Our second anchorage on Tahuata had fed us well, the following morning we went ashore again and explored more of the settlement, despite the heat we followed the dirt road out of the village and climbed up to a ridge which gave stunning views along the coast. Then it was back to the boat for more snorkeling.
The next bay along the coast, Hapatoni, was our destination the following morning, this was only a few miles so we were anchored in white sand by 10.30. As we arrived we noticed a pod of spinner dolphins just behind us so Heather and I quickly jumped overboard and swam to join them. We were lucky enough to be able to watch them swim beneath us, a little indistinct in the water but so streamlined and sleek, moving seemingly effortlessly, they were not in the least interested in us but we saw a couple of " fly passes" before they left. Even if we can't claim to have swum with dolphins we can say they swam past us a few times. How lucky are we to have done even that?
The village of Hapatoni was a quiet sleepy place, we saw few people but those who were about were friendly and cheerful. The modern houses are very obviously built in a place which has been enhabited for a long time. Many are built on the old stone platforms used as foundations for the original wooden dwellings of the islands. These platforms, called pae pae or meae, can be many hundreds of years old, in our wandering we have found many overgrown in the jungle or with a single tiki on them. It just shows how old the civilisation here is, there may not be the historical buildings and structures of our own accent history but there has been civilisation here for just as long. All along the water front here was a raised stone embankment , called the Royal Road. It was built in the 18th century and still protecting the village from the sea as well as being the high street,(and only street).
Our stay here was only short as we had planned a night passage to Fatu Hiva, the next island in our trip. Before we left though we were invited over to Matilda, another boat in the anchorage, for sundowners. These gatherings of cruisers are a lovely social way to exchange news and information as well as meeting new people.
The passage to Fatu Hiva was uneventful, the wind was light and from the wrong direction so we motored the 45 miles or so, at least we arrived with full batteries and water tanks due to the abundance of amps supplied by the engine.
Our approach to the anchorage was not the usual crystal clear waters we are used to, they had obviously had heavy rain overnight and the river running into the bay was heavy with mud and silt, the steep, lush cliffs surrounding the bay were also running with water, every gully a temporary waterfall adding to the brown water filling the bay. It was however still an incredible sight. The anchorage was quite busy, a dozen or so boats all swinging around on their chains, the sea bed here shelves so we ended up having to anchor in 22m, a lot of chain to let out.
The Bay we were anchored in is probably the most photographed in the whole of French Polynesia, if you Google Fatu Hiva you will probably get a photo of The Bay Of Virgins. The bay was called something far more graphic until European missionaries arrived and spoilt everything, they apparently stopped people eating "long pig" as well.
We went ashore for our customary first wandering with the intention of walking to a waterfall for a swim, we were stopped by a river we had to ford, it was still in spate from the previous nights rain. It was possibly a good thing as the water coming over the falls may have been carrying all sorts of debris to drop on our heads.
Whilst returning to the boat we chatted to some other sailers who had arranged for dinner the following evening at a local house, would we like to join them? well yes of course we would.
So yesterday turned into quite a full day, we started early and climbed to a view point almost 500m above the anchorage, it was very steep and hot even starting at 7am but we were rewarded with increadable views. We then had a second attempt on the waterfall trail, this time the river crossing proved passable and after an hour slogging through jungle we were rewarded with 70m high falls and a deep cold pool beneath to swim in.
Dinner out proved we'll worth the effort, there were 15 or so fellow yachties present and we were treated to some very local produce. We started with raw fish, fresh from the bay, marinated in lime and coconut served with red banana and then chicken with rice also cooked with coconut. I suspect the chicken had been quite local as well. There was also an endless supply of fruit picked within feet of our outside dining table. Our enterprising hosts also produced a veriaty of beautifully made local crafts, she worked on tapa, local designs painted on bark which has been beaten to make a heavy cloth like material and he carved wooden tiki from local woods. We returned to the boat tired and full, all in all a very good day.
Tim