Still in Fatu Hiva, Marquesas

While the first week of our stay in Hanavave, Fatu Hiva the weather was pleasant and the days were filled with fun or interesting activities like hiking, meeting locals and watching a Marquesan church service, the second week looked very different. It rained practically all day and night, so we stayed on Irie for some maintenance and relaxation indoors. The water tank filled up, but it was impossible to do laundry. On shore the road and trails were wet and muddy, so going on walks was out of the question, and the sun came and went out of view, the western horizon absent of any sunsets. We did manage to find a friendly local on shore who let us use his internet service to figure a few things out in regards to our sat phone email problem.

The bay filled up with a few people we knew. Mark and I caught up with Ursula and Michael on SV Kril, a German couple we met many years ago in St. Martin and with whom we kept in touch via email. We also got to know Giorgio, an Italian single hander, and our Gambier companions Birgit and Christian on SV Pitufa recently arrived as well. Being surrounded by good company means social evenings with yummy meals and endless conversations. For many days, there was an invitation from as many boats to enjoy the evenings together, taking turns cooking and doing dishes. It has been over a week now since Mark and I watched an episode of an older TV series ("Six Feet Under") we are following on the laptop!

On Sunday it seemed to be a better and clearer day for an outdoor activity. Our whole group walked to the waterfall (again) for lunch. The hike was pleasant and beautiful as always and a dip in the pool under the thundering water was refreshing. Once we came out and put all our sweaty clothes back on, it started to rain. Then, it started to pour. Drenched and miserable we stared at each other and at the grey sky above. After a half hour of showering with our clothes on, we decided to head back to our boats. Luckily, we were in the tropics, so the air was relatively warm. Somewhere along the road, we found a covered bench, where we ate the varied foodstuffs we brought, while mosquitoes ate us. It was a fitting reminder that this is the wettest island in the Marquesas and probably in all of French Polynesia.