Mark’s Birthday Weekend in Huahine (and the Days after)

Last weekend started with too much tequila on Friday night, after Mark and I shared our last bottle with Scott and Melissa on SV Kaimana. Good times were had, leading to a few false starts – always ending back in bed - on Saturday. After a hearty lunch at 1pm, we felt ready to leave Fare and head back to peaceful Avea Bay on the SW side of Huahine for Mark’s birthday. The hope to sail there was abandoned after an hour of little progress, “shaking down” our sails and equipment, to make sure everything worked well, before our upcoming longish trip back to Tahiti. When we arrived in Avea, it was a nice surprise to find our friends Marie and JP on MV Domino in the bay. Having company on one’s birthday is always a bonus.

We anchored Irie on the shallow 6ft sand back again, this time letting heaps of anchor chain out so we wouldn’t get in “trouble” when the wind and the current played tricky games with the boat. Just as our friends came by to say hello, we saw a big dark spot moving astern: manta rays! It didn’t take long for Marie, JP and me (after quickly putting the boat in order after our arrival) to jump in the water with our snorkel gear and spot two or three of the gentle giants feeding along the drop off. Mark had some Wirie work to do, since it was already 3:30pm and we had been “useless” earlier in the day.

The following morning, on March 1^st, I wished my husband a happy 44^th birthday and made French toast with coconut bread. A yummy treat, but we had to refrain ourselves, since a massive Polynesian lunch was planned ashore. Around 11am, we joined Marie and JP at restaurant Chez Tara, with a whole bunch of other tourists and locals. Their special Sunday lunch was revealed, when all the food – that had cooked for hours in an umu (underground “dirt oven”) – surfaced in a big metal cage. As dish after dish was uncovered, tourists stood by and took photos. Everything was transferred to a buffet table, where it was served to all people present.

Our plates loaded up with traditional Polynesian food, like tender pork, pork with spinach, smoked veal, fish, taro, breadfruit, purple bananas, poisson cru, mushy bread, clams, and many other non-pronounceable or non-translatable dishes, we returned to our tables to enjoy the “heavy” feast. Our bellies were too full to indulge in the four different kinds (and colors) of the traditional po’e po’e dessert (a sweet, pudding-like dish made with bananas, papaya, or mangoes cooked with taro and coconut cream). Two ukulele players provided musical ambiance and we had a very pleasant time and experience, topped off by a wonderful gift from Marie, who had made a beautiful nautical quilt for Mark. Exhausted from the heat, bountiful food and sleepless nights, we took it easy the rest of the day – a lazy Sunday afternoon with no internet!

Monday started quite differently. As soon as the sun was up, I hauled Mark up the mast to fix a small issue with the flag halyard. Then, we both jumped into the shallow, clear water to clean Irie’s bottom. Keeping ourselves afloat next to the boat proved to an exhausting affair, with the wind and current sending Irie all over the place! After this two hour long exercise and some work online, we decided to head back to Fare, close to the pass, in case we would leave for Tahiti the very same day. The motor trip along the coast was quite brutal with a massive squall, choppy lagoon and buckets of rain. 

Drenched to the bone, we picked up a mooring ball off the beach and took a breather.

We checked the weather again and our gut feeling was confirmed. That night would be the best time to sail back southeast to Tahiti. The wind forecast was NNE at 10 knots, perfect for a close reach to our destination. But… Wind Guru predicted a lot of rain and the sky over the ocean was dark grey. Realizing that the distance was further than we thought, Mark and I turned to action again, preparing the boat for an overnight passage to Tahiti. By 4pm, Irie was ready and so were we. A pod of dolphins waved us off through the pass, and once in the ocean, we were treated to a giant spectacle of tunas flying through the air, chasing their prey, and diving boobies making a ruckus above the waves. Then, a massive squall hit…

Winds up to 40 knots from behind sent us screaming forward at sometimes 10 knots. Steering became challenging and the driving rain reduced all visibility. Luckily, these wind conditions didn’t last too long, but the rain kept pouring down for hours (Mark considered wearing his snorkel mask) – and we had 105 miles or about 25 hours to go! The wind died – and was fluky because of the all-encompassing squalls - and the rain diminished, but never completely disappeared during the night. We had to motor most of the time, with a three hour sailing period around midnight, while Mark and I took turns at the helm. One massive wave swamped the cockpit, the captain and the hardy basil plants…

On Tuesday morning, the wind shifted to what was predicted and a quick and pleasant three hour sail concluded our last Irie journey to Tahiti. Initially planning to go to the Arue Yacht Club – our preferred option – this angle was impossible to sail, so we diverted to the Marina Taina anchorage, where we settled – far enough away from all neighbors, in deep water – around 11 am. With the funky winds, constant waves from ocean swell and boat traffic, the incessant heat, and suffocating smoke from burning garbage, busy Tahiti is a necessary evil for the sailor needing services in regards to health, shopping and boat maintenance. Welcome to paradise! Let’s hope we don’t have to stay long after Mark’s check-up on March 9^th.

Impressive sunset over Raiatea, seen from Irie in Avea Bay

And the view of the bay and Raiatea during the day - Huahine is pretty!

Traditional Polynesian food straight out of the umu

The umu, or underground oven, takes a couple of hours to prepare and is covered with banana leaves and dirt. Then, the food cooks for 4-5 hours.

"Birthday" friends: Marie, Mark, Liesbet and JP

Marie explains the patterns she made on Mark's beautiful quilt

Polynesian buffet at Chez Tara in Avea Bay

Ukulele players provide local music

Cheers, Mark!

Lunch is served...

... and devoured as firsts and seconds!

The women are given leis - the fragrant smell of the tiare flowers is pungent

Going back home to our boat

Leste, the Belgian beer home-brewed by Wim and his friends, was saved for Mark's special day

Manta ray ...

... turning ...

... around!

Mesmerizing Maupiti (Part 2)

The longer Mark and I stayed in Maupiti, the more this little atoll in the Society Islands captured our hearts. We can’t quite point a finger at what it is that enchanted us so much, but it just did. Being there felt “right”; the vibe of the island and the people, the quiet way of life, the remoteness and lack of visitors and French cruisers, the availability of underutilized and working internet, the abundance of local tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and eggplants, the space, the peace, all of it. In my previous blog, I wrote about certain aspects of Maupiti, and in this one, I continue with that theme.

The motus

In Belgium we have the expression “Beautiful from afar, but far from beautiful!” which is often used in regards to describing a woman. It comes to mind when you look at most motus (low and flat barrier islands) in French Polynesia. From the boat or across the channel, you spot what you think are beautiful white sand beaches, framed by palm trees. Upon closer inspection, the color white resembles broken coral on which it is impossible to walk barefoot or sit, and the palm trees are growing in a thick underbrush or prickly vegetation. We were fooled by it in Maupiti, just like in many of the Tuamotus. Bora Bora seems to be the exception, but there the nice beaches on the motus “belong” to the high end resorts or are privately “claimed”, bearing “tabu” signs. Coral or no coral, these small islands look very pretty from afar. That being said, there sometimes are sandy stretches to be found and in Maupiti’s case, we particularly enjoyed hanging out for sundowners on motu Tiapaa’s northern sand spit with our friends Monique and Garth (SV Heartbeat). The other motu beaches required flip flops.

The snorkeling

On a sunny day, our friends joined us to brave the strong outgoing current near the pass and see what the underwater world had to offer. We swam on both sides of the channel and crossed it twice, finding the eastern side more interesting, because of the bigger fish population. Most of the coral was dead, but there was enough to see to keep us busy and in shape for a few hours. In the lagoon, I took some short snorkeling excursions, but unfortunately, the water was very cloudy and the visibility poor. When swimming from the boat towards shallower water, I would basically run into the sand bank before realizing I was on top of it. Once, a big fish startled me, while I scared him; neither of us had noticed that we were only two feet apart!

A few times, we set out in the dinghy to try and find the manta rays, said to frequent the lagoon, but we were never quite sure where to look and the water was too cloudy to spot them from the dinghy. On the last day of our stay, our local friend John called us and shared the location of their usual hangout. At the same time, I saw a little tourist boat hovering in that area, so we buzzed over to one of the white floats, donned our snorkel gear and jumped in. Soon, we were floating above three of these giant, gentle creatures, and enjoyed observing them in their natural habitat. It reminded us of the unique experience we had with mantas last year in Tahuata.

The people

It seems the smaller the communities, the friendlier the people. While the Marquesas still rank number 1 with a big margin, the people in Maupiti (1200) score high compared to many other Society Islands. Like in the Gambier Islands, locals greet each other and send friendly waves from cars and boats. After a week of staying near the village, our faces became recognizable and the “Ia Orana” greetings sounded more genuine. One day, I went ashore with two empty jerry cans and a small bag of garbage. A fit-looking man awaited me and suggested to take the rubbish. I preferred to toss it myself, to make sure the recyclables went in the right bin. So, he took the 6 gallon jerry cans, helped me fill them with potable water and carried them back to the dinghy for me - a very nice and welcome gesture in the heat of the day. When the produce lady found out I was looking for a frozen chicken and some juice, and had not been able to locate any, she ordered her husband to drive me around to all the different stores, until we discovered that all the chicken on the island had sold out. It would be another week before the monthly cargo ship from Tahiti would pull into Vai’ea. Then, the nice man drove me to relatives to pick up a breadfruit, so we’d have something substantial to eat, since potatoes had been unavailable for weeks, if not months. Another day, we were ready to leave motu Tiapaa by dinghy, when the long haired Polynesian man who lives on the beach called us over and gave us two green coconuts and a bunch of bananas! Yes, the people are friendly here.

One of the highlights during our stay in Maupiti, was meeting the American Johnny Coconut. In 1989 he had read an article about Maupiti (probably one of the first ones ever written about this atoll) in the sailing magazine Cruising World. He was so enthralled by what he read about this remote and then undeveloped South Pacific island, that he decided to move here part time. We became friends and he invited us over for a delicious lunch at his house one afternoon. He also told us about Maud and Louis, an interesting French-Tahitian couple, who we visited and later joined for lunch as well. Maud and Louis have been living on Maupiti, on motu Pitihahei to be precise, since 1996. They built an amazing house – round, open and airy - out of natural materials, with a coral floor. The interior design is very creative, authentic, and practical. Their “million dollar view” looks out over the pass and the reefs, with Bora Bora and Raiatea in the distance on a clear day. We had a wonderful afternoon with them.

Although Maupiti had us in its grip, the cyclone season is upon us (there is no hiding and being safe in this lagoon if a named storm hits) and Mark and I needed to get back to civilization. So, sadly, we said our goodbyes to new made friends and to a place that will evoke fond memories.

Windward side of motu Tuanai

Irie and Heartbeat at anchor near the southern motus

Picture window, looking out to the pass, in Maud and Louis' house

View from the balcony of Maud and Louis' house on the point

Upstairs

Part of the kitchen downstairs

Louis in his living room

Coral along the channel near the pass

View from motu Pitihahei

Motu Tiapaa

Delicious and extensive lunch at John's place

Nanu, John, Mark and Jennifer in John's yard

Full moon over Maupiti

Maud and Louis' extraordinary house

One of the new residents of the house

Louis cooked a wonderful lunch in an amazing setting

One of the guest bedrooms in a separate fare (house/hut): the bed rests on a va'a. Creativity galore on this property!

Even the "vacuum cleaner" is part of nature!

Friendly company on motu Tiapaa

Sundowners with Monique and Garth on motu Tiapaa's sand spit

Monique playing with her "poi" at sunset

Monique putting on a show for us!

Getting ready to snorkel Maupiti's pass

Some kind of sea snake

Blackspotted sole (kind of flounder)

Particular butterflyfish

Two manta rays underneath us in the lagoon

And the third one - this one is huge!