Ahh yess, my mother has been complaining about the lack of blog posts. Which means that she and you other readers have discovered that we are only blogging when there is nothing better to do! It�'s a shame, we log all our activities when there are none. So when we are doing something we don�'t feel like getting on the computer. So a few tidbts for you pathetic souls out there staring at your computer screens.... And one photo (still not great internet access, so haven't been posting photos, though a couple of galapagos photos may have made it into our galapagos galley ... check in the gallery section....much more to come when we are able...)

Fatu Hiva, the southernmost Island in the Marquesas, was amazingly beautiful�--as we�'ve already mentioned. Our second stop was the Island of Hiva Oa. A Larger Island, and also very beautiful with tall sharp peaks jutting out of the ocean�--there are no barrier reefs here. It does from very deep to nearly shear walls of moutains jutting up. Very dramatic. This picture is of our anchorage off Hanavave on Fatu Hiva.

Hiva Oa is famous for the artist Gaugin. Creep of a human being, but famous artist nonetheless. We visited a museum dedicated to his life and art, and some Marquesan history. Herman Melville also wrote a book about the area�--Typee. Its really pretty remote here. But the people are friendly and the environs are very clean�--which is a noticeable difference from some of our recent Spanish speaking environs. The fruit is fantastic. The giant grapefruit (Pamplemousse) is sweeter than most oranges I�'ve ever eaten. And the bananas and mangoes are outstanding as well. Plus the baguettes are cheap, delicious, and ubiquitous. Most other things are pretty expensive. Our laundry was expensive, about $90, but we paid with 2 bottles of rum and $30. It is well worth stocking up on rum in Panama�--it trades very well.

We are now sitting in Hanamoenoe Bay on the north west end of Tahuata. Gorgeous clear deep water. BIG manta rays. and by big I mean BIG. 12-15' and bigger wingspans. The bay is uninhabited--no lights at night. Though other parts of the island are inhabited. The beach is white sand, though many are black sand here in the marquesas. It is lined with coconut palms and lots of other fruit trees--limes, mangoes, bananas, pamplemousse.

We are here with our friends on Nakesa and Barracca, and there are two french boats in the bay too. We will snorkel a lot today!! The position you should see on the google earth map is of precisely where we are in this bay....