12 19.000′ S
142 19.075′ W

We have returned to the quiet and solitude of the Pacific tradewind belt. Our last couple of days in the Marquesas seem quite busy by comparison. As Dallas described, the hike to the waterfall at Daniel’s Bay was magnificent. What’s more, swimming in the cold (but somehow still comfortable), crystal-clear freshwater pool, nearly surrounded on all sides by immense volcanic rock, ranks near the top of our list of things to do in the Marquesas.

Verdant canyon near the waterfall

Shortly after we arrived at the waterfall, we were joined by a cruising couple aboard S/V Alethia Ann who we had never met but quickly befriended. We invited them aboard for a drink on Wednesday night and found them to be delightful company. Like Dallas and I, they are happy newlyweds, but unlike us, they come from different places and times. She is a young and exuberant retail clerk from Thailand, while he is an older English ex-pat who was a pilot for many years. In addition to building two houses in the Caribbean, he built their boat (which took longer), an unusual square-rigged, 48′ monohull that he has sailed across the Atlantic three times. Their boat only sails at 3 or 4 knots top speed due to its heavy load, so they had allotted 6 weeks for the Galapagos-to-Marquesas passage! Fortunately, it only took them 29 days. Let’s hope that they have similar luck throughout the Pacific, as they are making a beeline to north Australia in an effort to beat the cyclone season. Provided the Somali pirate situation improves (allowing us to stick with our original route), we will see them again at their new home in Thailand.

Pek and Barry aboard Pura Vida

Getting a tow back to the boat from Pek and Barry

I think we all could have spent several days in Daniel’s Bay enjoying the pool as well as the verdant feast-for-the-eyes offered by the surrounding cliffs and forest trail, but we, too, have to watch the calendar. As it turned out, we spent an extra night there, but it was out of necessity, as Dallas attempted to use the generator to equalize the house batteries. This, I am told, was long overdue in that their capacity was greatly depleted, but since we have been spoiling ourselves with the use of computers, stereo, fans, etc., it took the entire day just to bring the batteries back to baseline. By the time we were in super-charge mode, there was less than an hour left before neighbors would have been heading to bed, not long enough to have much of an effect on our overall capacity, so I’m sure we will be trying again soon.

While Dallas dealt with the electrical system, Wes, Tiff, and I jumped in the dinghy (using the outboard motor this time) and headed back to the adjacent bay to fill our jugs with the "best water in the world" and take our meager offering to the woman that had loaded us up with fruit the day before. Tiff and I went to see her while Wes got started filling water. First I showed her the baguette that I had brought despite that it represented a good part of our limited bread supply for the passage to the Tuamotus. Immediately she rejected it. I had better luck with a large jar of jelly (purchased in Panama), but that’s when things kind of stalled out. She accepted a men’s t-shirt, a package of unopened duct tape, and a new can of WD-40, but it was clear that she was not impressed with any of these items. Admittedly, we got the better end of the deal, but we simply did not have the cigarettes and jewelry ("no small earrings, big ones!") that she desired.

The home of Monette, the professional barterer

It was pretty evident that we needed to be trading with someone more likely to identify with our financial situation (i.e., poor). We found him on the beach of Daniel’s Bay. He was a younger (30-something) man with long hair tied back and no shirt on, revealing a large tattoo and a sharks’ tooth necklace. When I asked if he had pamplemousse, he smiled and promptly walked us over to his tree of plenty. He sort of chuckled when I told him we had a little bit to trade as if this was not so important. After loading us up with 13 large fruit, he asked if we wanted more, but I told him that was plenty, thanked him profusely, and awkwardly handed him a hot pink gift bag (it was the only one I had on the boat!) full of canned corn beef, candles, tea, chewing gum, and canned peas. After seeing his house, I think he might appreciate at least some of the goods. He lived in an open-air abode that he built himself and decorated with animal bones, a Jack Daniel’s bottle used for candles, and a Bob Marley poster. We were so impressed with his generosity that we intended to make some cookies for him once back on the boat, forgetting that that required electricity, which we did not have use of while the generator was running. (We have an electric solenoid valve connected to our propane tank.) Oh well. He knew we were grateful.

A gift of pampelmousse

Assorted fruits from Daniel’s Bay

We awoke early on Friday, lifted anchor, and motored out into calm seas. It was a beautiful day, and we took some parting shots of the Marquesas Islands. We hadn’t planned to stay there quite so long (almost a month) but don’t regret a day of it (OK, maybe the day I spent in bed with heat rash). Now it’s only 500 or so miles to the Tuamotu ("many islands" in Tahitian) Archipelago, a group of 76 coral atolls barely above sea level. This would have been our longest passage ever just a few months ago but now seems like a short, pleasant hop. The days are flying by thanks to good books, and the nights have been gorgeous starting with the rising of the orange, nearly-full moon on the horizon around 8:30 p.m..

The big news this morning was that the partial stalk of bananas that we pulled off a tree (from an uninhabited location, mind you) in Taipivai had turned yellow at last. (After a week passed, we were beginning to wonder if they couldn’t ripen off the tree.) They are now almost gone; the little bananas grown here are irresistible.

We are sailing under the main and jib at around 5 knots on average; at this rate, we should arrive at the archipelago on Tuesday. Unlike previous landfalls, we will not be able to see the islands until we are very close. We will then have a somewhat narrow and likely very shallow channel to navigate into a lagoon. We are all excited to experience a new type of island, especially one that will compel us to break out the scuba gear!