Hiva Oa
'Sarf & West mate, Sarf & West'
Pete Bernfeld
Thu 27 May 2010 13:39
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Almost completed checking in. Immighration want to
see all passport holders, not just the boat skipper, so this morning we'll all
walk into town. Helen also has to deposit a bond here which she reclaims once we
leave French Polynesia, in Bora Bora. I was hoping she could pay it once we got
to Tahiti, the 'books' suggested that itn was possible but alas no, it has to be
done here.
Other minor irritations: My phone with its
'International' SIM card doesn't work here and when I tried to buy a local
SIM card I was told that most yottie's phones don't work here, there's something
'different' about the networks here. The cheapest phone I found in the little
store across from the Post office was 4300 CPF (Central Pacific Francs, the
local) which equates to about £35, plus £10 for the SIM card. As I'll be in
french Polynesia for at least six weeks I'll think about it. The internet wifi
access is very expensive (around 4Euros an hour and the signal is a bit hit and
miss, so maybe SKYPE isn't a viable option either). The satellite signal is also
intermittent as the anchorage is surrounded by large hills. Life eh? Who said it
was going to be easy.
Shopping is expensive, two baguettes, a packet of
sugar and two very small packs of blue cheese came to about £10. We (Delicado
and I) had six cans of soft drinks after the walk into town, that came to about
£2.50 a can for a 'regular' size as you get in the Uk and Europe. Won't be doing
that again!
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