Still in Fatu Hiva, Marquesas

While the first week of our stay in Hanavave, Fatu Hiva the weather was pleasant and the days were filled with fun or interesting activities like hiking, meeting locals and watching a Marquesan church service, the second week looked very different. It rained practically all day and night, so we stayed on Irie for some maintenance and relaxation indoors. The water tank filled up, but it was impossible to do laundry. On shore the road and trails were wet and muddy, so going on walks was out of the question, and the sun came and went out of view, the western horizon absent of any sunsets. We did manage to find a friendly local on shore who let us use his internet service to figure a few things out in regards to our sat phone email problem.

The bay filled up with a few people we knew. Mark and I caught up with Ursula and Michael on SV Kril, a German couple we met many years ago in St. Martin and with whom we kept in touch via email. We also got to know Giorgio, an Italian single hander, and our Gambier companions Birgit and Christian on SV Pitufa recently arrived as well. Being surrounded by good company means social evenings with yummy meals and endless conversations. For many days, there was an invitation from as many boats to enjoy the evenings together, taking turns cooking and doing dishes. It has been over a week now since Mark and I watched an episode of an older TV series ("Six Feet Under") we are following on the laptop!

On Sunday it seemed to be a better and clearer day for an outdoor activity. Our whole group walked to the waterfall (again) for lunch. The hike was pleasant and beautiful as always and a dip in the pool under the thundering water was refreshing. Once we came out and put all our sweaty clothes back on, it started to rain. Then, it started to pour. Drenched and miserable we stared at each other and at the grey sky above. After a half hour of showering with our clothes on, we decided to head back to our boats. Luckily, we were in the tropics, so the air was relatively warm. Somewhere along the road, we found a covered bench, where we ate the varied foodstuffs we brought, while mosquitoes ate us. It was a fitting reminder that this is the wettest island in the Marquesas and probably in all of French Polynesia.

Snail Experiment

Mark and I have been in the Las Perlas islands, 40 miles southeast of Panama City, for over a week now and let me tell you, this is a much nicer, more beautiful, cleaner, quieter and flatter place to get some boat work done and make the last preparations for our big trip(s) to come. There is supposed to be an abundance of fish here, but so far we’ve only caught a bonito (small tuna) while trawling from our dinghy along the ocean’s edge. It was tasty, and provided three lunches, but we got excited about a new possibility of seafood…

One day, we talked to other cruisers in the area and they told us about the snails they found on the rocks at low tide and how tasty they were. They showed us one of the shells and with that information we set out “hunting” one day ourselves. At lowish tide, we took the dinghy to our “private” beach – and island – and walked along the recently exposed rocks. I was distracted by a whole array of funny sea creatures I’d never seen before and by the amazing scenery, which my camera couldn’t keep up with. Mark – the better focused and committed of the two of us – found plenty of snails. Dinghy bailer in hand (we did bring a knife, which was not needed to pick them up, but forgot a bucket or bag to put our catch in), he managed to fill the broken pitcher up. I also found a “pile” of shells, which looked a bit different than his ones, but added to the lot.

Back at home, we faced the question “Now what?” Some online site mentioned a four day waiting period – so the snails would “get rid of all their gooey stuff” – before cooking the animals, but who wants to wait eating the catch of the day? So, we boiled the bunch for five minutes, removed the snails from their shells and cut all the dark and yucky stuff away. What we had left was barely visible! Mark cooked up a wonderful pasta sauce, tossed the handful of snail meat in it, and we each enjoyed our seafood flavored meal, while hunting (again!) for the ten chewy white bits. Conclusion: it was a lot of work for some pasta flavoring, but it was an entertaining activity and we might do it again one day! That day, we will bring a bucket, though, and I’ll wear my glasses…

On the left: the meat for the meal; on the right: garbage

One of the creatures (cute, little slug) I spotted in a pool of water, while Mark did the hard work.

Tourist for an Afternoon

Mark and I tried to leave Prickly Bay to go to Carriacou, a few days ago. On day 1 we encountered some problems with our depth sounder and the engine, preventing us to leave.  On day 2 the wind dropped and it was impossible to sail north. We decided to leave the busy south coast of Grenada anyway and had a very slow but pleasant sail “around the corner” to the island’s west side.  For a while, we were doing 5 knots over water, feeling the movement of the boat and the rush of the waves, but our actual progress was a little over 1 knot! More than 3 knots of current against us, but we didn’t care. We were not in a hurry, we enjoyed being back on the water again (it had been almost two months since we last sailed “for real”) and we had just decided to stop at Morne Rouge, one of our favorites.

On the way to Morne Rouge Bay, we passed a pretty stretch of yellow sand called Magazine Beach. This is the location of one of Grenada’s fanciest restaurants and we actually hoped to spoil ourselves here one night, before heading west. It’s just hard to get here without your own car. Seeing the groove of palm trees, the deserted strand bordering clear water and realizing that our destination was not too far away, a plan formed for the next day… Wouldn’t it be nice to take the dinghy for a little ride and spend the afternoon in this pretty looking area?

The following morning, we caught up on some work, had lunch on Irie and … headed for the beach after packing our bag and snorkel gear. I had anticipated a half day trip; quite the expedition. I was excited at the prospect of spending an afternoon at the beach and having dinner at a renowned restaurant, two things (especially the last one) we rarely do. Yes, we do live on a boat and are often anchored in front of a nice beach, but we find the cockpit a more comfortable place to hang out. We memorized the route in our heads for the nocturnal return trip and pulled our dinghy ashore in front of the Rex Resort. The afternoon was spent in the shade of some palm trees in the company of countless (biting) insects. We read our books and snorkeled around a beautiful area of massive boulders.

Around 5:30pm we moved into The Aquarium, our restaurant of choice for a decent and unprecedented treat. I ordered a pina colada (quite a tasty change from rum & coke), but Mark stuck to beer. When dinner time arrived we moved inside and scrutinized the menu for a long while. There were so many delicious choices… Since this was a very unique occasion, we let our fantasy and budget go wild. Glass of wine and a Stag, please! After a shared appetizer of bruschetta and fresh seafood soup with homemade bread and garlic butter, we went for the glazed pork wrapped in bacon (with goat cheese, mashed potatoes and gingered carrots) and the Aquarium seafood platter containing scallops, shrimp, mahi mahi and lobster (with sides of seasoned rice and steamed vegetables). The camera stayed hidden to not interrupt this scrumptious moment. Our eyes were bigger than our mouths and reluctantly we had to admit defeat and take leftovers home. Dessert? No, thanks! We were literally exploding and out of money. A leisurely beach walk under the stars got the digestive process started and brought us back to our personal water craft home. Ah, to be(have) like a tourist!

The Aquarium Restaurant

Magazine Beach

  
Snorkeling in "the aquarium"