We motored another two miles up the coast of Tahuata to the next bay. It's called Hana Moe Noa, or the Long Sleep Bay, and is the first anchorage we've seen with a white sand bottom, clear water and safe swimming (absence of things higher up in the food chain). The beach is clean white sand, backed by palm trees, so it truly does look tropical. The Marquesas are high volcanic islands, like Hawaii, albeit at a smaller scale (the largest island is the size of Molokai). Unlike Hawaii, and probably because they are younger, there is little coastal plain and very little coral. The mountains plunge right into the ocean-the only arable, livable land is in the valleys and even those are often steep sided. Most bays have stony beaches mixed with dark sand. Since there is no reef, sharks are often found close to shore-we've seen a couple from the boat. It's a big incentive to stay on the boat. However this bay is lovely and swimmable, so Surprise has a clean bottom. We have a "hooka" diving rig on Surprise that allows us to get 60' below the boat with a hose and compressor at the cost of some of our battery power. Makes what can be a long and ugly job pretty easy. Jonathan Livingston, aka "Bird," told us this little bay was special, and he is right; but it is no longer a secret, as there were 10 boats sharing it with us last night. Admittedly, it is prime season for cruisers here, but they are fast running out of capacity for more boats and there is no interest/plan/program or hope for making it more efficient. Fresh food is a constant hunt in these waters; first of all, a lot of the fruit is unknown to the western world, and second, you can't find it in the stores-you have to talk to the locals and usually trade for it. For two old tee shirts Susan got about 50 bananas, pamplemousse, oranges (they are green in color, not orange as in Sunkist), limes (called lemons), mangos, and something neither of us can identify. Vegetables are largely unavailable. There was a vegetable truck in Atuona, and some in the markets there, but none on the outer islands we've been to so far. You would think growing them would be easy in this climate, but it is not part of the culture. We are still working on long beans bought more than 10 days ago, thanks to the Evert-fresh bags. Those who know the Captain are aware of his fondness for potato chips neatly stacked in a can (Pringles). The Admiral made sure we wouldn't run out before Social Security kicks in, so we have cases of Pringles. As it turns outs, so does every store in the Marquesas. The snack/junk food section can be as much as 25% of the typical store, with flavors of Pringles that are unheard of in the western world. You can't find a carrot, but 20 varieties of Pringles they have. Welcome to the global economy.