Wow, where do I start. We arrived 48 hours ago in an anchorage unlike any we've ever seen. There is a ridge coming down above the water from the north that abruptly ends in a sheer cliff with 3 stone spires atop. These spires are the cause for the original name of the bay, "Bay of the Phalli" The French missionaries didn't like that and promptly changed the name to "Bay of Virgins" In the French, there is only one letter difference. Tucked behind this sheer cliff and a small breakwater is a cement pier and boat ramp and the 300 person village of Hanavave. The main industries are fishing, selling tapa cloths and wooden carvings to the cruisers that come through on sailboats. Behind the village is a 3000 foot high wall of rock mountain that runs the length of the island.
Roosters crow every morning and evening and wild goats roam the cliffs below the rock spires. The water is clear and the pamplemousse (oversized green grapefruits) are sweet. We've climbed to a waterfall and swum in its icy pool with 2 -inch long crawdads. We've bargained for carvings and fruit and started learning words in Marquesan and French.
We have little time in the Marquesas and so will be leaving this bay tomorrow for the next island to the north. Before that, we will have 5 local kids to the boat this afternoon for chocolate chip cookies. We haven't been able to communicate much but, we get by.
More details to come.
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