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| Beach barbecue with Steven on (Tahuata) |
I could use the lack of internet as an excuse for not
updating the blog but the truth is that there is internet for a fee in many
places. In the two and a half weeks since our Pacific crossing, I have felt
very unmotivated to post anything. We have been spending our days enjoying the towering
volcanic spires, struggling with French, and savoring the flavorful fruit that
bursts from every other tree. We also met some new kid boats (Miss Behaving and
Seabbatical, who hung out with Amelie in the Galapagos) that Mark and Conrad
(and we) have enjoyed hanging with.
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| Coming into Oa Pou |
We made landfall in Fatu Hiva, which is not an official port
of entry, but we took a chance because we would have had to beat into the wind
and waves to get there from Hiva Oa (which is an official port of entry). Not
only is it a must-see island, it is a calm anchorage, unlike the rolly Hiva Oa.
We rolled the dice (as did many other boats) and unfortunately lost. Customs
showed up near the end of our visit and boarded all the boats in the anchorage.
They were very charming as they fined us for not properly checking in before
going to Fatu Hiva. The fine is $200 but we only had $70 and 15 Euros, so they
took that as payment in full (after politely searching our boat to make sure we
didn't have any more squirreled away). Some of our friends had good excuses
(real and not so real) and escaped the fine.
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| Boat kids are crazy. Hiva Oa. |
We considered ourselves lucky and were okay with spending
that much to have a calm anchorage after our weeks at sea, as well as a more
pleasant trip to Fatu Hiva. We happened to be there at the right time for the
monthly traditional dance show. In addition to the unplanned expenditure to
customs, we had a line and almost-new pair of Chaco sandals (Matt's) taken from
the dinghy in Fatu Hiva. On the plus side, we were able to trade some unneeded
clothing and household items for fresh fruit.
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| Mark and Meg on a wave-shaped rock. Oa Pou |
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| Pregnant tiki. Hiva Oa. |
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| Puamau tikis. Hiva Oa. |
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The Smiling Tiki, the patron of fishermen. Or a minion
from Despicable Me. |
Hey you guys. Was going through my emails I came across the email with your blog link. Glad to see you're still living the good life. I'm still slaving away selling insurance. Going to the Cubs game on Friday......so that's something to be jealous of:) It's that wonderful time of the year here where it's 91 today and will be 60 on Saturday. Haven't seen Potratz in a while. Need to call him to have a drink. Glad to see you're all doing well. The boys are getting so big!!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy............I really am jealous:)