It's Irie: Christmas in the Tropics

Friday, December 27, 2013

Christmas in the Tropics – Nuku Hiva Style

One of the reasons Mark and I came back to Taiohae, the capital of the Marquesas, was to be in a “city” over the holidays. If anything fun was going to happen in this remote group of islands, it was going to be here. And, we were right as far as Christmas was concerned.

On Christmas Eve, Henri, the owner of Snack Vaeake – home of the yummy poisson cru - at the edge of the bay, threw a little party for cruisers and his family. For the price of 1500 francs (about $17) per person, we were treated to a whole table of well-prepared meat, fish and vegetable dishes. The drinks were BYO and the company consisted of many people we met in the Pacific or back in the Caribbean. Our friends Chris and Katie played some live music, followed by the ukulele sounds and Marquesan songs from Henri’s family. It was a good time and we did not go to bed until 2am – a personal record. And, it wasn’t even New Year’s Eve yet.

On Christmas itself, Mark and I got it into our heads to do something on Irie with friends. After spending a short time on Iona, being treated to a yummy lunch, we organized a backgammon contest with bets in the form of unwanted boat items. All the prizes were set on a table and your competitor was based on whose item struck your fancy. People brought snacks or a side dish and drinks and we all had a wonderful time with yummy food Mark worked on in the afternoon. Fourteen cruisers (twelve adults and two kids) enjoyed two different pasta dishes, a side salad, fresh focaccia and a choice of three desserts! We lucked out with the weather and it turned out to be a great evening, with enough space, comfort and food for everyone.

Chris prepared sushi at Snack Vaeake for Christmas Eve

Henri setting out all the dishes at "the snack"

Chris and Katie playing some of their lovely music

Marquesan music at the other end of the venue

Christmas Day - the backgammon competitions lasted into the night

Marie (France), Ursula (Germany) and Liesbet (Belgium)

Giorgio (Italy), Patrick (Canada) and Mark (USA) eating inside

Marie, Katie (UK), Dylan (UK) and Ursula in the cockpit

Leili on her throne - the cute queen of Irie!

Alex (Brazil), Michael (Germany), Rachel (Canada) and Olivia (France) have the comfort of the table to eat

Dessert!!

Goodnight, guys! ;-)

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It's Irie

Irie is a Fountaine Pajot Tobago, a 35 foot catamaran with a beam of about 19 feet. She was born in France in 1998, and spent her childhood in the Caribbean, before arriving in Maryland, USA.

Irie used to be called Big Trouble, a name she didn't like. From the moment she received her new name, she became a happy girl again, feeling healthy and almost as good as new. Just like everybody else she has her own problems and we keep working on that never ending project list. After sailing thousands of miles, we are still very happy with her and wouldn't want any other boat. For over seven years now, she performed as our house, transportation device and office! But, as of November 2014, Mark and I are ready for new adventures, so Irie can be yours! We have put her up for sale. For more information, check out my blog about our decision or the full listing.

"Irie" means "all good" in Jamaican (Creole). "Irie, mon!" We hope our lives remain irie, and yours as well.

It's Liesbet

Liesbet is a freelance writer and lifetime adventurer from Belgium. Her biggest passion is traveling, and... trying new things. That's how she ended up with Mark, and on this boat. She's flexible, adventurous and easy-going; a must for her kind of life. Some people call her "crazy", but let's just stick with "different".

She adored Kali and Darwin, and actually likes all animals, except mosquitoes, the only creatures she can kill. There's not much that she really hates, other than cruelty, hypocrisy, helplessness and injustice in general. She's still excited about seeing new places, writing about them and hanging out with dolphins, and other wildlife.

Living on a tight budget has been her lifetime commitment in order to travel "forever". To create that budget, she writes, translates (Dutch-English), proofreads, and -if really really really needed- does manual labor.

For more info about Liesbet's articles, click here.

It's Mark

Mark was born in Connecticut, but grew up in upstate New York. He lived in Massachusetts, before moving to California, his favorite state. After living "the American dream" for ten years, he decided it wasn't his thing. After meeting Liesbet in December 2004, he started to travel indefinitely, first by camper, then by sailboat.

He hates ignorance, traffic, and bad customer service. The things he likes are being single-focused, hiking, listening to good music, and just chilling. His biggest passion is sailing, and that's what he is doing right now, full time.

Just so he would never have a spare moment of time anymore, he came up with a great idea to provide WiFi on boats in April 2009. With the help of Liesbet, he invented and developed The Wirie, a marine WiFi system, which grew to be a real business with a partner in the United States and is still expanding with Tim's help.

After a year of full time commitment and very hard work in 2014, he developed a new line of The Wirie products, combining WiFi and cell technologies. The Wirie pro was released in January 2015.

It's Kali

Our girl was an Australian Shepherd mix, with a fluffy tail and a cute face. She survived an awful disease as a puppy, and used that strength throughout her whole life.

Kali was obsessed with tennis balls. She loved human food, but was not allowed to have any. Except on her birthday, when a deliciously cooked steak awaited her. She liked to sniff and stroll around, doing her thing, knowing that we were around. She loved rolling in the grass, but what she liked most was being in the water. She could literally wade in it for hours, wagging her tail, pawing rocks or digging for imaginary things, occasionally sticking her whole face under the water surface, and telling us how much she liked doing this. She was terrified of thunderstorms and fireworks, or everything producing a loud boom. She also didn't like fake grass.

Kali and her unrelated "brother" Darwin were well-traveled puppies, and of all the Central American countries, they liked Mexico , Belize, and Costa Rica the best. Why? There are lots of beaches, calm water, and no leash law! While cruising on Irie, they loved the Bahamas the most.

Tragedy struck just when we were ready to explore and have fun in the "real Caribbean". Kali died unexpectedly in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on December 26th, 2008. To understand what happened, read the blog "Goodbye, Sweet Girl" of January 2009 (http://www.itsirie.com/2009/01/goodbye-sweet-girl.html). We still miss her very much and think about our special girl every day.

It's Darwin

Darwin was also an Australian Shepherd mix, with a pretty tail, and handsome face. He was very playful, a little dumb sometimes (in a doggie way), but knew darn well how to steal your heart. He was so funny, rolling over in the grass, being eager to do tricks, making funny noises and looking very innocent. He had a way of getting comfortable wherever he laid down, ideally resting his head on one thing or another, from somebody's lap to the table.

Darwin hated to get his toes wet, especially after it rained on the grass. He also didn't like to be rinsed off, have his nails clipped or get a brushing. He loved to annoy his sister Kali, nipping her or grabbing her leg to get her to play. He liked being chased by other dogs, retrieving toys from the air, water, and floor, digging holes in the sand, swimming, "hipping" you with his wet butt, licking good smelling air, eating treats, and wagging his tail. But, most of all he loved to be with us, whatever we did or wherever we were. He was a happy boy!

On December 1st, 2010, not even two years after we lost Kali, disaster struck again in our small, but happy family. Darwin had been diagnosed with malignant tumors in the US and died two days later. We were just heading back to our life on Irie in the Caribbean after a three month break. A boat and life without dogs. We still cannot grasp or belief it. Our hearts will always ache because of this tremendous loss. For the story about Darwin's last days, read the blog "Darwin: Our Bestest Boy"of December 2010 (http://www.itsirie.com/2010/12/darwin-our-bestest-boy.html).

It's Irie

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Friday, December 27, 2013

Christmas in the Tropics – Nuku Hiva Style

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