Vaiehu, Ua Pou, Marquisas, French Polynesia 24 Jan 2012 09S23 140W07
You’d think that after two years of practice, we’d be getting really good at pulling up anchor and moving on. But Newton’s laws do not go away just because we practice them lots. Some force is required to put a relatively still object (our hull) in motion. And it’s not just the force of diesel or wind propulsion, but a companion force of will is necessary to motivate us to leave behind one spot that has satisfied some need, for an unknown spot that may or may not satisfy any need. How long we’ve been in a place doesn’t seem to change the equation, inertia sets in the moment the anchor hits bottom and Silver Lining’s bow swings into the wind.
The external force was present and on hand to help us leave our laundry anchorage; you’d think I would have been eager to leave it quickly in our wake – two full washdays, every sheet clean, a new island beckoning on the horizon. But a rainy, gray, sloppy day greeted us on the morning we planned to depart for the island of Ua Pou. I was ready to stick with Nuku Hiva for a few more days. Why leave the convenience of our tropical Laundromat for the rolly anchorages across the channel. Leave it to love to always provide the equal and opposite reaction needed to accomplish any action – Frank’s diesel fired will, got us off and running, in full fowlies heading out to brave the sloppy seas. A few hours later, we arrived in the main town of Hakahau (Valley of the Government) Ua Pou, a rolly anchorage, with only a few spots protected behind a seawall, and those few, all taken. We tucked in as tight as we could and prepared to ride the swell for our stay there. Kennan was a little disappointed in the place at first, claiming that it looked kind of flat for a volcanic island. But when we stepped foot on land, the ever present clouds lifted a bit to display the most impressive basalt spire you could imagine and part of a bigger mountain behind. Frank likened it to King Kong’s lair.
The swell built enough a few days later to chase us around to another cove further west (a helpful external force). As we circled around the point, the spire was often covered, but as the clouds rode the air currents of the steep terrain, a half-dozen or more spires were unveiled, or maybe it was the same spire moving around, a ghost in the clouds? When we arrived at our new anchorage, Hakahetau, the clouds lifted enough to expose most of the spires at once – there were enough for King Kong’s harem. I hesitate to use superlatives to describe the sights we see, since there often seems to be something even more amazing around the corner – but our new anchorage, had to rate highest up in the beauty hierarchy.
Those spires, obelisks, mega-menhirs, beckoned. We could not resist their pull. It was not the force of gravity, but a pure and powerful magnetic force. A grueling 3-hour hike — through deep jungled valleys, across the forgotten stone remnants of ancient civilizations, past streams and waterfalls filled with squadrons of mosquitos, up razor sharp ridges, with razor sharp dead screwpine leaves (pandanus) slicing at our bare calves — brought us to the base of one of the shorter spires. Frank claimed we were only a few feet from the top – in plan/horizontally – but it was over a thousand feet straight up the sheer cliff face. The clouds lifted, the sun came out, and we picnicked with a view of all but the tip of the tallest of the spires, in their full vertical walled glory. As we walked along they surrounded us on almost all sides peaking through the foliage in some places, boldly exposing themselves in others. The trail was poorly marked, little used, and extremely steep, but we only got seriously lost once.
The trip back down another valley took the same amount of time (and energy) as the hard trip up. The descent had to be slow, careful and controlled. Despite the temptation to leap and roll, a slipping, sliding descent would have sent us flying with the circling swallows, fairy terns and tropic birds. We arrived back at the boat spent, bitten, scratched, sore, and profoundly moved. And so a body in motion tends to stay in motion, until an opposite force acts upon said body – exhaustion sent us into a deep sleep last night.
But this morning the swell built again, and we moved even further west and south to a quieter bay. It’s hot. It’s calm. School’s mostly out. Our reserves of energy are completely depleted. The spires are no longer in view. But the water is unusually clear here, and Logan wants to go snorkeling. It may be our last chance before our last visit to Taiohaie, and before we head for Hawaii. Which force of will could move us out of the cabin and into this pellucid water? A teen can be very persuasive – some forces can’t be resisted.
Maybe Newton was really a psychologist, his laws seem to apply so well to human behavior. On the one hand none of us is ready to stop cruising (again bodies in motion tend to stay in motion), and yet we can’t seem to find the motivation to leave the Marquesas (overcoming inertia requires the application of an external force).
Wishing you the best in your own struggles with Newton’s laws.
xoxomo
P.S. After snorkeling, as evening set (first time in months we’ve actually seen the sun hit the water), it happened, first time for me ever: GREEN FLASH!!! It is real! Frank says tonight was more of a green flash in the pan…quicker than what he’s seen…and Logan was expecting a full Hollywood flash, like in Pirates of the Caribbean, still screwpine them, it was awesome!