09 48S 139 01W
Libertyatsea10
Sat 24 Jul 2010 19:36
still here in the lovely Tahuata. Did lots of little jobs on the boat, swimming and snorkelling. We just spent hours pootling around the edge of the bay looking at the fish bustling about on the daily chores. They seem so busy going their thing around the coral. My guide was Benj, who happens to be a font of knowledge about the types of fish and their habitat. He was obviously listening when we went on the scuba training, whilst all I was doing was watching his flippers and panicking about him. Johann seems to spend all day snorkeling ,he cannot get enough of it. Juergen cleaned the prop and then snoozed away the afternoon in the sun, because he can , coz he has dark skin.
We had sundowners on Chaperit ( Hebrew for Dragon Fly ) owned by Zulu. He is a really interesting guy whose son is off to do his post doc at Oxford so we hope we will see them all when we go home. Zulu has been most of the way round in his Amel with friends and family . We had a good look round and I was really impressed with the boat. As a cruising vessel doing the stuff we are doing it has to be a perfect option. Mostly I love the covered in cock pit, most coveted for those wet night watches. It also has lots of comfy places to sit to read which is one of the minor weaknesses of the lovely Liberty. The touch button furling is also SO cruisy but I cannot admit to wishing for that as it would make me feel old, but my crew to a man, had no qualms about instantly loudly voting for the easy life.
We bartered a bottle of vodka for fruit, fish and bread as the nearest village is about 5 miles away by dinghy. The local guys (all beautifully tattooed with the real thing, very tasteful) who came by in a power boat were going fishing and promised to return tomorrow with the fish....we will see... they gave us oranges, mangoes and huge pampelmousse, which look like grapefruit balloons, and taste like heaven. They have so much juice and are so sweet, but not sticky sweet. We love them and the locals don't bother with them. There are very few fruits or veg grown here at all and supplies are hard to come by.
The folks here appear to have developed a love affair with processed food. This is a great pity for us, as local food is hard to come by at all, but also, sadly, people here appear to be suffering the fast food weight gain attributed to that sort of diet. The local beauties that the crew were so eager to meet, all seem to be rather overweight and out of condition. The men fare a little better but the older woman drives about in a huge 4 by 4 ( someone said the cars are heavily subsidized by the French government) and she really appears to fill it. I believe there might be a serious obesity problem here. The tiny shops are full of junk and of course, Heinz tomato ketchup (which pleases Benj anyway).
We had Caiperina s on Chaperit and having been alcohol free for many months, I certainly stumbled into the dinghy for the return home. We were joined on Chaperit by the crew from Regina, such good, close friends by now. We had a lovely evening, chatting and enjoying the company. Benj immediately found Chaperit's DVD player and was otherwise engaged for the while. He is a gem to survive with so much adult company and the folks we meet really appreciate him.
We are not rushing off because there are local reports of huge seas, so we will reassess the conditions tomorrow.
... another day, far more beautiful than could ever be due to us.
XXX