June 25th 2007, Monday, Day 9
Tahuata Island, Anchorage Hanamoenoe
Marquesas Islands, South Pacific
Crew Gaby:
It's Monday June 25. So the Encanto crew decided to celebrate today for the fun of it. While Sami and I did school Mom made waffles which I think started the celebration. After school Tori, Alison, Anya, Sami, and I went to the beach to pick some mangos, lime, and gather some firewood for the bonfire we are planning to have. The hike into the trees was simple but there were a lot of mosquitoes so we went in gathered some firewood and came right out. When we got back to the beach Sam, on S/V Purrrfection, had cut open a coconut so we all enjoyed the coconut. Alison, Tori, Sami, Austin, and I went swimming and then hung onto the board of the wind surfer when Tyler came back (he had gone wind surfing earlier) and talked about where they had been in the Caribbean. Around 4:30 in the afternoon everyone started arriving for the bonfire. The kids roasted marshmallows and we tried to make smore's. The adults sat, talked and ate cheese and crackers. It is amazing here.
Crew Anya:
Today we celebrated the fact that it was in fact Monday June 25th. We had waffles for breakfast and a wonderful afternoon on the beach, enjoying fresh coconut, lemons, mangos, and of course the warm beautiful water of the ocean. It is just like paradise here. We had a fun evening with the other cruisers around a campfire (courtesy of Sam on s/v Purrrfection) with cheese, pate, crackers, oreo's and smores. I've said it and will say it again: life does not get any better than this.
There's another Anya in the anchorage. Of course, here I am swimming away when I hear a shout, "Anya", I turn to reply and it wasn't for me. It was for the woman on the red catamaran that flies a flag from Poland. Had my head spinning for a second or two.
Crew Sam:
Today, we did some school, while eating waffles. After we finished school, Tori, Alison, Anya, Gaby, and I went to the beach to pick fruit. We only stayed there for a while because of the mosquitoes. Later we jumped into the water. Austin joined us in the water and we all hung onto his windsurfer board. We talked about various things until 4:30 when we all gathered around, and also gathered palm fronds for the fire and the marshmallow fire. The adults talked and ate cheese and crackers, while us
kids jabbered on about who stole the marshmallows, or why one kid (I won't say who) had 3 marshmallows on his stick.
I'm in my element, back in the warm water swimming everyday. Life is good.
Captain's Blog:
The past two days have been real lazy days. No boat projects of any consequence. That in itself is truly a vacation of biblical proportions. Sunday, I finally got into the water, initially just to swim around the boat. Oh the water is so warm! We can see fish swimming 35' below us. I'm glad I'm no disappointed by the water conditions. We are told other anchorages are not so nice in this respect. I can imagine since there are ocean swells traveling thousands of miles jut to crash on these shores.
The atolls of the Tuamotus promise even better water clarity. Anyway, swimming around the boat just wasn't enough so I got my snorkeling gear and took the dinghy over to the nearby reef and did some proper snorkeling. WOW!!!!!!! I saw fish I had never seen before and spiny sea urchins with spines almost 8" long. Spectacular. There was lost of coral, nothing too colorful, but the maze they created provided home to all sorts of very colorful fish and eels. I did se several Morays. However, the best
was yet to come. I was swimming about, and for some reason I looked over my shoulder. Perhaps I did this because I was moving into deeper water or I felt the presence of something, I not sure. Swimming straight at me were two Manta Rays, not real large ones, but with about 3' & 4' wingspans. I've seen them from the boat in the past, but to be with them in the water was magical. I first one swam/flew by, the second seemed as curious about me as I was about it. It had a good-sized Remora swimming under
one wing along with several fish swimming around its mouth. I don't know if these were the "cleaning" fish, but the ray was content to have them around. I swam with it for maybe 15 minutes. Finally I decided to dive down to it, maybe 10' below me to have a better look. It responded by doing a backward loop then taking off. This ranked right up there with swimming with the whale sharks.
First Mate:
Woke today and put on my swimsuit, again. Failed yesterday to get in the water so I was determined to go into shore and swim! I heard there are sharks in the reefs, black tipped sharks so I'm a little scared to go to the reefs. In the afternoon, after I had created an arbitrary reason to celebrate, we enjoyed Belgium waffles. I have to wonder if the Belgium guys crewing on s/v Gannet would have liked the waffles? Or are Belgium waffles like Chinese Chop Suey; a cuisine of foreign origin and not authentic?
Finally in the late afternoon, John and I joined the girls on shore and I finally swam on shore. There is nothing, nothing like swimming in clear, clean, warm shoreline island water. Clearly reminded me of my year living in the Virgin Islands in ahhhhh, 1980. Playing in the surf and crashing up the shoreline as the sand fills your swimsuit with grains isn't fun, but then, maybe my tired weary skin needed the abrasive sand scrub? Oh, if any of you are "into" Noni rejuvenating juice, these are the
islands where they cultivate the fruit. The trees grow everywhere, like weeds. The local people harvest this fruit and then ship it to Salt Lake City for processing. The local people don't really use it, but some American has the corner market and exclusive rights to the fruit's processing and use. We aren't all that sure about its value as a "remedy for vitality", but perhaps the Noni fruit is the next try at the "fountain of youth". Maybe, I'll get the courage to sneak some into our Vita Mix and
blend up a fruit ala Encanto drink?
Our time at the fireside was the first beach bonfire for us in many years. We are making new friends and it is great to meet people who lead different lives before we all became cruisers; one is a Country Western music song writer, another, a real estate agent, a divorce lawyer, a contractor/builder of 6,000 pools in Florida, a fireman, and a barmaid. You just never know whom you might meet out here cruising.