Tuesday, May 28, 2013

A Month in the Marquesas!




Beautiful Marquesa sunset
 A month in the Marquesas!

We didn’t plan on spending a whole month in the Marquesas. It just happened.  It’s a rugged and wild land and we’re really glad we stayed so long to feel the “vibe” and get to know the people and the different islands.  We enjoyed many adventures on the five islands visited. I’ve detailed some of these favorites in past blogs, but here is my recap:

Favorite Island Highlights:
1. Snorkeling with the dolphins (or close enough)-Fatu Hiva
2. Awesome Snorkeling at Hanamenoa Bay- Tahuatu
3. Hike to Haakuti Beach- Ua Pou
4. Hike to waterfall- Daniel’s Bay, Nuku Hiva
5. Horse back ride on Toohii Plateau-Nuku Hiva
6. Anahoe Bay for beauty and snorkeling- Nuku Hiva

 Least Favorite Island:
Hiva Oa was my least favorite island. We stopped here because we were supposed to. This is the official check in port of entry, but the anchorage is small and rolly. It’s not very cruiser friendly as the town is far away from the anchorage. It’s a taxi ride or a long walk for food and provisioning. Not very convenient.  I'm sure this island has lots to see, but if you're a cruiser on a boat, I’d skip this landfall in favor of others.

Best Foods in the islands:
Poisson Cru- raw fish marinated in coconut milk- (served everywhere!)
Baguettes (baked fresh daily, everywhere)
     Pizza @ the Moana Nui Restaurant- Nuku Hiva
     Chez Henri- best restaurant on the wharf -Nuku Hiva
     Snack Shack Tahianunuu- good food-free internet-Nuku Hiva
Best Tuna Tartare!- Snack Shack Tahianunuu

Most Expensive:
Beer & Wine
   Candy, ice cream & snack chips (good thing..no chocolate for me!)
   Nuts and whole foods (apples @ 6.00 lb, cashews @ 8.00lb) Wow! but, there is plenty of local fresh   fruits available to purchase, so who needs apples from Washington?

On the whole, it’s more expensive for everything in the Marquesas. They import almost everything! But, hey, it is what it is. So, we buy what we need…you either enjoy or complain.

About the people…the Marquesans are truly welcoming and sharing. Everyone says "koaha"or hello. Just yesterday, we had an "accident" when our tied up at the dock dingy with motor flipped over in the swells with motor completely submerged! The local fishermen jumped in and righted the swamped dingy!  Then one helpful local worked on getting the outboard motor running! There were 5 or 6 guys helping and giving advise. Tony, the local fisherman was the successful one in getting the outboard up and running. But, gift of time and energy is a custom to give without expecting any payment. Their crafts are unique and there seems to be a renaissance of the tradional arts, like dancing, drumming, tattooing and carving.

The tour freighter, the Aranui comes every two weeks and delivers needed supplies and brings the tourists who help promote this economy. The cruisers also contribute to the economy by making this their last stop for provisioning before heading on to other south sea islands. These islands are not yet, exploited by super hotel complexes and golf courses. Thank goodness for now.
Another  Marquesan tattoo. This swallow depicts a sailor's five-thousand miles. Note the five small waves near the bottom of the bird head. Groovy, heh?



Around Nuku Hiva in 3 Days




The route around to Ananhoe Bay
May 23
Thursday
While waiting for our new shrouds to come from Tahiti we decide to circumnavigate the island of Nuku HIva. We won’t be sailing, as this would put too much strain on the mast and shrouds, so we are motoring.

Anahoe Bay is awesome!

We motor to Anahoe Bay, one of the most protected anchorages on the island and only twelve miles north. We motor through some choppy confused seas with cross swells. Rolly and bumpy. Not very comfortable for the 4 hrs passage.
Our crew guy, Mark at the helm

 Oh, it's a beautiful bay!  The anchorage is tucked 1.5 miles into this snug protected bay under steep mountains lined with sandy beaches and palm trees. There are a few residents, a church and Chez Raymond, a pension/restaurant where we reserve a Marquesan dinner with other cruisers for the next evening.

Coral reefs exposed at low tide

This is a shallow bay with many coral heads that we didn’t see until the next morning at low tide….Wow! coral reefs all around us! Good thing we followed the chart instructions and stayed away from the West side and the marked buoys!  We anchored right in the coral reef opening in sand.
Beach landing at Anahoe Bay

May 24
Mark and I decide to hike over the ridge to the next bay village, Haatihue to see what’s there. It’s a steep 45-minute hike up, but the views are worth it! We can see our boat anchored in between the coral reefs from this view.

The view from the hike and Wizard anchored in Anahoe Bay
Resting on the hike over tothe next cove,  Hatihue Bay


Our Marquesan dinner ashore is promptly at 4:00pm we arrive at Raymond’s Restaurant and the menu is laid out in the set table:
Poisson Cru-raw fish marinated in coconut milk
Octopus- marinated in lime juice
Grilled Chicken
Fried potatoes
Steamed breadfruit
Cucumber-tomato salad
Mango for dessert
All this for $15.00 US. Not a bad menu and in the middle of nowhere.
We met some new to the anchorage cruisers Joni and Ken on s/v Dancing Walrus who joined us for the dinner. They had just made a 17-day passage from Hawaii and this is their first landfall, Anahoe Bay.
As interesting as meeting the islanders is meeting the” revolving door “of cruisers:
Joni & Ken on S/V Dancing Walrus- 42 ft Catamaran from Hawaii, with crew Michael from Holland, are accomplished divers, she a video photographer is interesting as she had been a professional crew for several boats, lived in Indonesia for 20 years and met Ken on Crew.com and now married. Cute story.

Oleg and Sophie on S/V Kotik (we call the grumpy Frenchman, but he only looks grumpy). We met them last week in Daniel’s Bay, but meet again in Anahoe Bay. They are interesting because they have lived on a boat for 40 years! They had Kotik made in South America, a steel ketch and they have traveled from as far away as Brazil and up the Pacific to Alaska! These are world travelers!

Last week at Taiohae we met three Swedes on a 28ft sloop- they sailed all the way- Atlantic through Caribbean, through Panama, Galapagos to Marquesas. If you saw their boat (really quite a wreck) you too would be amazed at these tattooed covered, ex-Marine “salty dogs”! Oh, but the small size of their boat-incredible!

Don’t forget the “Earl” from Ventura, California…his real name is Tom, but we call him the “Earl” as his 36ft Santana racing sloop is called the Earl of Tasmania. The name has something to do with liking the rear ends of women  or “tassy” as called in Australia. Something like that. Anyway, we really liked the Earl, a single-hander making a circumnavigation around the world in 2 years! He is on a time schedule to see it all before he gets too old or his family (read girlfriend and kids) call him back home. His simple-equipped racer is bare-bones without some cruising necessities expected, like he has no water maker, no wind vane or dodger to get out of the elements. And he prefers to steer by tiller! He WILL be an “old salty dog” before his journey is over!

Another interesting couple we met the other night (sorry didn’t get their names) who had just completed rounding Cape Horn and here they are in the Marquesas!  He says he’s the only American to have completed the passage this year. Wow! Now, that’s a salty dog!

Then we have the most horrible passage story:

 Bill and Belinda on S/V Orca Suite (Pacific Puddle Jumpers) made landfall in the Marquesas after a record LONG passage of 40 days, kind of like Noah’s Ark! Their autopilot went our early on and with no back up wind-vane, they HAND-STEERED for thousands of miles! Only two on board, they had blisters on their hands and feet! Now, that’s a horrible passage! But, they are unfazed and moving on to the Tuamotus!

May 25
Morning reveals coral reefs all around us on the minus tide! Good for snorkeling and exploring the reefs.
Beautiful coral formations
f
Colorful parrot fish
The colors are more fabulous in person!


Hatihue Bay on a rainy day

May 25
Motoring three miles to Hatiheu Bay, a quaint little village known for it’s restored archaeological ceremonial site.  This is the village Mark and I hiked over to yesterday. It starts to rain on and off, the anchorage is rolly and uncomfortable, but we’ve been in worse. We choose a sandy spot in front of the village. Off to shore we go-land the dingy in the timed waves, pull it up high on the beach. It begins s to rain harder and the waves are building. We hurry up to the noted Chez Yvonne Restaurant- waitress says, “you boat too close- wind, waves, no good!” So we listen… when a local says that it must mean they know something! So, back John and I go- roll dingy down into water, waves crashing, swamp dingy, rain pouring and back out to way anchor.  We move to another spot in the bay. It’s still rolly.  We move two more times and still can’t find a suitable anchorage. Mark had stayed onshore to visit the ceremonial site, which he said was the best he’s seen in the Marquesas. Upon his return, we all decided the best anchorage would be to motor BACK to Anahoe Bay where we would have a comfortable night. So we do. By 4:30 Anchor Down! That’s four anchorings in one day! But, who's counting?

Round we go the North side of Nuku Hiva

May 26
Motoring North today to Haahopu Bay a small anchorage on the North side of Nuku HIva.  We pass the only airport on Nuku Hiva and watch as an airplane readies for take off and flies out over the water.  Cool to see from our boat. It's remote and wild, but we have a very comfortable night at anchor.
May 27
Next day, off we go to finish the circumnavigation of Nuku Hiva, round the east side and back into Taiohae Bay. Home away from home! This will be our fourth visit!
We check in with Kevin, of Yacht Services and YES! our ordered shroud will be arriving from Tahiti tomorrow. We will be repairing and provisioning. Then leaving for the Tuamotus on Wednesday. We are ready to go!

A Close Encounter!



Daniel's Bay, Nuku Hiva
May 19
Daniel’s Bay –Per has a close encounter....

We had some time to kill while waiting news about the availability of the repair shrouds ordered from Tahiti. We, Per, Sabina and Ella on s/vBreeze decide to"buddy boat" over to Daniel’s Bay again to play in the water, paddle in the waves and snorkel. Activities we can’t do in Taiohae Bay because there are sharks and the water is too murky. It will be fun to get away from the “crowds”of the busy anchorage.
The Big Wave hits and devours Per!

12:30am – Anchor down in Daniel’s Bay.  Time. We decide to go explore the tide pool reefs. The surf is really big and Sabina is trying to capture a picture of a really “BIG WAVE” when one crashes on the rocks by Per and picks him right off into the water! Down he goes into the  tumultuous water chute! -OMG! He disappears for a moment and then the wave recedes. He is trying to hold on and scramble back up the rocks! He is injured in several places and blood is dripping from the wounds where the wave drugs him across the coral. Not good. He has to get back to the boat and wash these wounds with antiseptic. Sabina has to take some pictures first! Good for pictures, but not good for Per!
Per's injuries

 Later, bandaged in several places, Per, now can’t snorkel or paddle or get into the water for fear of infection. At least for a few days. He can’t do the things he came here to do! Bummer.  C'est la vie.  Ella, his 11yr old daughter gave him a “tongue lashing” for being too close to the water’s edge!

Later that night, we gathered aboard s/v Breeze for a communal potluck dinner and shared some good times, in spite of Per’s accident. Just goes to show, you never can tell what each day will bring. So close an encounter!


Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Nuku Hiva...again!

Fresh caught Yellowfin tuna being prepared for market in Taiohae Bay, Nuku Hiva
Everyday the fishermen come in with their catch and clean the fish right at the docks. All the guts and left over body parts are thrown into the waiting swarm of sharks circling below! It's a daily sight and quite scarey looking!  It's a curious tourist attraction. All the cruisers park their dingies here, too.  I just hope no one falls in by accident!

.
Inter-island outrigger race- red boat Ua Poa wins!

There was an inter-island outrigger race on Saturday. The teams with and support boats flew by us in the anchorage. Was pretty cool!

May 17
My Birthday!  I thought for sure we would be in the Tuamotus for my Birthday  and I would be deciding on which black pearl to buy. Oh well, we are still in the Marquesas, waiting…for the shroud repairs. 

Can’t decide if I should have a  real Marquesan tattoo for my birthday?? John and I walk to the tattoo artist just to look at the designs…I pick out a beautiful flower design…but, still undecided. Then we walk later to the Pearl Lodge, an exlcusive resort high on the hill overlooking the bay. We enjoy drinks and ice cream with friends while swimming in the pool overlooking the bay. There I fall in love with a beautiful black pearl necklace!.. now, what a choice..black pearl or tattoo??! 
Breeze invites us over for cocktails and dinner to celebrate my birthday. Fun. Everyone says “get the tattoo”! I "stew" overnight about it.

My birthday present, a beautiful black pearl necklace!

May 18 
Next morning  my “birthday Window” is closing fast and my choice is made…it’s Yes for the black pearl, No for the tattoo…at least for the moment!




Ua Pou 2

Anchored in Baie de Vaiehu
Leaving the anchorage at Hakahetau to explore another part of Ua Pou island has us anchored in a wilderness spot of large swells and surf pounding on the rocks. The above picture doesn't show the swells rolling in! We anchored in the deepest water yet for Wizard...47ft...so scope out was over 200+. This was a stop over place as the winds weren't favorable. We stayed here overnight. S/V Breeze followed us.  But in the morning we all decided to "get outta here!" It squalled overnight, but in the morning, the rainbow was a beautiful sight!
S/v Breeze
We decide to sail back south to Hakahetau Bay where it seemed a calmer anchorage.


May 15

Moving to Hakhau Bay. Small, lush green valley with quaint village at the base of the picturesque volcanic spirals reaching up through the clouds.  We meet friendly people and watch kids playing tag in the one street. We ask for ice cream and are directed to the snack shack Chez Ti’Pierro with friendly Pierre who aggress to prepare us a lobster dinner on short notice. We come back later to a fabulous whole lobster dinner presented cracked open on the plate, exposing the guts and roe, barely cooked in garlic butter. I didn’t say a word! I just ate it slowly and enjoyed the ambience and friends. I know this is the way the islanders eat lobster, but I just about croaked! It was too raw for me! It was served with fried bread fruit( tastes like French fries) vinaigrette green beans and cream sauce completed the meal. Our friends tried the smoked marlin dish and we all agreed this was the best!



May 16
Decide to sail back to Nuku Hiva, a 25-mile day trip back to Taiohae Bay. We are waiting for a Weather window to sail to the Tuamotus. Too big swells and high winds have been reported by other cruisers on route. Maybe 2 to 3 days when the winds back off.
 Oh, but we notice a problem.  There are broken wire strands on our two lower shrouds. There is failure here. We will need to go back to Trailhead Bay to see if Kevin at Yacht Services can order new wire shrouds from Tahiti in a reasonable amount of time. Price? It really doesn’t matter. This is a needed mast support repair.



S/V Sindbad is an interesting steel schooner
s
Hakahetau

Back to Nuku Hiva and our favorite anchorage, Taiohae Bay! The swells continued even in this well proctected bay,with high surge making the dingy landing difficult. The surge was at least 6ft up and down at the dock. Two dingies were punctured when trapped under the landing ladder! Another fellow cruiser, in a separate event, while towing another dingy ran into an outboard prop and popped his dink!
He will have the sorry task of trying to patch it! We helped ferry his outboard and gear back to his boat.
Wizard under sail back to Nuku Hiva

Safe and sound in our favorite bay while we rest up for new adventures! 

AAhh...Nuku Hiva...again.


Saturday, May 18, 2013

Ua Pou (Wapoo) Marquesas


Ua Pou 
May 12, 2013
Left Nuku Hiva today for a beam reach sail to Hakahau Bay, Ua Pou and the last island we will visit in the Marquesas.  This rugged island has about 2000 residents and is the capital village, Hakahau. We are anchored behind a break wall that if it wasn't here would be an unprotected anchorage. As it is, we have a stern anchor out to keep us from rolling in the swells.
We arrive on Sunday to the squeals of children all out swimming and jumping off the break wall. The happy noise is a treat to hear. The volcanic spirals unique to this island, Ua Pou and depicted on the 500 franc currency juts straight up out of the valley. It's an awesome sight!
Children playing on break wall.
Other boats in anchorage; Breeze, Seqwun and Sea Whisper. We explore the town and plan a hike next day over the mountains to the other side of island to Haakuti Bay, a remote beach known for the "petite fleur" rock that is only found here and that the island carvers use for their unique pieces.
This 14 mile round trip hike seemed like a good idea when we first started up the hill... and soon it became obvious we would have to "thumb a ride" if we were to make it all in one day! Luckily, there are many pickup trucks going by and soon one stopped for our gang of seven and over the hill we went!
Beautifully carved signs tell us where to go.

Haakuti beach is remote and rough. We are careful beach combing as the waves crash on shore. We are looking the "flower rock"and Ella finds one!
Ella finds a "petite fleur" rock!


Beach combing on Haakuti Beach

Snack time. 


Beach Tiki

We spend a few hours rock hunting, then hike back up to the village where we meet a local parent who invites us to a school lecture in progress at the ancient ceremonial site called a "tohua". A Marquesan historian is telling stories of old to the students when we arrive. When he finishes in French, he graciously answers our questions in English. The the three lanquages taught in the Polynesian schools are French, English and Marquesan.
This village is named for Valley of the Kings and the beach has a name meaning "broken canoe" because so  many canoes didn't make it? 
Listening to lecture at ancient ceremonial plaza, a tohua.
Tohua still used for tribal ceremonial meetings
We learn that this plaza is still used for tribal gatherings every four years. All the Polynesian islands as far away as Hawaii send representatives to meet, discuss share and dance. Pretty cool.
What do you think?  This Tiki has got it all!
Any comparison?? 

Koika Tapatapa

Tikis at the Tohua


We get a ride back to Hakahau from the same generous people who gave us the ride in. They make this  trip each day to take their kids to school back and forth daily. Wow. We are grateful for the ride.
Hahahu anchorage
Tahina and boyfriend( sorry didn't get his name). She was our hostess at the Snack Shack
One night we found ourselves wandering around for a place to eat and nothing was open. ( it's so much more fun to eat off the  boat!) Another friendly person stopped and drove us all to a "snack shack" on the side of the road. It was a "mom & pop" business serving only three things; chow mein, poisson cru (raw fish) and steak and frites. Perfect.  Our hostess, Tahina, spoke good English and while our food was prepared, told us all about her island. So informal and fun. I invited her to be our guest at our house if she ever gets to California. Our orders ready to go and back to the boat for dinner! 


The invisible man visits Wizard!
The next day we sailed north to another remote part of the island, Bay Vaiehu. This looks like a really rolly anchorage and wild! Let you know more, later.

Sunset in Vaiehu Bay, Ua Poa








Saturday, May 11, 2013

Daniel's Bay, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas

Daniel's Bay and Hakaui Baie
We've just spent a week anchored in Daniel's Bay only 1.5 miles northeast of Taiohoe Bay. This remote anchorage is calm, protected, but mostly green water. The snorkeling is not so good, but there are other things to do; like the hike to the waterfall through fruit gardens, past ancient artifacts, dinner with the locals and paddle surfing! There are many other boats here. S/V Breeze missed our company so much (ha ha!) they moved over, too. We have made some new international friends:
s/v Kahiba, Austrian couple, Eva and Gunter
s/v JacaRanda, British couple, Sally and Mike
s/v Breeze, Swedish couple, Per, Sabina and Ella
s/v Honu, Hawaiian couple, Suzanne and Craig

We also shared the anchorage with the large motor yacht, m/v SuRi, a chartered luxury boat complete with helicopter, classic criss craft, 2 ski dos and huge water slide from the top deck to water!
M/V SuRi luxury yacht from Santa Monica, Calif

Local family prepare a goat in coconut milk dinner for us cruisers.

Cracking coconuts


John husks a coconut under Teiki's supervision.
We were invited to a local foods dinner prepared by a Marquesan family. Our hosts are Kua and Teiki who are the fruit agriculturists for the area. They export papayas, mangoes, bananas, limes and pamplemousse(? the large grapefruit) to Nuku Hiva and beyond to Tahiti on the freighter. Such a simple farm yet very productive! We were offered to purchase beautiful fruit at reduced rates.

Our dinner hosts, Kua, Teiki,  son Matao and mother. Teiki performed a Marquesan pig hunting dance. He had the traditional face tatoo depicting his chosen personality; hunting, fishing and religion.

Our dinner was wild goat( as hunted from the surrounding hills) cooked in coconut milk and onions, fried bananas, steamed breadfruit( bland like potatoes), fruit salad and mango juice. About 10 of us cruisers paid 1,000 francs( $10.00) for this glimpse into native life. Teiki showed us how to husk a coconut and danced an ancient pig hunter's dance. They were very welcoming and eager to share their world.
Pamplemousse anyone?

We hike to the water fall the next day. There is no water falling, but the hike is spectacular through the  valley with the sickening sweet smell of rotting fruit everywhere and very humid. The swim at the pool was a great prize at the end!

Hike to the waterfall

Swim at the waterfall pools


Sabina, Ella and Mark
Mark and his new tatoo!

The emerald green setting at the waterfall pools.