Journal Entry – June 15, 2005 – Last Full Day on Nuku Hiva

Author: Scott

Today was our last full day on Nuku Hiva. On prior days we had schlepped 70 gallons of rat water onto the boat and we now have 36 bottles of drinking water, so we are done with the water provisioning. Today we focused on acquiring fresh food provisions and completing all the necessary boat chores to depart. Our first order of business was to tidy up the boat for departing. On deck we disassembled and stowed the giant rain catcher, which never got a chance to be used for anything other than a sun shade. We moved the ice chest from its strapped down position in front of the mast, to be used in the cockpit until we ran out of ice. We cleaned down below and Pam stowed the water and fresh fruits.

With these chores complete we took the dinghy to the quay (without any major engine trouble). Once on land I immediately realized I had left my shoes on the boat, and not wanting to temp fate with the dinghy I decided when in Nuku Hiva do as the locals do and I carried on with bare feet. Our first stop on land was to return to the Gendarmerie to check out. Our checking out experience was much smoother than checking in. We simply gave our boat name, they verified that we only had two crew, and we were told we could leave. Wow! That was it, no other formalities necessary. Next we headed almost all the way around the bay to the little food truck we learned about on our tour with Don and Sally. We had gotten assistance from Marianne back at the hotel, and had a translated copy of their offerings. Unfortunately, they did not have any of the items we originally intended on purchasing but after a conversation in Frenqlish with the owner we managed to procure an already roasted chicken and four small uncooked frozen pork chops. The trip to the food truck was greatly improved with my order of a pineapple milkshake, it was divine! We then rushed over to the local store we visited a few days earlier so we could buy ice and onions before they closed for the lunch break. Most business on Nuku Hiva close between 1130 and 1430 for a lunch period similar to the Mexican siesta. We made it with time to spare only to find out that they did not have ice, but they still had Pam’s prize onions that she had been coveting since our last visit. What we did not realize is those all important onions were going to cause a big hole in our day. You see since we could not get ice at this store, we were going to have to kill three hours until we could visit the other stores after the lunch break. So, our fresh items would have to hold out until we could get some ice, but Pam had remembered to bring our insulated cooler bags along so our food items would make it without any loses.

We decided we would eat lunch at Moana Nui (the egg pizza place), but no pizza is served at lunchtime. Pam had citrus chicken and I had a chef salad, both meals were well prepared, but eating only took about forty five minutes so we were forced to languish in the warm tropical breeze with Hinano (Tahitian beer) to wet our whistles. We endured this torture until the real torture of the no-no’s drove Pam from the restaurant. We then walked across the road and settled on a big lava rock to watch the local kids surfing in the large breakers that spectacularly crash along the rock strewn shore. Just why weren’t these kids in school, and did their parents know they were surfing on a shore with perilous rocks just a few feet from where they were swimming? I thought to myself that this was just what I would have been doing when I was a boy living in Santa Monica. We sat and watched enjoying the lovely weather and energy of the kids surfing until we had finally eaten up most of our waiting period for the store to reopen so we could get our ice. We returned to the scene of the crime where I returned the exorbitant $60 case of beer. When I asked for ice the clerk slid open a cooler and pulled out bags of crushed ice that looked suspiciously as though they had been made of frozen tap water. I asked if the ice could be used for cooking and drinking and she replied that yes it was safe. We paid $6 for three little bags of ice, cooled off our other purchases, and returned to the dinghy.

Glad to be back on the water and off my feet in Polynesian training. We had no problems with our dinghy returning to the boat. We put our purchases away and made ready for a visit from Stephan and his girlfriend Gorete, who we had invited over for a little farewell get together. I noticed as I stowed the ice in the ice chest that our supposedly clean ice was not only made of tap water, but it was dirty water. There would be no using this ice for cooking or drinks, and it cold only be used for keeping things cold. We put together a few appetizers of chips and salsa, and we even sacrificed the one and only sacred jicama from Mexico. I mixed up some margaritas and we were soon joined by our new friends. Gorete is Brazilian and though she speaks French, Portuguese and Spanish fluently she knows very little English. Gorete managed the conversation with no problem and we all had a nice night under a nearly full moon. I was able to finally verify the shape and location of the Southern Cross and Stephan also showed us how to find the Scorpion constellation. Our guests left around 2000 and Pam and I had a snack and then hit the hay after a long day on Nuku Hiva.