Anaho, Nuku Hiva, Marquises, French Polynesia 26 Dec 2011 08S49 140W03

Christmas snuck up on us sometime during the day yesterday, then vanished as quietly as it came. We’d declared a few months back, that Christmas was being replaced by a second Thanksgiving, and that any commercial Christmas was on hold, until we arrived in a more commercial country (Hawaii maybe in April “Julen varer lige til Paaske” the Danes say – Christmas lasts till Easter – there’s no rush). So Christmas eve, when we usually celebrate in our family, was a quiet soup night, preparing our bellies for the thanksgiving feast yesterday. And ohh what a feast! Maybe to make up for skipping Christmas, Frank went all out.

We’re tucked behind a protective point in Anaho Bay, the calmest anchorage in the Marquises. It’s the bay where we’d rendezvoused with all the kid boats last year. We’re surrounded by white sandy beaches, lined with coconut trees, and backed by the ever present basalt cliffs. On one side, the cliffs look distinctly like flying buttresses on a late renaissance stone cathedral (late enough that the buttresses have nearly been thinned to a filigree of stone – the bare minimum to keep the ridge behind upright). It’s a dramatic place and the only access is by boat, foot or horse. Leo and I woke up early yesterday and tackled the steep switchback trail for an hour and a half hike to the small village on the other side. There we joined in the local Christmas Mass. It was a small gathering, most of the villagers were over in the main town, for the big mass at their big cathedral. Still the singing was wonderful, a rendition of “Gloria in excelius deo” backed by polynesian drumming, and island harmonies brought tears to my eyes. On the hike home, we foraged for limes, mangoes and tamarind. Thanksgiving scents wafted across the anchorage to greet us in the dinghy on our way back to the boat. Logan was testing a new version of Leo’s mom’s marquiesian lime pie, Frank was making Kumara fries(sweet potatoes). He was then inspired by our booty, and turned the frozen duck into “Cannard a la sauce tammarind et mangues” I don’t think there’s a duck on this planet that ever tasted so good, maybe it was the hike, maybe the tropical ingredients, or maybe just Frank’s talent for improvisation – but the flavors were otherworldy. We’d invited two American gals on a neighboring boat over to join us, and their contribution to the feast was a an artful and tasty salad with radishes and sunflower seeds, some extra spicy deviled eggs and a delicious peach crumble. We ate and talked the afternoon away. So I learned some new tricks (wasabe in deviled eggs is delicious), made some new friends (so neat to see a pair of young enthusiastic surfer/sailor women, seeking all the best this ocean/this life has to offer), and I had a lot to be thankful for – not the least of which was getting two Thanksgivings in one year! I can highly recommend it to anyone tired of the annual Juletide stress.

Of course that all means, I did not get around to sending Christmas cards…and here it is boxing day before I write to wish you Happy Holidays, I’m thankful you’re still reading my messages, and keeping in touch despite the ever widening gap in time, connectivity and distance (well distance may be narrowing some in the year ahead).

xoxomo

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Baie d’Haane, Ua Huka, Marquises, French Polynesia 3 Dec 2011 08S55 139W32

I think I left you at Thanksgiving. We were in Fatu Hiva. My computer had died (that wound has not totally healed, but I’m working on it). After we sailed to Tahuata where we spent a little under a week, Frank caught a cold somehow (tis the season even here). So it was a lay low week, with few excursions and lots of school. Then yesterday we’d planned a quick two-hour sail to the north side of Hiva Oa, but the east winds had shifted slightly north of east, turning our desired anchorage into a windy rolly lee shore. A little disappointed, we sheeted in the sails and turned north for a full day sail to Ua Huka. We attempted the same trip last year, and on arriving were forced on to Nuku Hiva by a healthy swell and winds (just south of east). We were thinking the same thing may have been in store for us yesterday, but the slightly north bent to the wind was enough to make this anchorage more comfortable this year. We arrived just after sunset – enough light to see for anchoring, but otherwise only the silhouette of a very intimidating looking coast was visible.

It is a dry rocky dramatic coast. At the mouth of the bay where we’re anchored now, there is a huge rock – Logan says it’s an island since there is a little vegetation on it’s tippy top. He also declared that it looks like the California Channel Islands here, a mix of Ana Capa, Santa Barbara Island and San Miguel. I have to agree there’s a bit of California in this view. That one big rock at the bay entrance reminds me of Morro Rock, only it’s not connected by a causeway to land. But here, just behind the ominous looking California-like coast, there lies a stereotypical volcanic rimmed tropical paradise with a giant, lush, verdant, swooping, palm-tree-filled valley. On approaching yesterday, you could almost see a line between the tropical island landscape behind – where the peaks in the middle of the island wring the water out of the clouds – and the rocky fingers of hostile coast in front which are left parched. They are some tall peaks, so they must do some serious wringing. The cliffs at the edge are home to millions of seabirds; the rats must be content with the coconuts in the valley behind, leaving the perilous cliff nests alone. After all, what good is a fresh egg if you can’t wash it down right away with some coconut milk. So the seabirds flourish here like nowhere I’ve seen since leaving New Zealand’s Chatham Islands.

We’re hoping for a quick shore trip today, but the landing looks rough, and the weather report is now predicting that the fickle wind will shift to just south of east and pick up a bit tonight. Such a shift (and increase) could be unpleasant at midnight, so we may just haul anchor and head over to Nuku Hiva at noon. We’ll be in the Marqueses for awhile, and it’s a short sail back here. So with a better forecast for longer northeast winds we could spend a little time here. Also, we have a dear friend arriving in Nuku Hiva on December 8. It’s our first visit from a stateside friend onboard, and a first visit from my side of the aisle (the U.S. side), since New Zealand (when my mom came in January, and my dad and Betty in February), so I’m pretty excited. We’re nearly there Leo! And my goodness, we’re nearly at the end of year-two! I’m not quite sure when that happened (I guess sometime after year-one).

xoxomo

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