers, with the 3 boys sharing our two cameras and taking nonstop photos.   Between Les and I, we did manage to communicate with them in French, but I would have loved to have understood the stuff we missed.  The boys were quite charming, and their enthusiasm was infectious!  We also were really glad to have them with us, as I’m not sure we would have found the way ourselves, and, we passed by a group of 6 or 7 very pissed-off dogs, a cow with major attitude (and horns), and a snorting bull.  The boys were quite adept at scaring off the dogs and timing the race past the cattle!

The hike to the falls was not too bad…..Took us about 3 hours there and back, and the only really steep and muddy part was towards the end of the hike.  The falls itself was beautiful, probably a 200’ drop down a vertical cliff, with a lovely pool at the bottom.  The boys climbed the cliff like little goats and gleefully jumped into the pool from above, John and Les swam in the cold water, and Rose and I perched on the rocks, me soaking my foot in the refreshing pool.  (Sidebar:  Since you asked…..My stupid toe/foot is still swollen and sore. There’ll be no shoes for some time to come, so my hiking sandals will have to do for now, which they did……But sheesh, already!  I’ve threatened it with a toe-ectomy if it doesn’t shape up and start playing nice with the team!)  We replenished ourselves from the hot and muggy walk with lots of water, and shared some cookies we had brought with the boys.

Returning to town, safely back past the bull, cow with ‘tude, and dogs, we went back by the wood carvers’ homes.  We didn’t buy any more wood carvings, but did score a great stalk of bananas in trade for an inexpensive bottle of wine.  The boys raced us to the dinghy and clambered in.  Fortunately, John had the key with him, or I think they would have taken off on a ride and returned for us later!  Back on board Mystic Moon, the boys were pretty well behaved and really enjoyed taking a peak at the inside of the boat.  They played around for a little bit on the bow and then gathered in the cockpit, where we gave them some more cookies and a Coke. We also gave them 3 sets of fishing line and hooks to thank them for the fruit and the tour.  John and Les took them for the promised dinghy ride, and they seemed to have a blast buzzing around the anchorage.  I think the oldest one (maybe 11 years old?) was a little disappointed that John wouldn’t let him drive, but with the 25hp Yamaha, we were all a bit concerned that he might just flip the dinghy in his excitement!  All in all, though, a very memorable day!

The next day, at least 5 or 6 launches were out of the village bright and early.  We had heard that the Paul Gaugin was going to be over in Omoa (the larger town in the next bay) for the day, so all the craftsmen and women were taking their goods over to sell to the cruise ship.  That, along with the fact that the wind was forecast to steadily pick up for the next week, drove us to lift the anchor and move the 40 miles over to Tahuata.  It was already a rather boisterous ride over, so it was probably a good call, in spite of being a little sad about leaving the stunning anchorage.

So here we are, now anchored in a gorgeous, calm bay with clear, warm turquoise water.  There is a white sandy beach backed by palm trees and green hills, and nothing much on shore except a copra shed and a small vacant dwelling.   There is but one other boat in the bay.  Rays drift lazily by us, large, dark underwater diamonds visible passing over top the sand, 25’ beneath us.   Think we will stay here a few days and nurse our passage hangover and see if we can’t seem to finally recover.  We’ll be in Nuka Hiva soon enough, and will need to take on fuel and see Les and Rose off, but for now, this seems like the perfect cure.