In the Grip of Fatu Hiva

I don't think Mark and I expected to be in Fatu Hiva quite this long. As we are running out of food and money (both available in Hiva Oa, our next stop) and while the messages are no doubt piling up in our unreachable mailboxes, we still find ourselves in pretty Hanavave Bay. for just a little bit longer. Something is keeping us here. It might be the fact that we are in a comfortable anchorage without having to move every other day (like in the Gambier), knowing that most other Marquesan harbors are rolly, it might be the balmy weather we have missed so much, it might be the awesome scenery, the friendly people or the good company. Or, it might be the combination of it all.

While basic foodstuffs, like flour, sugar, milk, butter, canned vegetables and even chicken are readily available in the small village store, fresh produce - other than onions, garlic and potatoes - is missing. We ran out of our last carrot days ago and all we have left are some radishes. And plenty of cans. The promise of fresh baguettes, eggplants, tomatoes, lettuce and other veggies in Hiva Oa is tempting, but surely we can live off onions and potatoes for a few more days. Because we managed to trade for souvenirs, the cash we have left - all of $30 worth - can be used for more food. I do think we can last a bit longer.

One of the reasons we have survived on so little for the last two weeks is the presence of other sailboats in the bay. Some have left, others have arrived and we are all getting along quite well. The unwritten tradition of taking turns hosting dinner parties has continued, so we have been eating well and enjoying our social events. If you ever want to lose weight, sailing in the South Pacific, meeting other cruisers who all know and like to cook tasty amounts of food, inviting the neighbors to help consume it, is not the way to do it! But, we are not the ones to complain about that. And, it is not our fault that some of them have birthdays with a mandatory party to go with it.:-)

As the days go by and we are cooking and baking and hanging out and visiting the same waterfall over and over again, we are - really - planning to sail to Hiva Oa any time soon. Just not tomorrow.