https://www.metacafe.com/embed/11855170/nuku-hiva-dancing/

Click the click above to watch the video!

Even before we set off across the Pacific, we had already heard rumors about the amazing dance teacher, Fabienne, who welcomes everyone community centre at the library in Taiohae, Nuku Hiva. Her reputation beckoned us to put this anchorage high on our list of must visits.

When we first arrived in Nuku Hiva way back in June we were charmed by the village with its lovely waterfront, all the tikis and flowering trees, the friendly, smiley people and the sense of community. As we were making our plans for the coming season we agreed that we would enjoy spending some more time in this place. We first met Fabienne at a fund raiser at the school back in June and she led us all through an hour of dancing and I was hooked! She is such a gorgeous and graceful dancer and her enthusiasm is electric. I dream of learning a tenth of her posture and fluidity not to mention those hands! She can tell a story with one hand movement, the angle of the wrist and way she moves an arm or ankle. I remember as a young girl being completely wowed by the dancers we saw in Hawaii on family vacations, and the lessons here reminded me of that grace and energy.

Two and a half months before the performance 

Fast forward six months and we were waiting for dance lessons to resume after the Christmas break. We ladies looked forward to Wednesdays and Fridays when we went to dance class and tried to teach our hips new tricks. Fabienne would patiently show us the moves, correct us and rearrange body parts, encourage and scold us all in French or Marquesan. We loved to earn her smiles and hear her magical whoops of delight and of course I learned to count to eight in French. I like to think we amused her and really hope we made her at least a little bit proud.

Two weeks before the performance 

And then one day at the end of January we were invited to dance for an audience at a Valentine’s Day fund raiser. I was so unsure because I am not a dancer and I didn’t want to make a fool of myself, but more importantly knowing how their dance is integral to the community and I was concerned I would commit a social faux pas by not doing a good job.  At the same time, I realized it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we ladies encouraged each other and when we committed to it we never looked back. The first week of February Fabienne called us into daily sessions and we learned the first half of the routine. We worked hard but it was not sticking and there were lots of things to work on especially transitions. First we would nail the steps but then had to add the arms and then there was the transition to the next move by which time the hips were forgotten, somehow we could master only two of those crucial things at any given time. 

One week before the performance 

We set up extra practice sessions on the beach on the weekends with other girls who knew the routine. Three hour sessions on both Saturday and Sunday calmed my nerves and I felt a lot better. We got lots of attention from locals passing by and using the beach and they seemed amused and smiley that we were learning traditional dance moves. We got enthusiastic hollers and thumbs up and since everyone knows everyone here, I am pretty sure Fabienne heard about how hard we were working.

The second week called for two lessons a day, morning and evening. We still had to learn the second half and only a week to do it, and it was harder than the first half we worked so hard on. And even the advanced group showed signs of jitters. Everyone was practicing in small groups before and after scheduled rehearsals and lots more practice. Plus some girls dropped out and others showed up and wanted to join in so there was a lot of shifting and rearranging in addition to the new moves. The second week zoomed by and all of a sudden we were practicing our entrance and exit and all of a sudden it was very real. 

The day before the performance 

We practiced before and after the official practice sessions and I bet the people working around the library were sick of that song! Time zoomed by and it was Friday before we knew it and we were being fitted for our grass skirts! It was exciting to try them on and the feel of them was divine. I was exhausted after those final rehearsals. I fell asleep with visions of grass skirts dancing in my head.

The morning of the performance 

Saturday morning was an early start with Fabienne trimming our skirts (with kitchen scissors just above the knees) before the dress rehearsal in the town hall. It felt like our hard work paid off because the grass skirts give instant feedback if you are indeed moving your hips! We practiced our routine including the entrance and exit a few times. There were a dozen people working away hanging decorations of construction paper crepe hearts in red and pink and setting tables with the ever present Polynesian fabrics. We were very excited and a few of us worked together oiling our skirts and shredding the individual leaves for maximum movement. We got help from the girls who did the same routine earlier. 

Two hours before the performance 

There was a whole lot of giggling and chattering going on. We met early for some light practicing before we met everyone else to get ready. It felt amazing to adorn ourselves with skirts belts and collars of grass and palm fronds and then of course our crowns of flowers, the crowning glory! I was giddy and excited and the other girls were also preparing so there was a wonderful buzz back stage. We got such a treat as that night, the men’s group were dancing as well. The Haka dancers were first to perform and were definitely a highlight. Their performance is raw and energetic similar to a Maori of New Zealand with drumming and chanting and they grab everyone’s attention and don’t let it go. We often hear them on the shore and it is always a treat, but it was extra special to be viewing it behind the curtain as we waited for our turn backstage. Next came a few performances from the advanced group in traditional full length, floral dresses and finally it was our turn. Even though we had been peeking at the performances from back stage it is a different feeling completely to be standing there. 

The performance 

Finally it was our turn. I had massive butterflies but then the music started and it was FUN! We danced our hearts out and it was over in a flash. Even though I was concentrating hard and remembering our steps, I managed to spot the reactions of our people with pride in their eyes andirons was wonderful. Fabienne was grinning from ear to ear as she sat on the floor giving us cues. And the expressions on the faces of the local grannies were priceless. They seemed to enjoy watching us as much as we enjoyed the dancing and as we performed moves we had to work particularly hard on, they squealed. It was a truly wonderful experience and my cheeks hurt from grinning. We got lots of praise and the kids rushed backstage to tell us how wonderful we were. And Jon is lovely worked hard on a video, hope we manage to share it and you have the chance to check it out.

I was never going to get a tattoo, they really held no appeal, and as a wise friend of mine once said ‘they are a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling’. Who’s to say that in a year, two years or ten years time that feeling isn’t relevant anymore and you are stuck with something you regret?

But what if that ‘temporary feeling’ is something that you really must not forget, but one that is easily lost in the daily hustle and bustle of everyday life? Surely then a physical reminder, something you see everyday, serves a higher purpose. I think it does. So now I have a tattoo. More accurately I have a Patutiki which is the Marquesan word for a tattoo!

The idea came up when we first arrived in the Marquesas and we met with friends and fellow cruisers who had the most amazing tattoo on her back. A full manta ray, created from intricate traditional patterns. She spoke of an excellent artist ashore who not only created the art on her back, but literally wrote the book on the subject of traditional Marquesas tattoo. A month later Mia gave me said same book for my birthday, it makes for an interesting read as it talks about the history, how it was banned by the church and ultimately rediscovered in the 1970s. It also provided a ‘dictionary’ for what each of the symbols meant. I said to myself that if we returned for the cyclone season I would talk to him about a tattoo.

We turned up just after Christmas but unfortunately Teiki (the author and artist) was away on vacation with his family, so I waited for his return. In that time I read through his book and tried to identify the symbols which had significance for my life, family and our current adventure. So with cheat sheet in hand I went to talk to him. He was very friendly and we talked for a while, I gave him my list of ideas and we talked about where to put the tattoo. The obvious choice was between shoulder and leg – after a bit of thinking I picked leg.

I agreed to show up at 9am on Friday morning and Mia and Teo were keen to tag along. When we got there Teiki handed me a orange disposable razor and told me to go around the back and shave my leg, but be careful, if I cut myself he can’t tattoo that area! I have to admit, I now understand why ladies prefer to shave in the bath than standing in the shower, it’s harder than it looks! 

Back in the room, freshly shaved, we talked more about styles before I finally got up on the table for him to start marking up my leg with red and blue pens. He outlined the rough form for the tattoo before I lay down and he worked on the details. It took about an hour for him to product a pen only version, we discussed it over a cup of coffee and agreed a minor alteration, switching one symbol for another. Then it was time to use the real ink!

It took about 4 hours of inking, between 10:30 and about 14:30 with only a couple of short breaks to stretch my back. The pain was unusual, it wasn’t like getting an injection which some had told me, it was more like getting scratched, repeatedly, by a slightly blunted knife. At first it was OK, but after several hours my skin was getting bore and tired for the pain and even wiping my leg with a sterile wipe was painful. I’d also been told that getting large areas of black ink filled in was the most painful part, personally I found the fine detail work with a very thin needle to be worse. Teiki just smiled and explained that the women he tattoo’d claimed it was about the same as ripping a wax strip off your leg hairs. I guess I’m complaining about nothing!

Mia and Teo popped back occasionally to check on the progress, in between they kindly walked the two miles up the hill to the pharmacy to get the antiseptic liquid and baby bottom cream he recommended for the week after while it was healing. A local guy, covered in tattoos popped his head in at one point, smiled and returned with a local flower for me. He didn’t speak any english but I’m hoping it was meant as ‘welcome to the community’. 

While Teiki was working, we chatted a bit about the history of tattooing and his work trying to catalog and create a dictionary for these symbols. He was frustrated that the Marquesan style was being taken by artists in Tahiti and sold as ‘Tahiti style’ tattoos rather than Marquesan. It would seem that the traditional styles from the society islands have been lost in time and were never documented. For most of the historic documentation we Russian research ships to thank, over 200 years ago.

Below are some images which explain the means behind each of the symbols.

Facts from wiki

So here are some facts about Manta rays. They are pelagic which means they can cross open oceans and they do so singly or in groups. They are filter feeders and enjoy huge amounts of zooplankton which they do by opening their mouths wide and swimming. They have cephalic lobes on either side of their heads to funnel the plankton into their mouths, they can roll these lobes open and closed. And they eat an impressive 13% of their body weight in zooplankton each week. They can reach up to 7m ( 23 ft ) from tip to tip of their triangular pectoral fins and they are made of mostly cartilage. Their mating is triggered by the full moon, gestation lasts a year and they give birth to live pups.

Here in the Marqueasas tattoo is incredibly important both on a daily basis in the community and as a history of their ancestors. We met a tattoo artist here who was based in Toulouse, France for many years. He has returned home and we have had the pleasure of watching him at work. Each individual part of the design has a unique meaning. Manta rays feature in Marquesan tattoo culture and they are meant to portray a protector of man and wisdom. And don’t forget the grandma in Moana who very relevant in this community especially given our present location had a manta ray tattoo on her back and her spirit became one when she left this world.

Up close and personal

The other day we spotted a whole family/flock/armada of manta rays who came to lunch in the bay. They flash their wing tips on the surface and their white bellies are easy to spot. They have counter shading which means they are dark on the top and white underneath so they are camouflaged from the top and the bottom.  We enjoyed their company and swam with them for over an hour. At first I was out there on my own with a few of them and I was awe struck. There is little visibility and they are very close by the time I could spot one. I have to say the sheer size of these graceful giants is incredible! And a little daunting. They were swimming in big spirals, backwards and sometime would bail out at the last minute as they caught sight of a human swimming through the middle of their lunch. Later we were three families of humans out there swimming with about 30 of them.  And they were so tranquil. The kids were so brave because they were swimming with creatures much bigger than they are themselves and there were a few dreams about being swallowed. They did their best to avoid us but also didn’t seem too upset to share space. As we were getting to know each other we got to touch them and some are smooth and others a little bumpy to the touch. They are wonderful animals and we feel so fortunate to have spent some time with them.

Almost everyone sails the same way around the world. Just keep heading towards the setting sun, avoid the rocks and really you can’t go far wrong. The reason for this is fairly simple. Next time you drain water out of the bath you’ll see the as it going down the drain it spirals, clockwise or anti-clockwise depending (in theory) on if you are in the norther hemisphere or southern.

NOTE:  This is complete nonsense in something as small as a bath tub but completely accurate for wind on the something as big as earth.

In the north it goes clockwise, in the south it goes anti-clockwise. So where they meet, at the equator, the wind blows from east to west. The equator is full of sun, fun and rum. The high latitudes are full of cold, rain and pain. We sail the equator. We sail from east to west.

But why not just sail upwind!? 

Boats can’t sail directly into the wind, the best we can do is about 45 degrees from upwind. So going towards the wind means zig-zagging your way roughly where you want. Imagine that you want to drive from New York to LA. Most people would drive more or less in a straight line. If you had to ‘sail upwind’ you would first sail to Honduras (45 degree away from LA) and then tack up towards LA. You can either take lots of small zig-zags or one big one, it really doesn’t make any difference to the distance and time.

So it takes longer, whats the problem?

Yes, if it were just that we’d be OK with it. Clearly we’re not in a rush, if we were we would fly as sailing is a incredibly slow way to travel. Going upwind is uncomfortable. 

It’s windy. It’s always about 5 mph windier than it really is as you make wind by moving towards it. If it is blowing 15knots of wind and you decide to sail into it, it feels like (and sails like) its 20 knots as you are travelling at 5 knots into it. Going downwind in contrast will only feel like 10 knots. What most people don’t understand is that wind is not linear, it is logarithmic, 20 knots of wind is not twice as strong as 10 knots, it is considerably stronger. Wind power is proportional to the third power of the wind velocity.

It is bumpy. Going into the wind normally means going into the waves. When sailing downwind the waves slowly overtake you from the stern, lift you up and rather gently put you down again. Its rather slow as you are going in the same direction as they are, they have to slowly catch you up. Going into the wind if different. You are both charging at each other, colliding at combined speeds. Even with a heavy boat like Itchy Foot there is slamming as the bow falls off the top of the wave into the gap behind it. The boat shakes and slams, rocks and rolls as we plough into every wave, trying to push us back as our sails try to push us forward. You fight your way upwind.

It is tippy. Sails can’t move towards the wind. The best they can do is work a bit like a wing and be pushed sideways from the wind. In the same way that a wing on a plane is lifted up by wind passing over it, the sail of a boat is lifted up by wind passing over it. The sail doesn’t want to go forward it really wants to go sideways. But the boat has a deep keel under the water, the keel doesn’t want to go sideways, it resists. Rather like squeezing soap between your fingers, the boat gets pushed forward. But the force isn’t equal. The sails, which are high up, want to go one way. The keel which is low in the water wants to go the other. As well as being pushed forward the boat also tips over.  The goal is to have just the right amount of tip – about 30 degrees.

Doesn’t sound like much fun?

No. In summary, going upwind is a slow, bumping, tipping, slamming, bouncing, shaking, shuddering, jarring, tiring and noisy experience. Five days of that took it’s toll on our nerves and mood. The only one onboard who didn’t lose their sense of humour was Teo, who was a rockstar on the whole trip.

The reward is that we’re now back in the Marquesas. One of the most beautiful places we’ve ever visited and safely out of reach of cyclones. We’re in good company and looking forward to Christmas.

At the start of December Teo noticed that the month on the wall calendar we made together has the red writing and he got really excited because you know what that means… Christmas (and Santa) comes near the end of the month! This lifestyle allows us to corral Christmas to a single month, there is only Christmas music decorations etc in December. We have an early Christmas present in the form of three lovely families afloat to keep us company. As December progressed the kids got more and more excited and our time was filled with Christmas preparations. Santa hats were made and worn for lots of lovely activities, including a giggle filled afternoon of water sports behind the Calle II dinghy. It was so much fun to waterski again, and in a Santa hat for comic effect! 

We made only a handful Christmas cards this year. We recycled charts we picked up from book swaps and cut out trees and pasted them onto card. We are very proud of how nice they looked. We also made ornaments from coral we spent months collecting, only the heart shaped ones, please! They are simple and I can see us hanging them on our tree for years to come. We sent small parcels home and when we went to the post office we had to gulp at the cost of being so far away.

In our anchorage off the town in Makemo, our very creative, enthusiastic friends on Larki invited everyone over for Christmas craft session complete with Christmas music blaring, cinnamon buns all around and glogg ala Calle II. Each boat organised an ornament for the kids to make and the results were wonderful, especially when they added their own special touches. The afternoon felt like the workshop in the North Pole, with cutting and drilling and gluing and painting and beads and sparkles. One of my favourite memories of this Christmas season is the separate afternoon the ladies escaped and did some crafts on their own with more glogg and cake and giggles on Calle II.

Itchy Foot hosted a jewellery making workshop for the kids. Thank goodness Fi came with a ton of jewellery making things and beads. It was a flurry of excitement and creativity and surprising patience, too. There were moments of “oh no this is backwards” and “now I have to do it over since I dropped the end and beads bounced everywhere!” Every one of the eight kids left with a wrapped present to put under the tree for their mums and even some for dads and sisters. It was a fun afternoon and it was lovely to see the wonderful creations everyone made and it was also a treat to see the kids help each other. And I must say the earrings Teo made for Mia are gorgeous!

Around the 17th of December we sailed from Makemo in the Tuamotus up to Uo Pou in the Marquesas, about six days of bashing into the wind and waves… but more on that another time. When we arrived at Ua Pou on December 22nd we were happy to put our upwind passage behind us and even the rolly anchorage was not going to squash the Christmas spirit. The anchorage was breathtaking in its beauty with high cliffs and crashing waves. The kids were excited to come and watch movies onboard Itchy Foot and the men went on a foraging mission. They went to find a shop for some fresh ingredients for Christmas meals.

There were also Christmas secrets and the kids spent many hours on Larki to prepare a surprise. One afternoon the adults on Itchy Foot made use of the time to decorate and prepare for the big day. We took out the tree that always reminds us of our friends on Sta Vast (oh, how we wish they were still out here cruising with us!) and we hung the tree in a hammock so it wouldn’t tip over when we did. We felt like Santa’s helpers as we wrapped presents and brought out the cards and parcels lovingly delivered to us by hand when Jon’s parents were visiting. We are very pleased to note that for the whole of our Christmas, there was not one visit to a shopping center, HO HO HO!

The day of Christmas Eve was full of cheer- lots of Christmas music, crafts and visiting each other bringing small parcels and goodies. The kids all made each other presents and it was really lovely to see how proud they were to hand them over. Each visiting dinghy were also singing Christmas carols. We had lots of lovely presents to open, especially Teo. A big thank you to family who made a big effort to send parcels with visiting dignitaries. Jon made incredible Christmas Eve dinner of duck and roast vegetables. After our lovely family dinner together on the 24th we joined our lovely friends for dessert on Casablanca. Martin is a very brave man to open his nearly new shiny catamaran to four boisterous families. It was a magical evening with lovely games and delicious desserts and singing and dancing around the tree.

While the boys had been on their foraging quest before Christmas, they met a lovely local man  also named Martin who invited us to Christmas Day Mass at the local church including a lunch buffet afterwards. This was a beautiful, musical and delicious affair. Everyone was wearing their very best outfits and flowers in their hair and there was much singing and drumming. Our host, Martin was ordained into a position in the church and it was reason for much rejoicing. Part of the buffet was pig roasted in the ground and we were invited to watch as they retrieved it. The pit was lined with banana leaves and volcanic rocks and they pulled out basket upon basket of food. Later we ate alongside the congregation and all the dishes were incredible, especially the pork. The baskets they cooked in were beautiful creations, woven specially for this purpose with handles to make the food easier to unpack. The lush countryside of the Marquesas is very good to its people. Especially the fruit that grows here is incredible!  It was a wonderful way to spend Christmas Day. 

But Christmas wasn’t over yet. There was a wonderful Christmas concert planned by the kids and facilitated by the parents on Larki. Everyone worked very hard and the first part of the performance were solo acts by all the kids. Teo played “Twinkle Twinkle” on the recorder and afterwards said “That was nerve wracking!” And the second part was a collaboration of “T’was the Night Before Christmas” and was wonderful, complete with sugarplums dancing, Dad in his hat, reindeer antlers, coconut hooves, and an awesome St. Nick. And when it got dark there was a little Lucia tog organised by Calle II. To get a feel of the spirit please check out the video Larki made of the festivities, there is a link on our Facebook page.

After Christmas we moved a remote bay that was less rolly and rang in the new year. Panacea hosted a kick ass party with lots of bubbles and a potluck. Stine and Sonia from Calle II organised a music quiz and there was dancing! We all made it to three hours past cruisers midnight and welcomed 2019. We were probably in the least populated time zone on the planet as when it was midnight in London, it was still 1430 here, you have to love the half hour time zones! It has been an amazing year for us on Itchy Foot, Happy 2019 everyone!

Cruisers say that their plans are written in sand on a beach. Quite often at low tide.

Six months ago, when we decided to spend a full year in French Polynesia, we also decided to be back in the Marquesas by the middle of November, ideally earlier. We alway knew this would be a little tight, we knew we’d be down in society islands until at least mid September so it would be a rush to all the way upwind in only a couple of months. But we didn’t think we’d still be in the Tuamotus in December!

It’s not very far really, a little over 700 miles from Tahiti to the Marquesas, really if we could just point and go we could be there in 6 days. Unfortunately we can’t just point and go, boats don’t like to go upwind (and neither do their crew). And the wind in this part of the world ‘always’ blows out of the same direction, somewhere between the the North East and the South East – but mostly East. The 700 miles we have to go is entirely East North East. Or as lazy sailors call it ‘the wrong way’.

The obvious solution is to take our time and wait for a break in the weather, for wind that is in the 10% rather than the 90%. Then to make a little hop (for as long as the wind holds) closer to our destination. And so we wait, hop, wait, hop. Still we should have been there by now! And we would have been if it weren’t for an unexpected surprise – we’ve met some lovely people!

We hopped into Fakarava as one of our first stops on our trip back and as soon as we arrived we met up with some friends we’ve known for the last few months, s/v Caramba with two boys Hunter (11) and Logan (13). They are a lovely American family and the boys are a pleasure to have around. We had a day of biking with them that was really wonderful. Shortly after that s/v Larki showed up and we were introduced to their delightful family, Edith, Ken and their two girls Zoe (12) and Naomi (10). It is wonderful to spend time with this energetic and positive bunch and they have taught us so much about the sea and about cruising. And we have had a wonderful time snorkelling and hanging out with them, and Teo and Naomi are cut from the same cloth.

Then just before Halloween Caramba left for the Marquesas, the forecast didn’t look very enticing but they had time pressure to get there by a specific date so off they went. Then Debonair arrived, another fun family from the pacific coast of North America – with a boy, Arlo (15) and a girl Alma (13). They arrived just in time for trick or treating and we had a fabulous Halloween. They are good fun and have lots of cool ideas for educational outings including, outdoor art, poetry workshops and charting out a motu. We will be looking forward to catching up with them when we finally visit San Francisco!

Well, with so many great kids around it seemed crazy to leave before Halloween. And it was great! So that is how October turned into November. And then Debonair needed to leave, with visiting crew they also had time pressure to get up-to Hawaii before the end of December. But again the forecast wasn’t ideal and the remaining company was so good….  so just another week, after all Larki was going to Fanning Island soon so then we’d be alone again, perfect.

A few months earlier, we’d received a message from Blue Zulu (friends from the other side of the world – literally) who told of a crazy awesome family of Finns on a boat called Panacea. Turns out that Larki were in contact with them and they were heading our way soon. Definitely worth waiting for we say. After a couple more days Panacea showed up, Tuomo, Rikka and their three kids, Aarre (10), Kerttu (7) and Martta (6). As promised by Blue Zulu they were a boat worth waiting for and we’ve been enjoying their company immensely. Oh, how we have been missing the Finnish sense of humour and no nonsense view of the world and it was really funny to hear that we know some of the same people in Finland.

While Larki were preparing to leave and hoping the Panacea would turn up, Itchy Foot bumped into a Danish family boat, Calle II. We’d met them a couple of times earlier but never really spent any time together. We spent a couple of days getting to know them and we’re very glad we finally did, Robert and Stine have two lovely kids, Sebastian (12) and Sonia (10). We were invited over for coffee and just clicked, we really seem to speak the same language.

All the dads got together the try to fix the roller furling on Calle II which was causing them to rethink their whole cruising plan for the year. After a long day taking down the forestay, fixing the roller, and then replacing the forestay everything was fixed. And then there were four: Itchy Foot, Larki, Calle II and Panacea.

Now we all have the same plan. Get to the Marquesas and spend most of the cyclone season there. So we’ve been waiting and hoping, waiting and hoping eastwards hoping to find the perfect weather window for the 5 day ‘hop’ north east to the Marquesas. The trouble is that everywhere is so nice and the company is so good that it’s been hard to find a weather window good enough to tempt us out. Right now we’re in Makemo which is well placed to wait for the weather. But Christmas is rapidly approaching and not many family boats are very excited about the prospect of Christmas on the high seas.

So as the days skip buy merrily, weather forecasts are downloaded and discussed over coffee and cake. The kids play like siblings and there always seems to be a reason for a party, sometimes its a birthday and sometimes its because its Tuesday. There has been sampling on the beach in tents and Christmas crafts and water sports of all sorts. There are Ladies Nights and movie nights and crafts and book swapping and it is just wonderful.

Now it looks like the weather window has arrived and we should be leaving Makemo on the 16th of December. With luck and good winds it should be 5 days to the Marquesas so we’ll be arriving with a day to rest and the right into Christmas preparations. The kids have planned out a big show, with music and more. There will be fire on the beach, gifts exchanged and too much food and a fair amount of booze. In short it’s shaping up to be a good one in good company – which is what it’s all about really.

This post was written back in September, blame nonexistent internet for the delay!

“GRANDMA and GRANDDAD! Today is the day!” exclaims Teo before he even has his eyes open. This happens for at least three or four days before the day actually arrives and the anticipation is palpable as we all waited, rather impatiently for them to arrive. We are so humbled and flattered and happy that they were keen to make an epic journey to see us! We found them in their paradise suite with a view of the garden and the sea at the Manava hotel. We enjoyed a lot of time around their suite, making ourselves at home and using the hotel facilities, Teo had a bath and long shower every day and we took care of lots of jobs that need internet. We enjoyed the happy hour cocktails with the views of Moorea and we enjoyed daily trips to the pools (both fresh and salt water) where Teo turned his hair green and made friends with Ralf, the pool guy. The place was perfect for lunches and light dinners and relaxing together and catching up. Teo loves his grandparents and playing with granddad and reading with grandma were his favourite parts of the visit. I think the three of them thoroughly enjoyed their mornings on their own.

We rented a car and explored Tahiti with its volcanoes, caves, black sand beaches and tikis.These islands are rich in history and the people have been so  connected to their environment. It is lovely to see the traces of it everywhere. We visited the museum that is well worth a visit and sheds light on the islands and their history and culture.

We went into the city of Papeete one day and checked out the market which is lined with Polynesian fabric covered tables full of tourist wares and stands with local fish and fruits and the outside perimeter is lined with more Polynesian fabrics or tables full of artistry. We soaked up the impromptu ukulele concert and stood a long time and watched the ladies making crowns and leis of fragrant flowers. And of course there are pearls EVERYwhere. We visited the pearl museum as well and got some insight into the process that results in Tahitian pearls.

Our drives included most of the perimeter of the figure eight that is comprised of Tahiti Nui (big Tahiti) and Tahiti Iti (little Tahiti). I had to write that because I love to say it, Tahiti Iti. We went all the way down to the location of the professional surf contest at Teahupoo and on the way ate an incredible lunch at Plage de Maui. We enjoyed lovely sea food with our toes in the sand watching humpback whales playing in the pass. We also got out to stretch our legs at the botanical garden on the way back.

Another day we went up the East Coast where we went to Venus Point with its lighthouse designed by Robert Louis Stephenson’s father, Thomas Stephenson. It was where crew of one of Cook’s expeditions tracked the movement of Venus in front of the sun aiding the development of modern navigation. We also experienced the typical weather they have there, and it rained all day. This was not the day for a picnic but it adds to the story and there was nothing wrong with the atmosphere as we enjoyed our grilled tuna at the beach at the end of the road at TePari.

We had plenty of low key meals in the suite at the Manava and one evening we splurged with a wonderful meal at a great little place called the Blue Banana. In a parallel universe this would be our local. You should have seen the look on Teo’s face when they told him frog legs and snails were on the menu, but in the end I think he was happy with his pizza. Everyone enjoyed their choices and after dinner we went to watch a show of Polynesian dancing with drums and fire at the Intercontinental.

Zoom zoom the week rushed by and we were hugging them goodbye, oh how heartbreaking the goodbyes are! REALLY wish we could be in multiple places at once!

Fi and Clive come to visit us on Itchy Foot and we went to explore Mo’orea

Mo’orea is a glorious and delightful destination and we were so lucky that we got to explore it together with Fi and Clive. Wait a minute and back up. We are lucky full stop that we have friends  with so much gumption and eagerness to come and visit us in such a far flung place. And not only that, they came to visit us in a far flung place and were happy to do a bunch of muling. Clive’s journey was the stuff of nightmares with the door to door well over the 30 hour mark. Our patient, understanding friends shopped and schlepped and kept on bringing out surprises and treats throughout their visit. Tons of chocolate and tea and treats for Teo. We added Snakey and Slothy to our family and Fi brought nail polish and earrings for trading further down the line. Fi went to Decathalon for us because it has all the stuff you need on a boat and more. And she brought lots of jewellery making gear so we can be creative in the rainy season. But of course it is not about the stuff, it is about the time and we had a wonderful long week in Mo’orea during which they spoiled us rotten and we are so thankful for that time.

As we arrived in Tahiti and anchored near the Intercontinental hotel we were dazzled by visions of Mo’orea. We even mused that it would make a lovely photo book if someone were to take a series of sunset photos of this beautiful island. We were hoping to have all of our boat jobs finished by the time they arrived but we barely even got started. Mostly, we were excited to welcome guests onboard Itchy Foot and were already envisioning our time exploring with Fi and Clive once they were safely onboard.

Well, the weather forecast forced us to leave a little more abruptly than we had planned. We picked up Fi and made a trip to Carrefour for provisions and we sailed for Mo’orea. We spotted whales shortly before sunset on our way to anchor at the top of Cook’s Bay. Spotting sea mammals is always a treat and this was no exception, the beauty of nature at its best. Once we found a sot that would protect us from the forecasted winds we enjoyed a very calm swim in the evening before happy hour and dinner aboard.

The next day was everything but calm, it was grey and windy and rainy. But we didn’t let it stop us and we went ashore for a long walk to the village of Maharepa. We explored the resorts on the shore and stopped into shops to avoid rain. There are gorgeous stands with fresh fruit (we even got to try a new fruit called star apples) and handmade crafts along the way. It was dark and we were muddy when we returned home, but we were smiling because our bellies were full of the yummy pizza that was a treat from Fi.

Clive had to tack an extra flight onto his epic journey and we hated to do it to him but we had to make quick decisions as the weather threatened to trap us in Tahiti, without a beach or good swimming water. Clive took it in stride and arrived bright and bushy tailed and ready to hike up to the view point at Belvedere. We checked out some pineapple plantations and a few ancient sites with tikis before we reached the top. It was a funny moment to emerge from the jungle to see a carpark full of tourists on ATVs enjoying the view that we might have worked a little harder for. We hitched a ride down the hill and enjoyed our evening nestled safely Cook’s Bay. Clive brought a remote control lego jeep for Teo that they built together and he also shared some Ladybird books with him from his own boyhood collection and they became quick favourites.

We had lots of lovely swims in the sea and visits to the beach and collected lovely memories. We walked to a prawn farm where Fi bought fresh prawns for an excellent evening meal one evening and we celebrated both our birthdays. We explored the little village Tiahura and found cute little roadside burger place with good burgers and delightful Belgian waffles.  We snorkelled with humpback whales and Teo and Jon caught glimpses of the baby and her mamma and we spent some time at Sting Ray City with the rays and the sharks.

As the old adage goes, time flew and we were all teary as we kissed and hugged them goodbye. The next few days were empty and we felt as if Itchy Foot were way too big.  This lifestyle is full of new friends and still the most special moments are when we have time together with people who know us well and we love the fact that Teo connects so well with our close friends. We miss them madly.

Written by Mia, we were in Fakarava back in August and loved it, read more below:

We loved Fakarava so much that Teo and I made up a song about it and I can only tell you that you are very fortunate not to be subjected to our singing it over and over.

We entered the atoll using the north pass and were happy that it was a wide and easy entry, in fact we probably didn’t need to get the timing just right as we did with the passes into Kauehi and Tahanea. It probably would have been navigable at any time, maybe even in the dark, although once inside we prefer to have the sun high in the sky making our path through the water clear. We still shudder to think about moving around these atolls in the dark.

We picked up a mooring ball in front of town and considered ourselves very lucky since as we were approaching another boat was just leaving. We gave the town of Rotoava a good explore and we even have our eye on a two story house with a dock and a lot of promise, we might have to fix the roof before moving in, but then again it doesn’t rain that often. We were charmed by the town and the friendly locals. We walked to the windward side of the atoll which was probably a distance of a block or so and were impressed by the pounding waves of the Pacific. The church in is beautiful and adorned with long strings of shells. Teo and I were climbing a tree in the sunset and we had nice chat with a very sweet grandma who gave Teo one of her strawberry yogurts. There are a few options for buying supplies and some cafes ashore. One evening we joined the families from Caramba and Luminesce for crepes and ice cream which is a treat for us. One morning Jon paddled ashore and came back with fresh croissants and pain au chocolat, yum yum yum!

Since arriving in French Polynesia, we have struggled to get enough internet for our tasks like paying credit card bills and taxes, let alone communicating with friends and family and keeping on top of the blog. Being internet free is not usually a problem, in fact a break from constantly checking our devices is one of the things we chalk up in the pro column of this lifestyle. However, some things just require internet and it is sometimes very tough to make that happen when we are faced with a deadline. Everyone assumes everyone is connected at all times and it seems that when you explain that you cannot get online people don’t believe you, not really. We had high hopes for Fakarava and it didn’t really play out the way we had hoped.

We keep pinching ourselves when we see how clear the water really is, even along the coast of the town quay. You clearly see the reef sharks and coral bommies even standing on the shore. We also have lovely fish swimming around the boat. Most of them love the oatmeal we were happy to share with them while the oatmeal lasted. In Fakarava we actually ran out of many of our reserves. There was a dangerous few days where Itchy Foot did not have the ability to make pancakes, I am getting choked up and can’t really tell you much more than that. We planned to stock up in Tahiti and we stayed longer in Fakarava than we planned, partly because of enjoying it so much and partly because we were waiting for good sailing weather.

Fakarava is one of the larger atolls and because we don’t move very quickly while we are keeping a close eye out for coral bommies and because we prefer to move during the hours of the day when the sun is highest in the sky, we stopped halfway down at a place called Kakaiau. The atoll is narrow here, probably 20 paces and all night we could here the waves pounding the shore. We had this gorgeous place with clear, navy blue water to ourselves and used a few days to take care of a disturbing boat job and in the end we were happy we had a weevil infestation. Is anyone else amused by the last sentence?

We moved on to Harifa in the southeast corner and the water was the beautiful turquoise of our dreams. There was kite surfing going on a sand bank nearby and a big throng of kids, including some locals really enjoyed building forts ashore and of course building bonfires. We took a few long walks and explored the made a couple of treks to the windward side of the atoll. One day we walked through a shallow lagoon and it seemed that the sharks dropped their kids off for nursery here. The baby reef sharks are actually really cute. And then the terrain turns almost lunar as you approach the barrier reef. We waded out to the edge where you can clearly see the drop off. We were impressed by the dunes of dead coral that were five meters high. We sat there and envisioned the storm that sent the coral up that high. The next day we walked the other way and did some amazing rock pooling, picking shells and checking out the hermit crabs feisty enough to be on violent windward side. We really enjoyed those three anchorages and our exploring.

But by far the highlight of Fakarava was snorkelling the pass with the beautiful coral and incredible reef fish and the sharks. Did I mention we were snorkelling with sharks? It filled me with dread to begin with and then when you see their nonchalance and attitude towards swimmers it is clear they  do not consider us yummy in the slightest. We snorkelled the pass four times and just drifted along with our dinghy. It was incredible and at times really quick like a roller coaster. We nicknamed a certain part to the trip the “superman sector”. We hung out with a half Norwegian half Colombian family from Singapore there and the kids got along really well. One afternoon we explored the tiny  town that used to be the capital of the Tuamotus island group. The little church has an altar out of mother of pearl and was decorated with the same strings of shells. There are some beautiful cabanas for rent as Fakarava south is a world class dive site. Everywhere we visit we are impressed by the attention to detail and the small things the locals do to make themselves and their surroundings things of beauty.