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Serendipity - April begins



Monday 2nd April:  Baie Hana Moe Noa, Tahuata, Iles Marquises, South Pacific Ocean 9 54.5S  139 06.4W

Today’s Blog by David  (Time zone UTC -9.5 (sic))

 

We have said farewell to the southern Marquesas and our favourite anchorage (Hana Moe Noa) in particular. It has a wonderful beach: image001 

 

Bob and I went  ashore yesterday to test the extensive repair to our small dinghy (result - a curate’s egg) and if it were not  for the mosquitos and no-see-ums on the sand, I would have been able to take more pictures - like these of Anastasia (image004 ; image005)

 

The wild life in these islands is not as “in your face”  as other places we have been. There are a few parrots  we have seen toward dusk but this fellow was gorgeous. About 20-25cm tall, his back was nearly turquoise blue if any of the twitchers among you can help me place him (image003)

Last night, we hosted the crews of Anastasia, At Last and Zoe for a ‘drink before dinner’.  Everyone generously brought something along – which was just as well really, given that we are just three people aboard – and men at that - so these contributions were timely and welcome.  Judging by the VHF  traffic when everyone, eventually, had safely
 returned to their boats,  it was something of a success.  

Right now we are on passage north to Ua Huka and Bob has just cut up another pamplemousse, one of several he is very proud of having sourced in Fatu Hiva for rather less than the initial asking price. We had been approached by some guys in the anchorage who had bananas and pamplemousse for sale but wanted to trade for alcohol. (The Bay of Virgins in which we were anchored had no alcohol and no bread in its magasin!) So in return for an unspecified but likely derisory amount of fruit they asked for a bottle of rum (about US $50 in local prices).  We don’t have run to trade but Bob offered him the shirt off his back then a few other shirts he hasn’t yet worn – he even tried money -  but, absent alcohol, no deal was to be done.

 

Here is Bob holding what he could of the fruits of his journey ashore in Fatu Hiva where he engaged a woman in conversation. She wanted to show him her carvings, but Bob was interested only in her Pamplemousse for reasons which are obvious: image007

 

I should
say that Bob paid less than a third of the prices we were charged for fruit in Hiva Oa – an excellent forage ashore. 

 


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