09.21S 140.06W
JENNY
Alan Franklin/ Lynne Gane
Fri 4 Apr 2008 03:49
We have now left Nuku Hiva and are on our way to
the Tuamoto Archipelago via an island called Ua Pou just to the south of Nuku
Hiva.
On the islands there are the remains of gods and
idols and the sacrificial sites where human sacrifices were made and cannibalism
took place ,normally after cooking in your favourite sauce,I wonder which parts
were the tasty bits.Any way that has all stopped now or so they
say.
We did the 4 wheel drive tour without a guide as we
had toured the Island 2 years ago and we managed to find the same spots again
and I was able to relate some of the history,the scenery is quite stunning as
you are touring round a volcano with impressive peaks and valleys.
The Marqueasa are the first Polynesian people that
we have encountered (Galapagos is Ecuador).The Polynesians of today have not
changed much from the predecessors, apart from the lack of human meat in there
diet,bronze coloured skin slight build and straight black hair as contact
with the outside world is still limited.The women are abit less liberated than
there sisters in the Captain Cook days.He nearly lost his ship when the sailors
discovered they could win agirls favour with as little as a single nail (copper
of course) or so the story goes.
As I sit aboard the boat I can hear the native
group ashore playing the traditional rhythms and hear the dancers re-enacting
the pig hunt,two nights ago we had a traditional pig feast where the pig is
cooked in the ground with hot stones and fruit layered between palm throngs,when
looking at it you do get the impression that this could have been the way that
they cooked there captives,I suppose pigs could be the right
analogy.
After leaving Taiohae Bay 2 days ago we went to a
place called Daniel's Bay which was owned by a chap of the same name who use to
supply passing yachts with fresh water and fruit for a small token.However it
was discovered by the Survivor TV people for their series who bought it from
Daniel flattened his house seal the well and when they had finished with it sold
it on and now it has reverted back to Daniel's Bay again.It is a lovely
spot again with a sandy beech, palm trees,we had a picnic there with about forty
others and a game of cricket.The English side Won
We had a cracking sail over to this island covering
the 25nm in just over 3 hrs there is only one other BWR yacht here a HR 53
called Blue Raven and we have been invited aboard for dinner tonight.The
last 2/3 days I have been down with food poisoning ,its the pig getting its own
back ,but should be okay now.
We are off to the Tuamoto's tomorrow about 500 nm
away say 4 days sailing they are known as the Dangerous Archipelago because they
consist of a series of low lying atolls.All of the atolls are only as high as
the tallest palm tree,there is nothing standing more than 45 ft high and
although GPS helps some of the charts are so old that the positions shown by the
GPS could be up to 2 nm out.These are not the south pacific islands
surrounded by reefs but the sunken craters of extinct volcanoes with various
peaks poking up and some passes through the peaks which can be difficult to
navigate in fact its all eye ball navigation.In the lagoons are"Boomies" these
are coral heads just below the surface to trap any yacht without a
lookout.
Reading all the available pilots and charts is some
very serious study as more yachts have ended up on reefs here than any other
place in the world,one of the yachts on the rally who has been here before said
that he had never seen so many wrecked yachts in one area,this is where Gipsy
Moth went down 2 years ago.
Having braved all the hazards and found the pass
into the atoll we will find small villages black pearls superb snorkelling and
local culture and even the odd lagoon and another warning on shark
attacks.It had better be worthwhile as we have three on our agenda.
Jenny has just come back from going ashore in the
dinghy we are anchored in the bay ,there is party tonight and a local
dance competition to which we have been invited by the Mayor (better get the
nails out) in my dreams.Tomorrow we have been invited to go on a tour with him
followed by lunch,I wonder what we will have to trade?
Just an after thought, when we and anchored up
Sheila on Blue Raven asked us if we had lost a dinghy pointing some way out
to sea you can guess the rest.Salvage cost us 4- Beers 2- Bottles of wine and
desert.
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