Recovery (Marquesas Islands)

 

5 May 2023 (The Marquesas)

Both a little ‘jetlagged’ from the trip.. tired, headache, and aching all over, we’ve spent the first day back close to land just recuperating. Our first trip ashore - via a couple of familiar boats - was a delightful success.. managing to change USD into local currency, buy some food, and trade some manky ravioli for some pomplamous (local grapefruit). Came away realising that perhaps land isn’t so bad after all. Some new Swedish friends (Lars and Susanne) brought us over a flask of boiling water water for coffee - ah… the kindness of strangers

I won’t bother with describing the scenery here - Google: Bay of Penises and you can see for yourself. Another lovely surprise visit later in the day: Philipp and Kristel , our Swiss friends /linehandlers from the Panama Canal. So so lovely to see them and to have a chat about our experiences with people who fully understand. They also had some spare gas and Kristel brought us over a curry at dinner time - can’t tell you how much happier we both are today. Was a bit overwhelmed yesterday: aching, headaches, no gas, solar arch broken, bank and PredictWind messing us around… just so frustrating - then today, with the kindness people have shown us here it warms the heart.

Starting to recover a bit now - having been here two days. Started cleaning the hull today - the hull itself is not so bad, just the white mussel things (gooseneck barnacles I’m advised) that scrape off easily, but above the water line there’s a greeny brown slick that takes a lot of scrubbing: I’ve spent 4hours on the sides so far and covered about a 1/3 of the boat - hard, but eventually satisfying work. Popped over to Philip and Kristel’s for a coffee and to borrow some Starlink internet - for me this was a little harrowing at times, they’re wonderful people, and I didn’t mind having a few wobbly moments as I caught up with the messages from back home while we were away.

Headed the short hop over to Tahuata - a pleasant genoa glide to a welcoming anchorage with some familiar boats - most notably: The Salty Gingers with whom we have now spent two wonderful sundowners sessions on board their lovely boat. Their daughter and her partner are visiting also - who were also as lovely as Julie and Graham : what a wonderful family. …and into the anchorage at the same time as us.. came Beez Neez - another couple who’d joined us for the pizza evening in Panama - they have had the most awful crossing. Mike and Cait.. Cait had a seizure mid Pacific and had to be taken by a cargo boat to hospital here while Mike carried on.. makes our little mechanical issues and a bit of doldrums sound pretty insignificant in comparison. They too joined the party on Salty Ginger and all got on like a house on fire. After a couple of days here (it’s a good spot with a palm beach behind) we headed off on the hunt for gas and food at the islands local ‘town’ - no gas, but came away with cheese and crackers. Arriving back at our ‘home’ anchorage, another new arrival is the couple on Red Seas (YouTube) on a large Leopard cat: Indioko… Brione and Ian (also pizza night attendees from Panama) they too had an experience to remember on their crossing - storms that lasted for days, ripped sails, lost steering, chafed halyards…and barely limping in on one engine at the end. They looked as shell shocked as we did a few days ago - but nice to catch up and share experiences. They had a gas bottle which we were able to buy/swap for an empty… this has been a forefront of mind concern for the last week. Again: the kindness of not quite strangers, has humbled us. It’s made our experience arriving here in French Polynesia such a better one than when we’d first arrived - both tired, exhausted in fact, and at the time..over the whole thing!

Got happily stuck for another night in the same place: The Salty Gingers arranging a floating dinghy party off the back of their boat. Really great evening - the mix of wonderful people here, cold beers, and bobbing around chatting - just wonderful. Just to finish up Tahuata.. neighbours on ‘Penny Lane’ told us they saw sharks around our floating party last night.. but didn’t tell us as ‘you looked like you were having such a lovely time!’

Farewelled Tahuata this afternoon. Having said the fondest of farewells to the Salty Gingers and Beez Neez : good people!

Goodish overnighter to Nuka Hiva - only goodish, as we had an hour of dropped wind and flapping that brought all the bad memories of the crossing from Panama come flooding back. ..the rest of the journey was great! Arrived into the main large anchorage here, rushed around hoping to check in before the gendarmerie’s predetermined siesta (11-2).. didn’t make it, but ticked a few of the outstanding boxes we have: getting rid of the rubbish, dropping the gas off to be refilled. Also missed the supermarket.. they too were siestaing with the policeman. Had a wonderful lunch of ham and cheese toasted panini - having not had bread for some weeks now, this was close to an orgasmic experience for me! Randomly bumped into Becky.. our friend who’d jumped ship recently after some unsavoury dramas which I’m yet to fully hear about - suspect Chez has a better understanding of the situation. Regardless: really nice to see her, and she was glad to see two friendly faces. Arranged for dinner tonight at the local pizza restaurant, which I’ve heard described as ‘below average’… at the moment, a below average pizza sounds pretty damn good to me! Was told by the refreshed gendarmerie through an intercom to come back tomorrow.. all good, we’ve now done the right thing (albeit a week or so late) Our gas bottle was filled when we returned to the dock (Yay! Gas!). Headed back to the boat to copy the locals example and catch up on some lost sleep from last night.

The pizza, was, as advised - below average, but the superior Tahitian beer made up for the foods shortcomings. A couple of things on the way home made me think what a strange life we now lead: getting back to the tender a fisherman is chopping up his night’s catch - among which is the biggest tuna I’ve ever seen up close - magnificent fish. Then on the tender ride across the bay in the darkness Chez’s torch lights the jumping flying fish as we speed our way home.