The warmly cool, clear, ringing, perfumed, overflowing, redundant days, were as crystal goblets of Persian sherbet, heaped up – flaked up, with rose-water snow. — Herman Melville
Marquesas!
The experience of sailing across the Pacific has been, predictably,
exactly what I expected and totally different
the days are not endless, nor really repeated
each has felt unique even though they blur together
they also go by so quickly
moments of boredom have been brief
and moments of claustrophobia which would seem normal
have not occurred
I don’t want “off” of Allora
I don’t yearn to walk on land
(other than to pee without thinking about my balance)
I don’t actually yearn to see land or even green, I don’t think
though, that may change when it happens
I think I will appreciate quiet and a sense of relative motionlessness
for a bit
this would have been incredibly hard without our crew
The things we worried about, as a family stuck together on a little boat
have been so much less than expected
tiny spats that lead to good resolutions
perhaps even especially for Diana and I
our big, big blow up on day four or whatever it was
resolved, or at least reframed, months of simmering issues
the challenges are still there as they probably always will be
but rebutting them with love and affection
has reminded us of what we have made over twenty-seven years
a formidable partnership
having Haley Maddi and Wyatt here was by far and above all
the best thing about this crossing
~MS
Approaching around the north end of Fatu Hiva.
Arrival in Hanavave, Fatu Hiva.
Wyatt called Heather the second we had cell reception!
Took advantage of the rain to clean all the flying fish and squid residue off Allora’s decks.
Rainshower shower and a moment of appreciation.
Rock walls covered in green, eroded vertically to emerald water
on the island of music Maddi sings in the grocery store!
A wet and blissful hike.
Good to stretch our legs.
Marcus on the edge.
Some nice city planning.
Dramatic rain showers made it even more fun out here.
Such love (and a little pride).
Feelin’ good.
Yeah, it was a muddy, barefoot kind of walk.
“I’m singin’ in the rain…”
This verdant and dramatic landscape blew our minds!
Waterfalls EVERYWHERE!
Crew (‘GREM’) extraordinaire.
Captain hasn’t worn a shirt in AGES!
The view out to our anchorage, where Allora is resting for the first real time in 25 days!
Contour map of stunning Nuku Hiva.
The villagers offered to cook us dinner, so we met up with the crew of Orso to celebrate our parallel crossing.
Lovely Giulia from s/v Orso. We chatted via our SAT system while we were out on the ocean. (These wreaths are amazing!)
I didn’t think it looked silly at all.
Music was part of the celebratory dinner. Wyatt ended up getting a ukulele for his upcoming birthday!
Handmade ‘Ukerere’
Dinghy excursion around to Baie Omoa.
Tapa (Barkcloth) from Mulberry, Breadfruit and other trees. The inner bark is stripped, dried in the sun, soaked, beaten and pressed. It is an ancient artform and wedding garments were once made from it. The Marquesas are one of the very few places where the laborious process is still happening.
Mariana, in Omoa, shared her meticulous tapas.
Every corner had luscious scenery.
The ubiquitous outrigger.
This guy wanted a FAST dinghy ride. Wyatt didn’t disappoint.
How’s that for a soccer field?!
Short hike to these falls up behind the village in Fatu Hiva. Wyatt and a guy we called the Marquesan Joseph Gordon Levitt hiked up a slippery slope to jump into the cascade’s pool.
These 3 …
Kids of Taiohae, Nuku Hiva
The missionaries worked with fervor in these islands and these altars are a part of all the homes we saw.
A ukulele in progress.
Pori’s dog
They each had a distinctly different sound, naturally.
Maddi chose her Uke at the atelier of Pori. There are 5 different woods in this one instrument.
Back at Henri’s Snack in Taiohae, Nuku Hiva (our anchorage on the South side of the island), Maddi joins the music jam.
And Haley was asked by this guy to play his keyboard. With no music, under his watchful eyes, she played two pieces and made a connection.
Great energy from these kiddos.
Ever changing light in the anchorage.
They make necklaces and wind chimes from these spikes.
Fete des Mères, Mother’s Day celebration. These shots need audio. What a treat to see and hear them belt out these Marquesan songs.
They wear flowers, not only for festivals.
I watched her watching the musicians so intently. No doubt she’s got music in her.
Artistry in all the details.
Mesmerizing dance.
Young kids are alike all over the world.
Even at this age, they could MOVE!!
Maddi/Fatu Hiva replacing the cheek block on the mast before we sail to Tahuata, Ua Pou and Nuku Hiva.
Fueling up at the ? dock?! Taiohae
Winner of the ‘hairiest refueling stop EVER!’ award. We backed up to the surging dock and I had to hold us off with a repertoire of alternating reverse and forward throttle maneuvers while Marcus was thrown line to which the diesel nozzle was tied. He then had to carefully try to keep the line and nozzle out of the water as it was passed to pitching Allora over the void, only to be repeated to return it. Nuts!
The yellow squalls surrounding us on the radar screen made for a soggy ride enroute to Hapatoni, Tahuata.
Jackets on for the first time on the whole passage.
Vai arranged a birthday celebration, Marquesan style, when we’d mentioned the day before that it was Wyatt’s birthday the next day. Generosity beyond compare!
And as usual, music is a big part of the ‘event.’
Wyatt’s 21st birthday, Hapatoni
Petanque, Anse Desanis, Baie Hapatoni, Hana Tefau, Tahuata
This construction worker saw Maddi carrying the violin and asked to be serenaded. Don’t think he was disappointed.
We sailed over to do the Vaipo Falls hike in Hakatea, (Daniel’s Bay), Nuku Hiva.
Paul shows us the petroglyph that he found in the woods on his place and is incorporating it into his landscaped wall.
Humble house, not so humble backdrop.
Met Paul, in his forties, who ended up asking Maddi to marry him. She loves the Marquesas, but … He added pamplemousse to the offer.
Cutest Tiki EVER!
I wondered how long it would take from the time this flower fell to disappear completely? Probably not long at all.
Root art.
Is it just me, or is this gorgeous?!
There were eels in the water getting to this spot. Single drop of 1148 ft (350 m) and we had to swim HARD through the deafening roar to reach this precarious spot. Probably shouldn’t have been there, in hindsight, as it’d been raining a lot, so rocks and logs were raining down occasionally.
The Hakaui Valley is spectacular. Early morning kayak foray. So so green!
The whole place is an oasis.
Heron checking us out.
Incredible homemade dinner ($10. each) – 5 courses, including poisson cru (raw fish with citron and coconut milk and spices, yum). Lovely couple. The guy reminded me of my Dad all night.
We shared the meal with Jennifer and Mark on m/v Starlet and a couple other guys (Harry and Josh) from the anchorage.
Early A.M. passage back to Taiohae.
Always worth an early departure.
We were cutting it close with time, as we had to get Maddi and Wyatt to the airport later that day.
Drive around Nuku Hiva on the way to/from the airport (dropping Maddi and Wyatt off)
So hard to let them out that door!
Allora finds herself in a setting as beautiful as she is!
Rain or shine, we’re gonna play on Wyatt’s 21st B’day.
IvaivaNui, HanaMoeNoa South, Tahuata
A place to turn 21.
It’s just the three of us now. Hale stayed a bit longer. Kayaking around our anchorage.
After Hale set off, Marcus and I sailed around the island to the north, Anaho Bay.
Can the drone come out and play?!
Love these vertical staircase fissures in the rocks all around this bay.
Secret little magical beaches.
We went on a hike over the hill to the next bay, so this is the view of Allora tucked in the anchorage.
Hike to Hatiheu Bay from Anaho Bay. Petroglyphs all over this marae, historical religious and spiritual site.
We wandered this extensive site all by ourselves.
These magnificent Banyan trees often are connected with the marae’s.
This is a place we’ll return to!
The aesthetics of decay.
Coconut copra drying before they export it for coconut oil and other products.
Lovey. Everywhere you look.
Lobster lunch in Hatiheu bay. We didn’t see anyone on the 3 hour hike over. Arrived and SO did a cruise ship, so this sleepy village was suddenly overtaken by tourists from the Aranui 3. We ate lunch quickly while they were whisked to the marae historical site.
Hikokua archaeological site near Hatiheu Bay.
Authentic tikis at the ancient marae site. There were human sacrifices made here.
Yep, floating heads!
Necklace on the main guy.
This pit in the rock was the perfect reservoir for this leaf, which fell into this position naturally.
The hike home.
Lovely smile and greeting along the way.
This woman’s name is Diana. I asked about limes and if they grew in the area and she huffed her baby on her shoulders and had me follow her through a coconut grove (aka mine field if they drop) to go collect some. Within 10 minutes, I had a giant bag of limes to take back to the boat. No money, but I went back later with some gifts to share. We carry lots of different things for these occasions.
Back on Allora – Marcus caught this gorgeous creature, then let him go.
People have sailed into these remote places for ages
when it was a much more dangerous and difficult thing to do
no guardian angel satellites watching over with pin point accuracy
no buzz of data vibrating in the invisible electromagnetic spectrum
They came for whale oil and gold.
It’s hardest to understand how the captains found their sailors
willing to fall off the end of the earth
What were they promised?
Whalers raided the Marquesas for women
stories of rape they did not share back in New Bedford
with their pious wives hiding wooden dildos in the walls
the food the rot the stink
there must not have been many better choices
the brutal life of a common sailor
~MS
