Friday, June 15, 2018

The Marquesas – French Polynesia

Hiva Oa, Tahuata, Fata Hiva, Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou…. just the idea of the Marquesas as a sailing destination was so foreign and incomprehensible when we first plastered our living room walls with charts of the South Pacific five years ago. 3,000 miles and 22 days sailing from San Diego gave us time to read chart books, our trusty Lonely Planet guide book, and Soggy Paws internet compendium (http://www.svsoggypaws.com/).  Travel, especially by car, boat, or hiking, involves navigation and cements the details of a place in one’s mind. As we carefully planned our anchorages, provisioning stops, and sightseeing, the wind and weather, as well as advice from other sailors, kept our itinerary fluid. Sighting the cloud shrouded volcanic peaks of Hiva Oa for the first time suddenly made the Marquesas a real place for us.
 

In Hiva Oa Anchorage...Manna is the 2nd boat from the right


We visited nearly all of the islands in four weeks, sailing to the southern group first, checking in at Hiva Oa. We arrived late on a Saturday afternoon, with enough daylight to safely anchor. We saw a boat, Dazzler, from California, who was part of the SSB radio net that we checked in on nightly during our passage. It’s such fun to meet the crews of boats after hearing their voices on the radio. Dan informed us that a Danish boat was just preparing to leave the anchorage, so we waited and had a great easy spot to drop our hook. Dan and Jilly motored over in their dingy with cold beers to officially welcome us to Hiva Oa. The warmth, camaraderie, and helpfulness of fellow cruisers is one of the most enjoyable parts of cruising life. We reminisce with other sailors about how often we did not even meet our neighbors on land, yet sailing lends itself so easily to getting to know other people quickly. The hospitality is amazing. We find ourselves having time to chat with our boat neighbors, come quickly to someone’s rescue, or invite a crew we just met to coffee or dinner.

Fellow boaters who spoke French help us connect with local carver and family
 
We were anxious to head to town on Sunday morning, Curtis craved French pastries and we wanted to go to church, especially to hear Marquesan worship music. After our first solid night’s sleep in three weeks, we woke up rested at dawn, 6 am, which was easy even for Curtis due to the time difference which is 2.5 hours behind Pacific Time. After coffee, we quite efficiently got our 95 lb dinghy off the foredeck using our halyard and spinnaker pole, which is an emerging skill for us. We lowered the outboard onto the dinghy transom, and it started up fairly easily.  We found the brand new dinghy floating dinghy dock, secured our line, and took our first steps on terra firma up the winding hill from the anchorage to town. The 2 mile walk in the sunshine, with hibiscus flowers, chickens, and even a cow tied alongside the road by it’s horns, felt wonderful.  We quickly found a grocery store open and bought our first baguette and butter. It was about 9:30 am, so we continued through town to find the church.  There were no signs, but we soon spotted a large, elegant building with slatted windows, which was the Catholic church.  Most churches in the Marquesas are Catholic, as French missionaries were more successful than their English counterparts at converting the natives to Christianity. There were two men standing outside near an empty table, away from the church near the parking area. I asked, in English, what time church started, and they looked at me like I was clueless, which I was. One replied, quite curtly and loudly, that church was completed. I asked what time it started – 8 am.  There is no second service, everyone was long gone. This was our first lesson in time here, people rise before dawn to work while it is cooler. Most shops and businesses open at 7 am, then close from 11:30 – 2:30 pm, then some reopen for a few more hours in the late afternoon. Time is languid here, much like the internet speeds.

The local Pamplemousse (grapefruit) is juicy, sweet, and delicious!
 
Hanging out with other cruisers, especially those who spoke French, became the key to unlocking the best of the Marquesas for us.  It is truly humbling to be in a place where you don’t speak the language. French writing and signs are somewhat easy to comprehend, but not being able to talk or ask questions was a new experience for us. So if you plan to visit French Polynesia, I would highly recommend learning some French before you arrive.  We met many Canadian cruisers from the Vancouver area, who had spent time in Mexico before sailing to French Polynesia.  Canadians learn French in school. I did get to practice my rusty German with some Germans and Austrians who were visiting on the Aranui cruise/cargo ship that travels from Tahiti and stops at all of the major islands in French Polynesia.  www.aranui.com.

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