July 1, 2007, Sunday, Day 15
Ile Nuka Hiva, Baie de Taioa
Marquesas Islands, South Pacific

Crew Anya:
This morning I was woken by a 'phone call' for me. S/v Emelia needed my translation services this morning. We went over to Michel who lives in this bay to ask him if he could please go to the other bay to pick up our friends Daan, Christophe (two Belgians) and Rory (South Africa) so that they could join us on our hike. They are crew on s/v Gannet. Unfortunately s/v Gannet has a disabled engine motor so they couldn't join us with their vessel. Michel however was willing to pick them up and bring them
back the same night for approximately 10.000 French Polynesian Francs. He wanted me to come with him because I speak French. That way I could direct him to their boat once we were in the bay. Jennifer and I climbed in the back of a small motorboat and we were whizzed off! It only took us 20 minutes to get there and pick them up. They were eagerly waiting. I enjoyed once again their presence. They are very easy-going and are thoroughly enjoying their trip, 100%. It is great to have their lively spirits
around, they laugh, they joke, and they tell stories and even sing every now and then. What I wasn't prepared for was them mooning the group, once we got to the waterfall though! But off course I took a picture. You never know when that might come in handy….

The hike was wonderful; see Judy's entry for details. At night the kids went to Encanto and watched a movie while all the parents (and me) went to Emelia where we all enjoyed Gene's guitar music and wonderful songs. I felt so special that he chose to share his gift with us. I have this thing for music, it touches me beyond words and therefore the evening was more than perfect, drinking rum punch, listening to music while star gazing and enjoying the full moon. Mrs. & Mr. MoonShadow have a wonderful sense of humor that sent me doubled over with laughter more than once. "Aaah… how wonderful to be surrounded with all these wonderful people." I really loved what Gene wrote in our 'guest book / travel journal'; "Live slow. Laugh loud. Sing out of tune."
Here, here!!!

First Mate & Galley Chef:
On our hike, 2 hours each way, to Vaipo Waterfall we crossed at least six creeks (or were they rivers?). And we are not referring to small, shallow bodies of running water. One time we had to step on to a boulder, three feet from the shore edge, place a left hand on a tree limb that extended halfway over the rushing water then using our best sense of toe touch and go balance, felt for the rocks beneath to support our every next step. As you know, I am only five feet tall, so when I cross these creeks,
the depth is over my knees. I was extremely grateful that I remembered to bring my "Gonzalez walking stick"; the unfinished hardwood walking cane that I bought in Panama with the carving of an old man wearing a fedora hat. The walking stick is named after my favorite Panamanian taxi driver to which the carving resembles. The cane was a necessary third leg of support.

We tromped through slippery mud, over boulders, in creeks, around fields of ferns and tree foliage with cascading dappled light and under tree limbs. We passed through two or three homes-open aired structures with a surrounding orderly landscape of vegetation, well, as manicured as you can get in the lush jungle. An artifact of a stone tikis sat on the doorstep, Polynesian carvings embedded in the wood beams, green and white variegated hibiscus leaves with blushing gigantic (6" diameter) blooms in
bursts of color: orange, pink, magenta and yellow, radiated from the tree-shrubs. Nearby the dwellings were cultivated plants. Plants that tempted me to "gather" papayas, bananas, trees of red chili peppers, limes, lemons, oranges, squash blossoms, mangos, and even guava trees. Alas, we were on private property and we wanted to respect the owner's rights. Anyway, there was no one to ask permission to pick from the bounty. We are told the villagers sound a conch shell once cruisers are sighted in
the bay. Then, they all hide. We saw lots of evidence of daily life, but no occupants. We walked pass an old settlement with rock walls and either a house foundation or an offering alter, even a depressed square rock stone well (5' by 5') where we are told by a local the prisoners were kept before they were cannibalized. Hummm, who do we believe? At the new settlement there was a telephone booth; oddly placed in the middle of the jungle! The juxtaposition shocked us all.

Occasionally, our nostrils filled with a fresh whiff of lemon verbena, but I could not see any nearby. Others on the hike also remarked of the scent of the air, was it a ground cover we crushed beneath our feet that filled our minds with this memorable pleasant aroma. The air is clean. The sight of white tropicbirds with their long tails, soar in pairs, in and out of the tall steep canyon rocks beyond the dabbled light of the jungle is extraordinary and breathtaking. I see why they call this paradise.

We only saw two hunters while on our hike who with their trusty steed, dog and long machetes. They followed us and then passed us as we trekked to the waterfall base.  They swam in the fresh pool at the waterfall's base, helping the cruisers and children as we climbed the gigantic boulders to get views of the waterfall. Eventually, they went ahead of us, leaving us to enjoy our snacks and sandwiches. On our return trek we met these friendly burly young men again (I might add that these tall and burly
young men, had the greatest pec's and chest muscle definition! Surely, they do NOT go to the gym to get THEM! We, women, drooled not for the goat, but the Polynesian men who are gorgeous studs.). He carried over his shoulders the carcass of a slain headless young goat, blood dripping down the Polynesian's tattooed back. That for me was a first; I guess, I have a little "City Girl" in me, too. Our Captain reminds us, that if we can't appreciate the hunt and what efforts are necessary to slaughter
meat, then we shouldn't be eating meat. It has me wondering why animals are sentient beings, sacred and plants are not? Both are killed and both are replenished? Why are animals of a higher ranking than plants? What makes some animals "sacred" and others "polluted". Why, oh why?

Even though this is the third largest waterfall in the world, what we could see upon arrival was the base pool and about 500' of waterfall. Only from a distance, as we hiked along the path could we see the top of the waterfall. Reminded me of Yosemite canyon, with the tall canyons cascading waterfalls.  So, for me the trek was the joy. It was not the climax of the destination that I will remember. Like life, it was the process that felt peaceful and exhilarating, not the ending result.

Crew Sami:
The hike was REALLY cool. The hike was much flatter, but we had to cross two large rivers. Alison, Austin, and I were in one group close to the back. We talked about some interesting things, to which I will not bore you with. As we were walking, we could sometimes see the top of the waterfall. The waterfall itself was, of course, large but it wasn't as beautiful as the Fatu Hiva waterfall. After the hike when everyone was resting a bit, we invited the kids on Barbara Ann, Purrfection, and Emelia
over for mom's Chinese home cooked dinner. She made a three-course dinner with chow mein, spicy foot long string beans, steamed Thai jasmine rice and wahoo in lemon sauce. All the kids had "seconds" and one kid asked Mom if she'd adopt him. Or as he put it, "What's the proper way to thank someone for a great meal in the Chinese culture?" Mom and Dad were really happy to have seven teens and Anya around the dinner table. It was fun and Dad kept asking nearly impossible questions to get the group chattering, thinking and laughing.

Crew Gaby:
The hike was wonderful. Much easier hike then the Fatu Hiva hike but the waterfall itself wasn't as pretty but it was still mystical. I enjoyed walking with all the kids and listening to Anya speaking Dutch with the Belgium guys. After the hike we invited Purrrfection, Barbara Ann, and Emelia kids over to play Scattagories, dinner and a movie. The conversations during dinner were lots of fun and everyone enjoyed the Chinese dinner that Mom had made. Anya said it was a great chance for Mom and Dad
to enjoy a BIG family. Today was Tori and Alison's parent's 18th anniversary so that's why we had the girls over to Encanto, so their parents could enjoy dinner, alone. Then, Austin and Tyler dinghyed by and so we invited them aboard. Then, while Mom was slicing and dicing, she poked her head out into the cockpit and invited the boys to join us for dinner. Then, we hailed Evan to come over from Emelia to join us, too. Evan loves Chinese cooking, too. It was fun to have all these teens aboard. The
parents later went over to Emelia to enjoy the evening with the adults.

Back