Arrived here in Hiva Oa on Saturday and were just in time for the welcome party complete with local dancers all dressed in traditional grass skirts and brightly coloured clothing. Everyone was presented with a garland of flowers placed around your neck like a necklace. These flowers were scented and the smell has lasted right up until today when there is just a faint aroma.
We have only just got a decent Internet connection arranged so only now can we e mail and update this blog!!
Have had a good chance to explore the small town of Atuona which is about a 30 minute walk from the anchorage or a much shorter 5 minute taxi ride! Met up with Phil and Andrea from Anastasia on Saturday night and they cooked us dinner which was great as we were both tired from the long passage. David & Alison spent the night ashore with several other crews at a nearby restaurant.
Sunday afternoon saw most of the crews at a nearby bar and restaurant run by Alex and an interesting dinner was served which consisted of many small plates of local fruits and other sweet dishes with some bread and one really good fish dish with not much fish!
Monday afternoon we went up to Hanakee Pearl Lodge Hotel with Phil and Andrea for a swim in the pool and dinner. Dinner was gorgeous and although expensive the men had great steaks and the girls had fish dishes with a very nice French wine. This is French Polynesia and the language is French and the shops sell baguettes by the armful. Nota lot of vegetables to be found here but the local fruit is good. Huge Pamplemousses which are a sweet grapefruit pale green in colour. The locals are all very friendly and say bonjour to you. My rusty French is improving daily!!
There is still one boat out there Peat Smoke who are expected to arrive Friday so we have decided to wait for them to come in before we depart as they have had a long tedious passage with numerous problems and breakdowns.
The plan is to sail to Nuka Hiva which is the largest of the Marquesas islands at the weekend.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Prizegiving Ceremony for Leg 2
The World ARC organisers hosted a prizegiving ceremony last night for leg 2 of the rally from Las Perlas to Galapagos which was around 850 miles with very little wind!
Trompeta was awarded first prize for our class of boats for coming in ahead of several others who had to motor a lot of the way wheras although we went a long way south we kept wind up until the last couple of days so our motoring penalty was not as great as some other boats who crossed the finish line ahead of us. There were 22 boats out of 30 who motored more than half the leg!! Trompeta was going for the green prize so we tried to sail as much as we could. We narrowly pipped Glamouras Galah (an ex Moorings charter boat from the BVI) to the post. See the website gallery for photos from last night!
After the awards ceremony we headed off to a lovel restaurant called Isla Grill where we have eaten many times since we arrived so did not get back to the boat until pretty late. It was an early start this morning to the Saturday Farmers Market which was fantastic with lots of good fresh produce for sale. The water taxi picked us up at 6am to go to the market and we were back on the boat by 7.15am all provisioned up now. Just need to get some last minute stuff today as I want to do at least 2 meals before we leave.
Peter checks out with immigration tomorrow morning at 8am then we are ready to leave at 12 noon along with the rest of the fleet. The trip to French Polynesia will take around 3 weeks so no internet for a while now.
Trompeta was awarded first prize for our class of boats for coming in ahead of several others who had to motor a lot of the way wheras although we went a long way south we kept wind up until the last couple of days so our motoring penalty was not as great as some other boats who crossed the finish line ahead of us. There were 22 boats out of 30 who motored more than half the leg!! Trompeta was going for the green prize so we tried to sail as much as we could. We narrowly pipped Glamouras Galah (an ex Moorings charter boat from the BVI) to the post. See the website gallery for photos from last night!
After the awards ceremony we headed off to a lovel restaurant called Isla Grill where we have eaten many times since we arrived so did not get back to the boat until pretty late. It was an early start this morning to the Saturday Farmers Market which was fantastic with lots of good fresh produce for sale. The water taxi picked us up at 6am to go to the market and we were back on the boat by 7.15am all provisioned up now. Just need to get some last minute stuff today as I want to do at least 2 meals before we leave.
Peter checks out with immigration tomorrow morning at 8am then we are ready to leave at 12 noon along with the rest of the fleet. The trip to French Polynesia will take around 3 weeks so no internet for a while now.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Final preparations before leaving Galapagos
Crew dinner last night with 70 crew members from the various World ARC boats here in Santa Cruz. Take a look at the World ARC website for some photos! A very enjoyable dinner was had by all. Now getting ready for departure to Marquesas on Sunday. This morning we did some provisioning for the trip so as not to leave it all to the last day. We intend to visit the farmers Market on Saturday EARLY leaving at 6am as the farmers start the Market early.
This morning saw Jane in the Hairdressers getting a colour and cut from a very cheerful local girl who spoke no English at all!! Anyway managed to get a good result for a reasonable USD 75 plus tip. Just enjoying lunch with another couple Janet & Mark from At Last at Isla Grill where the WiFi actually works!!
So we have the Skippers briefing and prize giving for the last passage at a local hotel tomorrow evening followed by drinks and canapés. Saturday is our early start to the Market and other last minute shopping before leaving at 12 noon on Sunday. We have already refuelled the boat as a local tender came to the boat with several large jerry cans of fuel on Tuesday.
The next leg to Hiva Oa will take us around 3 weeks depending on the wind speed. Have charged the yellow brick tracker up so you can follow our progress on the website.
This morning saw Jane in the Hairdressers getting a colour and cut from a very cheerful local girl who spoke no English at all!! Anyway managed to get a good result for a reasonable USD 75 plus tip. Just enjoying lunch with another couple Janet & Mark from At Last at Isla Grill where the WiFi actually works!!
So we have the Skippers briefing and prize giving for the last passage at a local hotel tomorrow evening followed by drinks and canapés. Saturday is our early start to the Market and other last minute shopping before leaving at 12 noon on Sunday. We have already refuelled the boat as a local tender came to the boat with several large jerry cans of fuel on Tuesday.
The next leg to Hiva Oa will take us around 3 weeks depending on the wind speed. Have charged the yellow brick tracker up so you can follow our progress on the website.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)