August 6, 2007, Monday, Day 32 Fakarava, Havaiki
Toured the Havaiki Fakarava Pearl Farm (www.havaiki.com)
Greeted by Joachim Dariel (owner and jeweler), he walked us out the pier to a thatch roof building where the pearls are harvested. There we met Matthieu, who in French would explain to us the farming techniques. Later, Joachim would make our chosen pearls into necklaces and we will have them tomorrow.
By afternoon and evening, the winds had strengthened and we were finding ourselves bumping into the walls and adjusting our stance just to stay upright. Nothing too uncomfortable, but since Encanto is usually very stable, the change in motion reminded us to not leave anything on the table that could roll. Throughout the night the winds would blow, generating lots of wind power to restore our batteries.
Crew Anya:
I have noticed that the weather pattern is as follows: it will sprinkle at night around 4 AM, so I get out and close all the windows and center hatch just in case it starts to pour as it sometimes does. Then in the morning it is cool out and a little overcast but around 9:30 AM, it clears up magically and all is back to bright blues & greens.
I worked a little on The Dress this morning before we went to Havaiki Pearl Farm for our tour. Joachim took us to the end of the little boardwalk and explained in English that Matthieu (a local Polynescian, trained in the pearl farming business) would explain it all to us - in French. So, I had to really polish up my High School French (and trust me, nobody taught you about pearls or the vocabulary going with that!) to translate it all for us but I think we all understood the process in the end.
We had to pick 3 oysters and then Matthieu would see if there was a pearl inside. If there wasn't, you got to pick another one until you'd find a pearl. Sami went first and found her a beautiful raindrop-shaped pearl inside. Matthieu was very impressed and went to get a measurement device to see what the size was. It was around 11 mm and that's when…… he dropped the pearl! Yes, he dropped it and being on a boardwalk over the sea with holes between the planks, that is never a good idea. He said 'Merde!' really loudly and apologized several times for this misfortune. He kept saying:" I always warn the tourists and now I drop it myself! I have never, ever dropped a pearl, not as long as I have worked here! I will get my snorkeling gear and go find it. I promise." We had to laugh about it, because it was kind of funny: Sami finding the jackpot and then losing it within 5 minutes. Gaby picked the next shell and she was also rewarded with a beautiful teardrop shaped pearl. Judy and John picked out the next winner and then it was my turn. I didn't want to be the only one without such a wonderful souvenir! I got some help from Sami picking 'my oyster' and was rewarded with a nearly perfect round pearl with some little dents. And the best news was, that when Matthieu was jumping in to search Sami's lost pearl, I spotted it on the verge of falling into the water. It had not fallen in the water but landed right on the wood. After we had thanked Matthieu for his explanations, we went back to Joachim who helped us decide what we could do with our pearls. We all chose a design for a necklace and Joachim promised he would have it ready tomorrow for us. What a wonderful souvenir with a great story to tell back home. How many people get to say the 'found' their own pearl amongst all oysters in the South Pacific on a Monday afternoon??? I love my life…