From Marquesas

Hello from Nuku Hiva, which is the last island we'll visit in the Marquesas. After we left Fatu Hiva, we stopped at two anchorages in Tahuata, both of which were little Marquesan towns. The first was Hapatoni, which had a 1km long ancient elevated path that ran along the waterfront which was the attraction. It also had a beautiful Catholic church set on the hillside with the usual elaborate wood carved doors, pulpit and religious sculptures. The ladies decorate the church with beautiful tropical flower arrangements that add to the charm of it all. We snorkeled in the anchorage to find that we were anchored over massive boulders and generally creepy anchoring conditions so we left the next day and rejoined Slick at another anchorage called Resolution Bay. There wasn't anything striking about the town, except for another pretty church so we cut our walk short and all went snorkeling instead. It was actually pretty good. We saw a massive moray, an octopus & loads of fish. Then we got together for dinner and had our yellowfin for sashimi & Tim's mahi grilled for the main course. The following day we left for Ua Pou.

The island of Ua Pou is another pretty island with striking geological formations including spires & we thought it may have some produce & bread too. Right off the bat, we didn't like the anchorage- it was swelly, loaded with cruising boats and the water was murky. We had to set a stern anchor for the swell but then the see-sawing motion was terrible and we actually snapped our bow snubber line because of it. Good luck finding line for another one! We took a hike the following day trying to find another nice trail that would lead up into the spires but it just didn't work- we got up high but never to the good stuff. Then for whatever reason, there were no baguettes either and definitely no produce. So we packed up and headed to Nuku Hiva the following day. We were able to fill up with water from a spigot at the quay and since it was the weekend, all the local kids were hanging out there so we had plenty of company. We are the show. They laugh & joke and try to say what English words they know, they hang on to the dinghy, feel the plastic water jugs since they've never seen anything like them and are genuinely curious about the boaters. I often think about what it must be like to live on a quiet island out in the middle of nowhere and then have this seasonal influx of sailboats each year with all these strangers walking around looking dazed, trying to buy up whatever they can. Due to the weather patterns, it is mainly this time of year that the boats come through and then they have their quiet island back, along with their baguettes. It is a source of income though and we're always surprised that there aren't more entrepreneurs offering services or products that we'd surely buy up like produce, boat gear, etc.

We've definitely noticed that the law of supply & demand from Economics 101 doesn't apply here. There will never be enough bread no matter how big the demand is since they will only make the usual handful of loaves. If you're not there by at times 8am to get your baguette, you will not get one at all! And tomorrow, I have the alarm already set for 4am since that is when the produce market is and if you get there at 6am, you will not get much of any produce either! None of us have figured out the reasoning behind any of this, it just is what it is. We will head in under flashlight since it is of course, still nighttime until around 5:30.

Nuku Hiva is a high, beautiful island. Taiohae Bay, where we're anchored off the main town, is actually a giant caldera which makes for fantastic scenery. Two days ago, we rented a car for the day with Tim & Nathan. It was like déjà vu because we were given another 4x4 Jimny. There is a road that circles the island however, the towns and civilization are on the east & southern sides; the north & west side is the desert side and also deserted! But the "road" does continue and we did make it around by 7:30 that evening. At times I wondered if we were going to make it over some of the ruts & streams but we did. At one point where there was a fork in the road, there was this little wooden sign with an airplane carved on it & an arrow. I don't who would be out there that would be heading to an airport but I guess it was put there for a reason! Over the course of the day, we saw lovely views, many more archaeological sites, cute towns with perfect landscaping, and then on the desert side, great open vistas as if we were on a different island & we had it all to ourselves. Earlier in the day, we spent some time searching out a waterfall trail but never found it. One thing we've noticed is that there are very few signs. You never know what store you're in because there's usually no sign. Road signs & trailheads are rarely marked, and we find ourselves making several attempts to find something we're looking for. Our French is pathetically bad so we fumble along making big hand gestures to try & communicate. Occasionally we'll meet someone who does speak a little English and it is so refreshing. The archaeological sites were interesting, for me not because of the history of cannibalism which I choose to not dwell on, but for the old trees and the peacefulness of it all.

When we got to the very cute, colorful town of Hatiheu Bay, we ate our baguette sandwiches along the water & then hiked over to Anaho Bay since there's no road to it. It climbs over a summit and then down to the bay but we stopped at the summit and instead climbed up to a pinnacle by bushwhacking along a steep cliff. We'd been wanting to do this but hadn't found a way yet and even though Tim wasn't feeling good all day since he had a cold, he came to life when we climbed up the pinnacle- it was a rush to get that high. Along the way back, we collected mangos on the trail and then later, a few hundred limes!

It was after dark when the road climbed up to 4,000 feet literally into the clouds with horses & cows lying in the road, pine trees everywhere and cool, pine scented air that made me homesick. We even saw two horses mating by the light of our headlights- a first for me! We wished we still had daylight to see this landscape but it gets dark at 6pm here. We had an incredible day and it was so nice to have the car to really see the island. Since we're anxious to get to the Tuomotos, we don't plan to head to many other anchorages on this island but since we visited most by car now, it feels like we've gotten a really good feel for what Nuku Hiva is like.

Yesterday & today we've dedicated to boat projects and getting ourselves organized to leave. It takes hours to get fuel, get provisions, do internet, fix broken stuff and battle out the ongoing saga of the autopilot. We're now back at square one- we need to buy another pump since the second Octopus pump we have from Comnav just isn't working and both companies have washed their hands of it. Two pumps, 3 sets of brushes and no inkling of what is causing excessive brush wear when the windvane and our hand steering can easily handle the helm. It makes no sense but we need to pull out our wallet once again and buy either another brand of pump, another new ram or something. Jon is at his wits end with this.

I'll probably think of more to say but will get this posted so there's something for you to read.