It's Irie: Christmas in the Tropics

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.