10:27.88S 138:40.10 W Fatu Hiva, French Polynesia.

Lisanne
Eric Alfredson
Fri 5 May 2017 05:05
Fatu Hiva, Thursday May 4th, 2017
 
Hi Lisanne friends,
We arrived Fatu Hiva at midninight on Tuesday after almost 17 1/2 days at sea. The wind died on the last evening so we had to motor during the night. We got in at the anchorage and got a good spot near land where it was only 16m deep.  Guess if it felt good to turn the engine off and have an “anchor dram” with Caribbean Rum ?  We were quite proud of having crossed the longest part of the South Pacific, 3000 Nm. Now the Paradise Islands are waiting for us!
 
On Wednesday morning we woke up and could see what Fatu Hiva looked like. We had to look twice to take in what we saw. What stunning beauty !  Fatu Hiva is an 1100 m high volcanic island with dramatic scenery. Steep mountain peaks and lush rainforest. There are around 800 inhabitants of Polynesian origin. They all speak french so we try our best to remember our long forgotten school french!
 
Eager to do some physical exercise after many days of sitting still we hiked up to one of the high peaks where a large cross was erected. It was pretty hard climb and we were exhausted when we got down again. It rained for a large part of the hike and it rains on and off all the time here. So we cannot leave the hatches open on the boat even if it is around 35 C both in the air and in the water. The swimmimg is not really cooling you down either.
 
At sunset we were invited to our Oyster friends at Meteorite for sundowners. It was really nice to talk to someone else than the crew for a while and hear all the stories from the crossing.
 
Today we were invited to a local family who had cooked a delicious lunch consisting of fresh fruits, tuna, goat (they are everywhere here, climbing the mountains), chicken and breadfruit. We traded fresh grapefruit, lime and lemon, bananas and spices against some canned food, old ropes and toys for the children. You don’t really need money here the locals prefer trading against useful things instead.
 
We then went to search for the waterfall but got lost in the jungle and were completely soaked by the continous rain so we had to give up. Mike and Klas made a second attempt later and found it and reported of amazing beauty.
 
We are now preparing for our departure tomorrow to the next Island, Hiva Oa where we will clear in and hopefully get some shopping and laundry done and maybe also internet connection. Maybe something has happened in the outside world since we last were connected three weeks ago ?
 
More reports will follow and hopefully also some pictures.
 
Regards from the Lisanne crew in Polynesia.