Hello Everyone,
Just a quick update that we are 160 miles into our trip and it is 4am in the morning. I am ending my shift so thought to send a note. We are at 13.53.475 latitude and 165.26.742 Longitude on a course of 248 averaging about 8 - 9 knots. We are double reefed on the main and just have a hankerchief of a jib out. The winds have been strong southerly all day around 20 - 30 knots so we are staying north and going west so that we have a better wind angle. The swells are pretty much on our side and it is a wild, wet and confused ride. There have been rain shower all day and then on top of that the waves are splashing up over the bimini at times and then also up over the side of the boat. I was seasick today so the only spot that makes me feel better is the captain chair or on the side of it, needless to say I was getting really wet. Tristan would come sit with me because he was sick to and since he doesn't have foulies he wrapped our vinyl table cover around him to keep the water off... Some waves it is like someone just through a bucket of water over our heads. I am so grateful the water is 83 degrees I just hope I don't end up with a fish in my pocket.
Anyway we are making good progress right now and taking advantage of the winds because they are suppose to be settling down to nothing in the next couple of days and we may end up motoring a good portion of our way... right now I am looking forward to that. The kids are all seasick so they are just laying around the boat trying to find a spot where they aren't as sick and it looks like a war zone in here because everything has fallen over or fallen off a shelf... We usually don't have to strap things down or put them in cupboards but for this ride we should have. But it is all good and we can clean it up when everything starts to settle.
Hugs and love to everyone,
Heather
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Family Circus
Wild Oaks Family Farm, Shenandoah Valley, Plymouth, CA
Friday, August 14, 2015
Thursday, August 13, 2015
We are leaving Suwarrow tomorrow.... for real this time.
Hello Everyone,
Well it has been a wonderful 8 days in paradise... We have been really lucky with the weather and being able to enjoy Suwarrow for all that it has to offer. It truly is as picturesque as a screen saver. We will be leaving here tomorrow Thursday 13th... and hope to arrive in Tonga on Monday it is a 700 mile passage. We are ready to leave and excited for the passage because it should be really good weather and decent swells to go with us... At some point we will have to motor but I enjoy that because it usually means the seas have died down. We are sad to leave this beautiful little spot in the middle of no where. We have been snorkeling daily, fishing, flying kites, swimming with our shark friends... and some that aren't so much our friends, walking on the beach, climbing trees, making videos, and of course the potlucks on the beach almost nightly and everyone brings their guitars and ukeleles... and we all sing along sitting around the fire under the stars.... just magical!
Yesterday Chris and I had decided to go out to snorkel the channel that comes in to the lagoon with Patrick and Anna... the channels are usually really beautiful because there is a shallow reef on the side and then you have the wall of coral and the drop off that goes into the really deep part. So we are snorkeling along and like usual we see a grey shark swimming about and being a little curious so it is swimming about 10 feet away and then disappears... so we keep going... then it comes back and there are 2 grey sharks... okay so they are swimming around us and then go away... well then about 15 minutes go by and I think what they did is went and told all their friends that we were there because all of a sudden there were about 12 grey sharks swimming toward us.... they at first just looked like they were checking us out since we were in their neighborhood... I don't like it when there are that many within 20 feet of us so I decided to bail and jump in the dinghy with Anna.... so then it is Patrick and Chris in the water and I am hanging my head in the water watching as these sharks are starting to get a little more lets say upset that we are there. They start to come a little closer and swim quickly in a zig zag motion... I pick my head up out of the water and then all of a sudden both Chris and Patrick jump up into the dinghy like they are shamu at seaworld with all their legs and arms out of the water... We asked was it the sharks... and they both said Nooooo... we just decided to get out of the water at the same time... Uh Huhh.. sure....
Today we celebrated Tristan's 14th Birthday... he said all he wanted for his birthday was to not be on passage so we had that covered at least... I found a pound of bacon in the fridge... which is quite treasured around here since there are no shops for weeks... He got all the bacon and was really enjoying eating it in front of all the kids while they were drooling watching him... I explained that it was his only birthday present so he got to eat the whole thing... he did share in the end but had fun with them watching him eat it first... Then our friends from Shine came over and for Tristan's birthday they had made a happy birthday video of him and all the silly things they have captured him doing on film.... it was so touching and fun to watch... we have watched it over and over again... they also gave him a fried egg and bacon sandwich, an almost empty jar of peanut butter, some chocolate milk powder and a card that said the 14 reason why they love Tristan.... So awesome! Then they had taken him away to go play all day... super fun.
We had a spaghetti feed tonight for diner with Shine and the family with twin boys on Por Dos. Lots of people on the boat... lots of kids and lots of fun! Tristan had a great day but in the end.... he really misses home and his friends and the times they spent together... so there was a little sadness to the day as well. These are the times that it hits hard and you really think about home and really start missing what you left behind. Things in a way are so much easier at home, but also in a way so much easier out here because you just have to either plan really good or just do without....
We will all go in to see the ranger Harry tomorrow and make sure we are cleared from the country and we have all of our paperwork together in order to clear into the next country. Then we will be departing around 10am tomorrow with Shine and Por Dos. We are buddy boating to Tonga with them, it is always nice to know that there are other boats out there with you. I really dread the passages... they just take so long and you don't ever get the rest that you need... hopefully the weather stays as predicted and it is a smooth passage down. I am excited for to get there and see what Tonga has to offer... I hear it is absolutely amazing and very welcoming and friendly to cruisers.
Hugs and love to everyone back home... we miss you guys!
Love Heath
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Well it has been a wonderful 8 days in paradise... We have been really lucky with the weather and being able to enjoy Suwarrow for all that it has to offer. It truly is as picturesque as a screen saver. We will be leaving here tomorrow Thursday 13th... and hope to arrive in Tonga on Monday it is a 700 mile passage. We are ready to leave and excited for the passage because it should be really good weather and decent swells to go with us... At some point we will have to motor but I enjoy that because it usually means the seas have died down. We are sad to leave this beautiful little spot in the middle of no where. We have been snorkeling daily, fishing, flying kites, swimming with our shark friends... and some that aren't so much our friends, walking on the beach, climbing trees, making videos, and of course the potlucks on the beach almost nightly and everyone brings their guitars and ukeleles... and we all sing along sitting around the fire under the stars.... just magical!
Yesterday Chris and I had decided to go out to snorkel the channel that comes in to the lagoon with Patrick and Anna... the channels are usually really beautiful because there is a shallow reef on the side and then you have the wall of coral and the drop off that goes into the really deep part. So we are snorkeling along and like usual we see a grey shark swimming about and being a little curious so it is swimming about 10 feet away and then disappears... so we keep going... then it comes back and there are 2 grey sharks... okay so they are swimming around us and then go away... well then about 15 minutes go by and I think what they did is went and told all their friends that we were there because all of a sudden there were about 12 grey sharks swimming toward us.... they at first just looked like they were checking us out since we were in their neighborhood... I don't like it when there are that many within 20 feet of us so I decided to bail and jump in the dinghy with Anna.... so then it is Patrick and Chris in the water and I am hanging my head in the water watching as these sharks are starting to get a little more lets say upset that we are there. They start to come a little closer and swim quickly in a zig zag motion... I pick my head up out of the water and then all of a sudden both Chris and Patrick jump up into the dinghy like they are shamu at seaworld with all their legs and arms out of the water... We asked was it the sharks... and they both said Nooooo... we just decided to get out of the water at the same time... Uh Huhh.. sure....
Today we celebrated Tristan's 14th Birthday... he said all he wanted for his birthday was to not be on passage so we had that covered at least... I found a pound of bacon in the fridge... which is quite treasured around here since there are no shops for weeks... He got all the bacon and was really enjoying eating it in front of all the kids while they were drooling watching him... I explained that it was his only birthday present so he got to eat the whole thing... he did share in the end but had fun with them watching him eat it first... Then our friends from Shine came over and for Tristan's birthday they had made a happy birthday video of him and all the silly things they have captured him doing on film.... it was so touching and fun to watch... we have watched it over and over again... they also gave him a fried egg and bacon sandwich, an almost empty jar of peanut butter, some chocolate milk powder and a card that said the 14 reason why they love Tristan.... So awesome! Then they had taken him away to go play all day... super fun.
We had a spaghetti feed tonight for diner with Shine and the family with twin boys on Por Dos. Lots of people on the boat... lots of kids and lots of fun! Tristan had a great day but in the end.... he really misses home and his friends and the times they spent together... so there was a little sadness to the day as well. These are the times that it hits hard and you really think about home and really start missing what you left behind. Things in a way are so much easier at home, but also in a way so much easier out here because you just have to either plan really good or just do without....
We will all go in to see the ranger Harry tomorrow and make sure we are cleared from the country and we have all of our paperwork together in order to clear into the next country. Then we will be departing around 10am tomorrow with Shine and Por Dos. We are buddy boating to Tonga with them, it is always nice to know that there are other boats out there with you. I really dread the passages... they just take so long and you don't ever get the rest that you need... hopefully the weather stays as predicted and it is a smooth passage down. I am excited for to get there and see what Tonga has to offer... I hear it is absolutely amazing and very welcoming and friendly to cruisers.
Hugs and love to everyone back home... we miss you guys!
Love Heath
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Monday, August 10, 2015
Just a quick update..... still here on Suwarrow....
Hello Everyone,
Well we are still here on Suwarrow. We have been here since last Wednesday. We were all set to leave for Tonga Saturday when we took another look at the weather and decided that if we stayed here another week then it would be a much more comfortable voyage down to Vava'u Tonga. So here we are. Another factor is that Tristan's birthday request was that we weren't on passage for his birthday. He really wanted to be on an island and have his friends with him. So as luck has it... we still have shine with us and also convinced another boat named Por Dos to stay as well. They are another Catamaran that has twin boys age 14. The kids have been having a blast running around snorkeling, playing ghost in the graveyard on the beach at night, flying kites, swimming with the sharks..etc.. just what kids should be doing.
We have been having a lot of pot lucks on the beach with all the boats that are in the anchorage. For yesterdays pot luck the boys on family circus and shine (and xesca) decided to go fishing in the pass to see if they could catch anything. Just as they were about to give up Tristan's line takes off and almost takes him over the side of the dinghy with him. Chris had to jump in and help him reel in this rather large fish. It turned out to be a big eye tuna that we shared with everyone. It was about 15 and 20 pounds and really fat. When Tristan held it up it looked like it was about 3 feet long. Needless to say we now have tuna to share and wahoo still in the freezer.
We went snorkeling yesterday on the other side of the lagoon and it was amazing. The clarity and size of the reef fish here are just crazy. The parrot fish are huge along with all the groupers, snappers, and sharks.... it always seems that they find us and within 10 minutes of snorkeling they are just hanging out on the perimeter. These sharks definitely have a little bit of a different attitude than the ones that we have been used to. They are way more curious and less afraid... so it is a little unnerving when they turn and swim at you quickly from behind and then when you kick at them they just keep swimming through your bubbles at you.... this happened to Tristan and I yesterday with a black tip that was about 6 feet long... it just really wanted to come and check us out... finally it went away but then we looked around and there were about 8 sharks black tips, white tips and a gray that was swimming around us... we decided it was time to go and quickly swam back to the dinghy. Before the shark episode... the highlight of our snorkeling adventure was a turtle that swam right through us and was just tootling along. It didn't swim away until we tried to get a little closer to take pictures.. and then it just picked up its pace enough to out swim us... but was just beautiful.
Anyway... there are worse places to be stranded and we are really enjoying being here in Suwarrow and hanging out until our next passage of 5 days to Tonga.
Hugs and Love to everyone,
Heath
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Well we are still here on Suwarrow. We have been here since last Wednesday. We were all set to leave for Tonga Saturday when we took another look at the weather and decided that if we stayed here another week then it would be a much more comfortable voyage down to Vava'u Tonga. So here we are. Another factor is that Tristan's birthday request was that we weren't on passage for his birthday. He really wanted to be on an island and have his friends with him. So as luck has it... we still have shine with us and also convinced another boat named Por Dos to stay as well. They are another Catamaran that has twin boys age 14. The kids have been having a blast running around snorkeling, playing ghost in the graveyard on the beach at night, flying kites, swimming with the sharks..etc.. just what kids should be doing.
We have been having a lot of pot lucks on the beach with all the boats that are in the anchorage. For yesterdays pot luck the boys on family circus and shine (and xesca) decided to go fishing in the pass to see if they could catch anything. Just as they were about to give up Tristan's line takes off and almost takes him over the side of the dinghy with him. Chris had to jump in and help him reel in this rather large fish. It turned out to be a big eye tuna that we shared with everyone. It was about 15 and 20 pounds and really fat. When Tristan held it up it looked like it was about 3 feet long. Needless to say we now have tuna to share and wahoo still in the freezer.
We went snorkeling yesterday on the other side of the lagoon and it was amazing. The clarity and size of the reef fish here are just crazy. The parrot fish are huge along with all the groupers, snappers, and sharks.... it always seems that they find us and within 10 minutes of snorkeling they are just hanging out on the perimeter. These sharks definitely have a little bit of a different attitude than the ones that we have been used to. They are way more curious and less afraid... so it is a little unnerving when they turn and swim at you quickly from behind and then when you kick at them they just keep swimming through your bubbles at you.... this happened to Tristan and I yesterday with a black tip that was about 6 feet long... it just really wanted to come and check us out... finally it went away but then we looked around and there were about 8 sharks black tips, white tips and a gray that was swimming around us... we decided it was time to go and quickly swam back to the dinghy. Before the shark episode... the highlight of our snorkeling adventure was a turtle that swam right through us and was just tootling along. It didn't swim away until we tried to get a little closer to take pictures.. and then it just picked up its pace enough to out swim us... but was just beautiful.
Anyway... there are worse places to be stranded and we are really enjoying being here in Suwarrow and hanging out until our next passage of 5 days to Tonga.
Hugs and Love to everyone,
Heath
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Thursday, August 6, 2015
Suwarrow.... A tiny little atoll in the middle of the big blue.
Hello Everyone,
We arrived here into Suwarrow Wednesday around 2pm fighting a current through the channel of 4knts. We had a great passage coming over from Maupihaa.. nothing to complain about... confused seas with some big swells but plenty of wind for us to get here quickly. We averaged 200 mile days for the 3 day passage. I discovered that the transderm patch is my new miracle for sea sickness. I put half on myself and a quarter on Alexia and both of us were great for the trip. We had some big swells that would come through and Chris and Tristan had fun watching the knot meter on the boat go from 8 knts to 14 while we were surfing down these waves. We are now anchored and it is still really windy (16 - 22 knts) but it is nice to be on the hook. (Latitude 13.14.844S and 163.06.559W)
We have now checked into the cook islands and have the cool stamp of Suwarrow in our passports. It is really hard to believe that we are actually here... it is so far removed and so beautiful. There are 2 rangers on land. They get dropped off here in June and then get picked up in November by a ship. They have to provision for their stay of 5 months because they are not visited again by supply ships until they are picked up. There are about 10 other boats in our anchorage and we had a great pot luck on the beach last night meeting everyone that is here, and eating the first part of our Wahoo! (mmm delicious!). Many of the boats we already new and thankfully there are about 5 boats with kids on them so the kids have plenty of play time while we are here.
Suwarrow is a conservation island so many of the places and things people used to be able to do are protected now. We are not allowed to roam through the island unless we stay on the designated paths, we cant swim with the manta rays, we can't go to the other motus unless we hire the ranger to go with us.... but this is all completely understandable since they are trying very hard to protect their wildlife, especially the birds. They are very protective of the birds here because there is a species that is only here in Suwarrow. There is a great snorkel spot right behind our boat and we have learned that this spot is really the only one they want you to snorkel in because outside of the anchorage the sharks are much bigger and aggressive. There are many black tip reef sharks (10 or so) hanging around our boat waiting for scraps of food to be tossed... the rangers had made it very clear that we are not to put any food in the water because sometimes the big sharks come through the anchorage especially if they learn there is food... Even with all these restrictions I am glad that we are here and are looking forward to playing and hanging out for a few days before we make our way to Tonga.
Anna from Shine and I are going to walk around the island today (lots of mosquito repellent!!!)... it takes 15 minutes... then I am not sure what we will do the rest of the day... maybe make bread, do some school, put up the slack line on the beach, and get some well needed rest.
Hope everyone is having a great day and hugs and love to all.
Heath
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We arrived here into Suwarrow Wednesday around 2pm fighting a current through the channel of 4knts. We had a great passage coming over from Maupihaa.. nothing to complain about... confused seas with some big swells but plenty of wind for us to get here quickly. We averaged 200 mile days for the 3 day passage. I discovered that the transderm patch is my new miracle for sea sickness. I put half on myself and a quarter on Alexia and both of us were great for the trip. We had some big swells that would come through and Chris and Tristan had fun watching the knot meter on the boat go from 8 knts to 14 while we were surfing down these waves. We are now anchored and it is still really windy (16 - 22 knts) but it is nice to be on the hook. (Latitude 13.14.844S and 163.06.559W)
We have now checked into the cook islands and have the cool stamp of Suwarrow in our passports. It is really hard to believe that we are actually here... it is so far removed and so beautiful. There are 2 rangers on land. They get dropped off here in June and then get picked up in November by a ship. They have to provision for their stay of 5 months because they are not visited again by supply ships until they are picked up. There are about 10 other boats in our anchorage and we had a great pot luck on the beach last night meeting everyone that is here, and eating the first part of our Wahoo! (mmm delicious!). Many of the boats we already new and thankfully there are about 5 boats with kids on them so the kids have plenty of play time while we are here.
Suwarrow is a conservation island so many of the places and things people used to be able to do are protected now. We are not allowed to roam through the island unless we stay on the designated paths, we cant swim with the manta rays, we can't go to the other motus unless we hire the ranger to go with us.... but this is all completely understandable since they are trying very hard to protect their wildlife, especially the birds. They are very protective of the birds here because there is a species that is only here in Suwarrow. There is a great snorkel spot right behind our boat and we have learned that this spot is really the only one they want you to snorkel in because outside of the anchorage the sharks are much bigger and aggressive. There are many black tip reef sharks (10 or so) hanging around our boat waiting for scraps of food to be tossed... the rangers had made it very clear that we are not to put any food in the water because sometimes the big sharks come through the anchorage especially if they learn there is food... Even with all these restrictions I am glad that we are here and are looking forward to playing and hanging out for a few days before we make our way to Tonga.
Anna from Shine and I are going to walk around the island today (lots of mosquito repellent!!!)... it takes 15 minutes... then I am not sure what we will do the rest of the day... maybe make bread, do some school, put up the slack line on the beach, and get some well needed rest.
Hope everyone is having a great day and hugs and love to all.
Heath
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Tuesday, August 4, 2015
On our way to Suwarrow.... 36 hours and counting.
Hello Everyone,
Just a quick note saying that we are 36 hours into our voyage to Suwarrow... It is 11:00 and my shift is just starting... I will be on watch until 2am. We are currently at 15.29.291S Latitude and 158.44.257W Longitude, there are a few pocket of stars out. We are taking the advice of Bob McDavit and trying to stay below the an area of possible squally weather with the southern convergence zone just north of us..... so we are on a very west heading and then at the last will turn right to go north on up to Suwarrow. The weather has been decent with steady winds between 18 - 22knts. The swell has been pretty much behind us but very rolly and about 6 - 9 feet. So it isnt a completely comfortable passage but is bearable. We had our first over 200 mile passage yesterday.
We started on a really great note catching a Wahoo. We haven't been able to catch anything for a long time and were starting to wonder if there were any fish in the sea... we had caught a wahoo and lost it once back on our passage across the pacific so it was exciting to finally land this one. It was 5 feet long and 38 pounds so we will have a great fish feast with our friends when we get into Suwarrow.
Everyone is doing great... hanging out, playing and watching movies. With the ride that we are having there isn't much else to do because you constantly have to hang on.
We are hoping to be in Suwarrow by Wednesday night or Thursday morning...
Hope all is well with you.
Heather
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Just a quick note saying that we are 36 hours into our voyage to Suwarrow... It is 11:00 and my shift is just starting... I will be on watch until 2am. We are currently at 15.29.291S Latitude and 158.44.257W Longitude, there are a few pocket of stars out. We are taking the advice of Bob McDavit and trying to stay below the an area of possible squally weather with the southern convergence zone just north of us..... so we are on a very west heading and then at the last will turn right to go north on up to Suwarrow. The weather has been decent with steady winds between 18 - 22knts. The swell has been pretty much behind us but very rolly and about 6 - 9 feet. So it isnt a completely comfortable passage but is bearable. We had our first over 200 mile passage yesterday.
We started on a really great note catching a Wahoo. We haven't been able to catch anything for a long time and were starting to wonder if there were any fish in the sea... we had caught a wahoo and lost it once back on our passage across the pacific so it was exciting to finally land this one. It was 5 feet long and 38 pounds so we will have a great fish feast with our friends when we get into Suwarrow.
Everyone is doing great... hanging out, playing and watching movies. With the ride that we are having there isn't much else to do because you constantly have to hang on.
We are hoping to be in Suwarrow by Wednesday night or Thursday morning...
Hope all is well with you.
Heather
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Sunday, August 2, 2015
An end to Maupihaa... so sad to leave this wonderful atoll.
Hello Everyone,
This will just be a quick update since the last. As you can tell by the amount we are writing we are extremely blessed to have stopped at this wonderful atoll and enjoy the company of these wonderful families.. We have had an amazing time and will often in conversation come back with a "Remember that time when we were in Maupihaa....." We will be leaving here tomorrow for our 600 mile voyage to Suwarrow and I just wanted to finish up our Maupihaa story.
As Chris left off we were going coconut crab hunting, lobstering and egg collecting.... We started our Friday off with going in to get our Copra making lesson and to see where and how the families live. Like we said there are about 21 adults and 4 kids on the island. I think we have been greeted by or waved to by all of them in the 3 days we have been here. Taira really went out of his way to show and tell how they make a living here with the copra making and then showing us the beautiful simplicity of their homes... No electricty, no plumbing except for the garden irrigation line creeping out of the wells located right outside of each of the homes that lead to an outdoor bathroom/shower with 4 open walls made of palm fronds... The houses are made of corrugated tin and palm tree trunks.. with windows that get closed by a board. They typically have a coral floor and just beds inside. Then the kitchen is outside in another open sheltered hut with more corrugated tin and an oil drum for cooking... Even with the simplicity of the homes you find that they are filled with little decors that they have made along the way. Electrica had made beautiful curtains and bed covers and then little soda cans slit down the side for candles and wind toys... They had also cut a pearl bouy in 1/3rds and kept the middle to make a basketball hoop for their little boy. So good for the kids to see this amazing little home that is so warm and well kept and something they are very proud of. They collect the rain water for drinking and cooking and then they use the well water for bathing and doing laundry and dishes... When I say well water it is basically a whole in the ground with the walls lined with rocks about 2 meters deep and I believe the rain is collected in the whole... We were able to give them some of blow up solar lanterns to help with some of the lighting... hopefully it helps a little.
After seeing Tiara's and Electricia's house we decided to go and try to snorkel the pass and collect bird eggs off the north end of the island. So Tiara and Electricia gathered their snorkeling gear (a mask) and a couple towels and some fritters she had made that morning and we headed back down the only sort of dirt road to our boats... Along the way we met Pappi (electricia's father) and he joined our excursion.
We ended up going on Shine down to the other end and anchoring closer to the pass and the birds... Tiara driving the way with Pappi on the front of the boat pointing out expertly each of the coral heads and bouys on the 4 mile drive. On the way Electricia told us of the hurricane that came through a few years ago and wiped out all their homes. The waves were coming over and through the atoll. They had to hang on to the coconut trees so they didn't get swept away... and people say we need to worry about earthquakes... We ended up anchoring just in time for a squall to come thru and then it was time to collect eggs in the rain. Another family joined us for the adventure and we headed down the coral road to the reef where all the birds are. When I say some birds I am talking right out of Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds" THEY WERE EVERYWHERE. The kids had a blast finding the eggs which at first seemed hard to find because they are the same color as the coral... but the more you stop and look there is are eggs everywhere... in a football field size area and there were eggs laid with in 2 feet of each other in every direction.. You really had to pay attention to where you stepped. It was beautiful. Since they don't have chickens here they collect and use the tern eggs.
After the easter egg hunt...... it was still too windy and rainy to snorkel the pass so we decided to head back and take a rest before the nights activities of lobstering for the men and coconut crab hunting for the women. We have to wait until it is dark because both of these crustaceans are nocturnal and don't come out until after 7. The boys packed up their dive lights and got on their wetsuits because it is really chilly out there while us girls waited on the beach for the crabs to come out of hiding. After the boys left it was time for the girls to pile in the truck and make our way back down the same road we had traveled earlier that day. When the truck stopped it was a wonderful sight to see Pappi standing there with his headlamp on ready to lead the way. We weren't quite sure what we were looking for but they just said to watch our step (meaning our toes) and the crabs are really big... as he showed us from his elbow to the tips of his fingers and then a circle the size of a basketball... UGH>>. All I could think of is I know these things are called coconut crabs because their pinchers are so lethal and strong they can rip open coconuts... So off we go and head into the woods... Pappi took us into the deepest part of the coconut trees where there is old and rotting branches that have fallen down and the old discarded husks of the coconuts are rotten and falling apart... I am walking along with my little flashlight and trying to keep tabs on Amaia and Alina who is running around trying to keep up with Electricia's little 5 year old boy with no shoes on... and I turn my light to the right and right there a foot away is a giant blue crab about the size of a watermelon... just looking at me. "PAPPI!!!!!" I yelled and he came running over and said yes.... bon bon... These crabs are the most brilliant shades of blue I have ever seen on an animal... They are truly beautiful. When they catch them they quickly step on their backs and then actually grab the crab from the top so the pinchers can't get at them... then they put them in burlap sacks and tie a string around the top... I found out later that my crab was actually one of the smaller ones. Pappi found a much larger one and at the time we didn't have a sack so he tied a string around the body of it with a knot at the top of its back and then hung it on a branch to come back and get it later... When I came back down the path I saw Amaia standing next to the big crab hanging in the tree... I looked at the crab and saw that it was now holding a branch that was about and 1 1/2 in diameter.... I looked at Amaia and she just shrugged and said, "What he just grabbed it"... not that she wasn't playing with it or anything. We ended up catching 3 crabs for our farewell feast for Saturday night...When we got back to their house the boys had already returned to the boat and so we asked if they had caught any lobster. Oh Yes! 20 of them so we were definitely having a feast. In actuality when we caught up with the boys they said they hadn't caught any because they couldn't get the dinghy out to the reef in order to try... it was to dark and their guide couldn't find a pass for the boat... so the 20 lobsters that were caught were all caught by Tino the known fisherman in the family.
It is now Saturday night and I am getting ready to turn out the lights... I ate way to much along with everyone else. The families had put on an amazing array of dishes for us to choose from. Of course the beautiful crabs, lobsters, fish and rice... along with muscles in a coconut cream sauce, pumpkin tapioca desert, poisson crue... and fresh coconut water for each of us.... the kids had a blast with that one drinking straight out of the coconut. Again they wouldn't eat with us but spent the entire time getting us more food and cracking crab legs for us... the hospitality is beyond what I could imagine and the genuine warmth and good humor they have with their wonderful smiles and giggles that are always present... I just kept thinking to myself.. good lord how on earth is all this amazing food prepared on an open Tahitian fire pit. (which is an old oil drum cut in half with a grate over the top). They really put me to shame! Again we left in a timely manner along with the dishes we had prepared so that they would be able to sit and enjoy some of the amazing food they prepared... We kept asking why it is that they would not eat at the same time as us... we had heard that it is a strict polynesian tradition to feed the guests first... but the response we got was from one of the men at the end and pointed to us and said, "just in case... and then proceeded to pretend to throw up" of course laughing the whole time... Hmmmm... not sure if that was really meant to be a funny for all of us or funny for them... Just kidding. As we were leaving they gave us gifts to take with us of coconuts and home made fritters. The most special part was not only the food but they had woven a large basket out of palm leaves for the coconuts and then a sweet little basket for the bread fritters. We enjoyed all of the food immensely, not sick, and had an amazing evening and are now trying to wrap our heads around leaving these amazing islands and wonderful people.
We are now anchored at 16.49.72 Latitude and 153.55.572 Longitude. Our next stop is Suwarrow at 13.10 Latitude and 163 something Longitude.. The winds are a little strong but it is suppose to be a downwind sail with the swells in our favor at 1.5 to 2.5 meters and 10 seconds apart... we will see what it turns out to be but it should be for the most part a decent ride to Suwarrow.
Hugs and love to everyone,
Heath
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This will just be a quick update since the last. As you can tell by the amount we are writing we are extremely blessed to have stopped at this wonderful atoll and enjoy the company of these wonderful families.. We have had an amazing time and will often in conversation come back with a "Remember that time when we were in Maupihaa....." We will be leaving here tomorrow for our 600 mile voyage to Suwarrow and I just wanted to finish up our Maupihaa story.
As Chris left off we were going coconut crab hunting, lobstering and egg collecting.... We started our Friday off with going in to get our Copra making lesson and to see where and how the families live. Like we said there are about 21 adults and 4 kids on the island. I think we have been greeted by or waved to by all of them in the 3 days we have been here. Taira really went out of his way to show and tell how they make a living here with the copra making and then showing us the beautiful simplicity of their homes... No electricty, no plumbing except for the garden irrigation line creeping out of the wells located right outside of each of the homes that lead to an outdoor bathroom/shower with 4 open walls made of palm fronds... The houses are made of corrugated tin and palm tree trunks.. with windows that get closed by a board. They typically have a coral floor and just beds inside. Then the kitchen is outside in another open sheltered hut with more corrugated tin and an oil drum for cooking... Even with the simplicity of the homes you find that they are filled with little decors that they have made along the way. Electrica had made beautiful curtains and bed covers and then little soda cans slit down the side for candles and wind toys... They had also cut a pearl bouy in 1/3rds and kept the middle to make a basketball hoop for their little boy. So good for the kids to see this amazing little home that is so warm and well kept and something they are very proud of. They collect the rain water for drinking and cooking and then they use the well water for bathing and doing laundry and dishes... When I say well water it is basically a whole in the ground with the walls lined with rocks about 2 meters deep and I believe the rain is collected in the whole... We were able to give them some of blow up solar lanterns to help with some of the lighting... hopefully it helps a little.
After seeing Tiara's and Electricia's house we decided to go and try to snorkel the pass and collect bird eggs off the north end of the island. So Tiara and Electricia gathered their snorkeling gear (a mask) and a couple towels and some fritters she had made that morning and we headed back down the only sort of dirt road to our boats... Along the way we met Pappi (electricia's father) and he joined our excursion.
We ended up going on Shine down to the other end and anchoring closer to the pass and the birds... Tiara driving the way with Pappi on the front of the boat pointing out expertly each of the coral heads and bouys on the 4 mile drive. On the way Electricia told us of the hurricane that came through a few years ago and wiped out all their homes. The waves were coming over and through the atoll. They had to hang on to the coconut trees so they didn't get swept away... and people say we need to worry about earthquakes... We ended up anchoring just in time for a squall to come thru and then it was time to collect eggs in the rain. Another family joined us for the adventure and we headed down the coral road to the reef where all the birds are. When I say some birds I am talking right out of Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds" THEY WERE EVERYWHERE. The kids had a blast finding the eggs which at first seemed hard to find because they are the same color as the coral... but the more you stop and look there is are eggs everywhere... in a football field size area and there were eggs laid with in 2 feet of each other in every direction.. You really had to pay attention to where you stepped. It was beautiful. Since they don't have chickens here they collect and use the tern eggs.
After the easter egg hunt...... it was still too windy and rainy to snorkel the pass so we decided to head back and take a rest before the nights activities of lobstering for the men and coconut crab hunting for the women. We have to wait until it is dark because both of these crustaceans are nocturnal and don't come out until after 7. The boys packed up their dive lights and got on their wetsuits because it is really chilly out there while us girls waited on the beach for the crabs to come out of hiding. After the boys left it was time for the girls to pile in the truck and make our way back down the same road we had traveled earlier that day. When the truck stopped it was a wonderful sight to see Pappi standing there with his headlamp on ready to lead the way. We weren't quite sure what we were looking for but they just said to watch our step (meaning our toes) and the crabs are really big... as he showed us from his elbow to the tips of his fingers and then a circle the size of a basketball... UGH>>. All I could think of is I know these things are called coconut crabs because their pinchers are so lethal and strong they can rip open coconuts... So off we go and head into the woods... Pappi took us into the deepest part of the coconut trees where there is old and rotting branches that have fallen down and the old discarded husks of the coconuts are rotten and falling apart... I am walking along with my little flashlight and trying to keep tabs on Amaia and Alina who is running around trying to keep up with Electricia's little 5 year old boy with no shoes on... and I turn my light to the right and right there a foot away is a giant blue crab about the size of a watermelon... just looking at me. "PAPPI!!!!!" I yelled and he came running over and said yes.... bon bon... These crabs are the most brilliant shades of blue I have ever seen on an animal... They are truly beautiful. When they catch them they quickly step on their backs and then actually grab the crab from the top so the pinchers can't get at them... then they put them in burlap sacks and tie a string around the top... I found out later that my crab was actually one of the smaller ones. Pappi found a much larger one and at the time we didn't have a sack so he tied a string around the body of it with a knot at the top of its back and then hung it on a branch to come back and get it later... When I came back down the path I saw Amaia standing next to the big crab hanging in the tree... I looked at the crab and saw that it was now holding a branch that was about and 1 1/2 in diameter.... I looked at Amaia and she just shrugged and said, "What he just grabbed it"... not that she wasn't playing with it or anything. We ended up catching 3 crabs for our farewell feast for Saturday night...When we got back to their house the boys had already returned to the boat and so we asked if they had caught any lobster. Oh Yes! 20 of them so we were definitely having a feast. In actuality when we caught up with the boys they said they hadn't caught any because they couldn't get the dinghy out to the reef in order to try... it was to dark and their guide couldn't find a pass for the boat... so the 20 lobsters that were caught were all caught by Tino the known fisherman in the family.
It is now Saturday night and I am getting ready to turn out the lights... I ate way to much along with everyone else. The families had put on an amazing array of dishes for us to choose from. Of course the beautiful crabs, lobsters, fish and rice... along with muscles in a coconut cream sauce, pumpkin tapioca desert, poisson crue... and fresh coconut water for each of us.... the kids had a blast with that one drinking straight out of the coconut. Again they wouldn't eat with us but spent the entire time getting us more food and cracking crab legs for us... the hospitality is beyond what I could imagine and the genuine warmth and good humor they have with their wonderful smiles and giggles that are always present... I just kept thinking to myself.. good lord how on earth is all this amazing food prepared on an open Tahitian fire pit. (which is an old oil drum cut in half with a grate over the top). They really put me to shame! Again we left in a timely manner along with the dishes we had prepared so that they would be able to sit and enjoy some of the amazing food they prepared... We kept asking why it is that they would not eat at the same time as us... we had heard that it is a strict polynesian tradition to feed the guests first... but the response we got was from one of the men at the end and pointed to us and said, "just in case... and then proceeded to pretend to throw up" of course laughing the whole time... Hmmmm... not sure if that was really meant to be a funny for all of us or funny for them... Just kidding. As we were leaving they gave us gifts to take with us of coconuts and home made fritters. The most special part was not only the food but they had woven a large basket out of palm leaves for the coconuts and then a sweet little basket for the bread fritters. We enjoyed all of the food immensely, not sick, and had an amazing evening and are now trying to wrap our heads around leaving these amazing islands and wonderful people.
We are now anchored at 16.49.72 Latitude and 153.55.572 Longitude. Our next stop is Suwarrow at 13.10 Latitude and 163 something Longitude.. The winds are a little strong but it is suppose to be a downwind sail with the swells in our favor at 1.5 to 2.5 meters and 10 seconds apart... we will see what it turns out to be but it should be for the most part a decent ride to Suwarrow.
Hugs and love to everyone,
Heath
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Saturday, August 1, 2015
Maupihaa- a hidden jewel
We felt lucky to make it in to Maupiti after Bora Bora, and enjoyed several fabulous days with unique activities within the community. During our last few days we had been approached through a cruiser by a local named Ringo to deliver supplies to his brother on Maupihaa (Tahitian)/Mopelia (French) if we were going by that way. The request helped sway our collective decision (Shine & Family Circus) and loaded with fuel cans and a few boxes for "Alberto on Maupihaa" we left Maupiti in the late afternoon for the rodeo ride out the pass and an overnight sail to Maupihaa.
The seas were a bit bumpy, and we actually had to slow ourselves down to not arrive too early, and we arrived in front of the much-cautioned Pass of Maupihaa at 7am. Much of our local cruising information comes from crowd sourced blog entries and documents which someone has thankfully compiled together, and cruisers share freely electronically. The downside sometimes is that your information is tainted by someone's own weather conditions and personal experiences and isn't necessarily deeply researched. The Pass at Maupihaa had a harrowing reputation, mostly because its quite narrow and the entire lagoon flushes out constantly, but its location on the NW end at least keeps swell and breaking waves out of the equation, and after scouting it out for several minutes, Shine entered first, followed by the Circus and a singlehander, Dave on Anahata, who was happy to let the wide catamarans help guide the way.
We found ourselves inside another beautiful lagoon, reminiscent of the Tuamotus, with one long Motu blocking the prevailing winds. We anchored in ten feet of turquoise water, watching our anchor dig in and the chain lay out, and looking around at a sparkling sand beach lined with palm trees. Within an hour we had both our crews on the beach and exploring a long sand spit. On our way we saw a few of the simple structures here, and met a few of the locals, two of whom surprisingly spoke some English. While Maupiti, the close neighbor of Bora Bora, physically and visually, had electricity, plumbing, internet, fruit (bananas, mangoes, pamplemousse), stores, schools, roads and 700 people living there, Maupihaa is a whole other world away. There are 25 people living here (many parts of families in Maupiti), including 4 children, and there are coconuts and the reef. No electricity, no plumbing, no internet, no fruit or vegetables (no top soil), no schools and one "road" that connects the family compounds.
Wandering the beach and the crystal clear water over the sand spit, we further learned that Alberto lived fairly far down the motu, but that he would likely be by later to see if we had a delivery for him. As we headed back to the boat we saw a few locals jump in to an aluminum boat and head toward the reef fringing the lagoon. Patrick suggested we get our snorkel/spear stuff and see what they were up to, and the boys from both boats joined us for the half mile ride to the edge of the reef.
We saw the aluminum boat deep in a coral field with tons of coral heads creating a webbed barrier for us to get too close but Patrick raised the outboard engine and we gingerly nudged forward only scraping a few coral heads along the way. As we got close, and put our anchor down in three feet of water, the locals, who were clearly spear fishing, waved us over. With great smiles the two adults and a ten year old motioned for us to join them in "fusee", or hunting. They had two spear guns, and tied the aluminum boat line around their waist and essentially waded amongst the coral field. The two adults, Tino and Ferdinand shared one pair of fins and it didn't seem to bother them to step bare foot on the coral. They showed us about 15 fish they had already landed - parrot fish, unicorn fish, "rougee" and more. It was at this time that we saw the sharks as well, several black tips circling and one menacing looking white tipped lemon shark.
The boys gamely jumped in the water sharing two spears, and Patrick and I started scouting the short coral heads with our spear guns. As we wove back and forth, finally finding some bigger fish to shoot, the Tino and Ferdinand kept bagging more fish- with a clear technique of hitting the fish and then raising it above water immediately to keep the sharks at bay, and drop it in to the boat. Patrick and I hit plenty of coral, and knicked some fish, before I finally bagged a decent parrot fish, by which time the locals were done and offered us four of their largest fish. In our best Frenglish we declined but wandered if we could eat together tonight, and maybe get a few more fish since we were 12 between our two families. They agreed and understood and hopped back in the water to fill out the catch. We did our best to contribute but it turned out much harder than it seemed, and after a while the sharks starting circling a big closer when we chipped another fish, so we decided to call it a day. We went back to the beach and discussed dinner plans with the locals and what we could bring. They asked for beer, cigarettes, and a cake, and we agreed to bring a salad, a rice dish and a few other things. We agreed on 6pm and headed back to the boat, where we saw another wooden runabout approaching.
Albert arrived in his boat with a big smile, looking just like his brother Ringo in Maupiti. We transferred his boxes and fuel and gave him some fruit as well. He asked when we were leaving, and said he'd be by the next day at 11am.
Talking with Heather, I told her I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the dinner arrangement, but we got us and the kids ready, and jumped in to the dinghy and headed for the beach, joining Shine as they came in their dinghy. Anna had made some appetizers and brought some chicken to BBQ. The sun was setting, and we were warmly greeted by Tino and Herre (his wife), Taria (who was the designated translator) and Electricia, Ferdinand and the two kids - whose Tahitian names I wont try to write. They had pulled two long tables out and put two benches next to them and had spread out all of their plates and silverware, which left us about 4 place settings short (we had brought our own). The fish were already on a 55 gallon drum BBQ, and as the sun set, they pulled out two car batteries and plugged in wires that ran up the trees and connected a few plan led bulbs. We learned that they only have one solar panel to charge the batteries, and Taria and Electricia (the "new family" don't have a solar panel. We made introductions, brought out our food and gifts of beer and cigarettes and sat down all smiling apprehensively. The chicken Anna had brought was welcomed happily, and we learned that they never get to eat chicken, as they keep very few and generally eat only fish!
The barriers broke down quickly as we opened beers and starting dishing up food, although they only heaped food on their kids plates not their own. As we were tasting delicious BBQ unicorn fish with an amazing sauce (mustard, soy sauce, salt, vinegar and garlic in case I forget), Taria started playing a guitar and singing, and Tino played the rhythm line on an upside down garbage can with a broken flip flop and a twig. The women sang along - mostly Tahitian and French songs. It was quite a happy back drop, and we learned that they loved having beer, since they generally only get it once a year, and they were happy to wait for the chicken to cook as they could do without any more fish! All the kids seemed to love the food with the older ones really appreciating the experience the most.
Most of their family was in Maupiti, and most had grown up there before coming to Maupihaa. Tino said he came here as there was no work in Maupiti and here he could farm copra- which is dried coconut used in the cosmetics industry, and sold to the market at $1.40 US/kg. We took photos and film, talked baout our voyage and enjoyed a wonderful genuine evening. As we warmed up to each other, they asked us what our "activities" were for tomorrow and how long we were staying. We originally planned for one or two nights max, but after they laid out a schedule of egg collecting and lobster (for the men) and coconut crab hunting (for the women) all leading up to another feast on Saturday we were in!
We finally also realized that the adults were happy to drink the beer, but wouldn't eat until we left, as it was their custom to wait! Figuring this out, we excused ourselves and collected our things, promising to come back for our pots and bags tomorrow. Everyone's faces had warm smiles on them, as we bid them "Bon Nuit", and slid our dinghies back in to the water.
The next morning, we got a copra making process demonstration from Taria, and a tour of his new family homestead 1.5 km away, before I headed back to the boat, just in time to see Alberto arrive in his boat with a blue bucket. He motioned that is was for us, and inside were 11 live lobsters! I indicated it was too much, and then thanked him profusely as he insisted on taking the catch he had just made early than morning for us. He smiled broadly and thanked us for bringing his goods to him, and headed back down the lagoon.
The generosity of these folk, who in some ways have so little, is overwhelming, and we have tried to act in kind, finding things on both boats that they can use, flip flops and a new spear sling from our boat, and fins and mask sets from Shine.
We hope to also supply a few more things over the next few days as we continue this great experience. Tomorrow we are off to egg collecting and hunting for the feast!
CHRIS
----------
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The seas were a bit bumpy, and we actually had to slow ourselves down to not arrive too early, and we arrived in front of the much-cautioned Pass of Maupihaa at 7am. Much of our local cruising information comes from crowd sourced blog entries and documents which someone has thankfully compiled together, and cruisers share freely electronically. The downside sometimes is that your information is tainted by someone's own weather conditions and personal experiences and isn't necessarily deeply researched. The Pass at Maupihaa had a harrowing reputation, mostly because its quite narrow and the entire lagoon flushes out constantly, but its location on the NW end at least keeps swell and breaking waves out of the equation, and after scouting it out for several minutes, Shine entered first, followed by the Circus and a singlehander, Dave on Anahata, who was happy to let the wide catamarans help guide the way.
We found ourselves inside another beautiful lagoon, reminiscent of the Tuamotus, with one long Motu blocking the prevailing winds. We anchored in ten feet of turquoise water, watching our anchor dig in and the chain lay out, and looking around at a sparkling sand beach lined with palm trees. Within an hour we had both our crews on the beach and exploring a long sand spit. On our way we saw a few of the simple structures here, and met a few of the locals, two of whom surprisingly spoke some English. While Maupiti, the close neighbor of Bora Bora, physically and visually, had electricity, plumbing, internet, fruit (bananas, mangoes, pamplemousse), stores, schools, roads and 700 people living there, Maupihaa is a whole other world away. There are 25 people living here (many parts of families in Maupiti), including 4 children, and there are coconuts and the reef. No electricity, no plumbing, no internet, no fruit or vegetables (no top soil), no schools and one "road" that connects the family compounds.
Wandering the beach and the crystal clear water over the sand spit, we further learned that Alberto lived fairly far down the motu, but that he would likely be by later to see if we had a delivery for him. As we headed back to the boat we saw a few locals jump in to an aluminum boat and head toward the reef fringing the lagoon. Patrick suggested we get our snorkel/spear stuff and see what they were up to, and the boys from both boats joined us for the half mile ride to the edge of the reef.
We saw the aluminum boat deep in a coral field with tons of coral heads creating a webbed barrier for us to get too close but Patrick raised the outboard engine and we gingerly nudged forward only scraping a few coral heads along the way. As we got close, and put our anchor down in three feet of water, the locals, who were clearly spear fishing, waved us over. With great smiles the two adults and a ten year old motioned for us to join them in "fusee", or hunting. They had two spear guns, and tied the aluminum boat line around their waist and essentially waded amongst the coral field. The two adults, Tino and Ferdinand shared one pair of fins and it didn't seem to bother them to step bare foot on the coral. They showed us about 15 fish they had already landed - parrot fish, unicorn fish, "rougee" and more. It was at this time that we saw the sharks as well, several black tips circling and one menacing looking white tipped lemon shark.
The boys gamely jumped in the water sharing two spears, and Patrick and I started scouting the short coral heads with our spear guns. As we wove back and forth, finally finding some bigger fish to shoot, the Tino and Ferdinand kept bagging more fish- with a clear technique of hitting the fish and then raising it above water immediately to keep the sharks at bay, and drop it in to the boat. Patrick and I hit plenty of coral, and knicked some fish, before I finally bagged a decent parrot fish, by which time the locals were done and offered us four of their largest fish. In our best Frenglish we declined but wandered if we could eat together tonight, and maybe get a few more fish since we were 12 between our two families. They agreed and understood and hopped back in the water to fill out the catch. We did our best to contribute but it turned out much harder than it seemed, and after a while the sharks starting circling a big closer when we chipped another fish, so we decided to call it a day. We went back to the beach and discussed dinner plans with the locals and what we could bring. They asked for beer, cigarettes, and a cake, and we agreed to bring a salad, a rice dish and a few other things. We agreed on 6pm and headed back to the boat, where we saw another wooden runabout approaching.
Albert arrived in his boat with a big smile, looking just like his brother Ringo in Maupiti. We transferred his boxes and fuel and gave him some fruit as well. He asked when we were leaving, and said he'd be by the next day at 11am.
Talking with Heather, I told her I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the dinner arrangement, but we got us and the kids ready, and jumped in to the dinghy and headed for the beach, joining Shine as they came in their dinghy. Anna had made some appetizers and brought some chicken to BBQ. The sun was setting, and we were warmly greeted by Tino and Herre (his wife), Taria (who was the designated translator) and Electricia, Ferdinand and the two kids - whose Tahitian names I wont try to write. They had pulled two long tables out and put two benches next to them and had spread out all of their plates and silverware, which left us about 4 place settings short (we had brought our own). The fish were already on a 55 gallon drum BBQ, and as the sun set, they pulled out two car batteries and plugged in wires that ran up the trees and connected a few plan led bulbs. We learned that they only have one solar panel to charge the batteries, and Taria and Electricia (the "new family" don't have a solar panel. We made introductions, brought out our food and gifts of beer and cigarettes and sat down all smiling apprehensively. The chicken Anna had brought was welcomed happily, and we learned that they never get to eat chicken, as they keep very few and generally eat only fish!
Most of their family was in Maupiti, and most had grown up there before coming to Maupihaa. Tino said he came here as there was no work in Maupiti and here he could farm copra- which is dried coconut used in the cosmetics industry, and sold to the market at $1.40 US/kg. We took photos and film, talked baout our voyage and enjoyed a wonderful genuine evening. As we warmed up to each other, they asked us what our "activities" were for tomorrow and how long we were staying. We originally planned for one or two nights max, but after they laid out a schedule of egg collecting and lobster (for the men) and coconut crab hunting (for the women) all leading up to another feast on Saturday we were in!
We finally also realized that the adults were happy to drink the beer, but wouldn't eat until we left, as it was their custom to wait! Figuring this out, we excused ourselves and collected our things, promising to come back for our pots and bags tomorrow. Everyone's faces had warm smiles on them, as we bid them "Bon Nuit", and slid our dinghies back in to the water.
The next morning, we got a copra making process demonstration from Taria, and a tour of his new family homestead 1.5 km away, before I headed back to the boat, just in time to see Alberto arrive in his boat with a blue bucket. He motioned that is was for us, and inside were 11 live lobsters! I indicated it was too much, and then thanked him profusely as he insisted on taking the catch he had just made early than morning for us. He smiled broadly and thanked us for bringing his goods to him, and headed back down the lagoon.
The generosity of these folk, who in some ways have so little, is overwhelming, and we have tried to act in kind, finding things on both boats that they can use, flip flops and a new spear sling from our boat, and fins and mask sets from Shine.
We hope to also supply a few more things over the next few days as we continue this great experience. Tomorrow we are off to egg collecting and hunting for the feast!
CHRIS
----------
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