July 20, Papeete, Tahiti

Last night I took my crew out to dinner. We walked down the empty street, blocked off for the fruit carriers' race. When we found the center of activity we found that the race was over and the participants were being congratulated and pictures taken. These guys are big, burly fellows in loin cloths, all sweaty, with leis around their necks. Young women were standing close for the photos. As we walked on we saw a temporary venue set up similar to temporary music venues we see at home. People were streaming in so we investigated. Some people had tickets and some didn't. Those of us without were seated together near the large stage though on the sides. It was the night of Polynesian traditional athletics which gave context to the fruit carriers' race. On stage were four stations, each with a large pile of coconuts. in another part of the stage there were large, smooth stones of various sizes. These items turned out not to be stage props but rather the objects of competition. The coconuts were used in the copra speed game, the stones for weight lifting.The copra competition involved teams of three, one chopper and two diggers. the chopper swung a short axe, splitting coconuts in half then pitching them back to the diggers who, with a special tool dug the coconut meat out of the shell. Of course with every swing of the axe coconut milk would fly everywhere. The diggers flung the empty shells into a messy pile. It looked like mayhem to me. After all the coconuts were split and dug the contestants collected the meat and filled a burlap bag. the first to be declared finished by the judges won the contest. There were women's and men's divisions. the women completed 50 coconuts, the men 100. The stands were full of cheering as the teams neared the finish. The winners did a little victory dance. And to think that two months ago I didn't even know what copra was! And if you too don't know, copra is dried coconut meat that is pressed to extract the oil. Copra production is a cottage industry among the South Sea Islands.
Interspersed between the competitions was dancing with music accompaniment. Young men and women danced. There was some singing as well as drum accompaniment. The women looked alluring and the men looked fierce. first off in the stone lifting competition was the women's division. They were to hoist a 50 kg stone from the ground to rest on their shoulder. The lift was timed and the fastest lift won the competition. Each had two tries. All but one woman wore some type of one piece dress sort of thing. The remaining one wore a two piece outfit in bright red. Each woman in turn stepped up on the dais, squatted behind the stone while working to find the right hugging hold on the smooth surface. Then when all was just right she attempted to lift it to her shoulder in one smooth motion. It often didn't quite work out and the attempt was wither slow or failed. The skinniest woman seemed to have the best technique and a matter-of-fact style that caught the attention and appreciation of the audience. But not as much attention or appreciation as when the woman in the two-piece red number made her first lift. As she rolled the stone across her chest she suffered a wardrobe malfunction exposing her breasts to about two thousand cheering, laughing fans. But bless her, she finished the lift to her shoulder before throwing down the stone and grabbing her halter. For a guy who hasn't seen his wife for three months she was definitely best of show.The men's competition followed with several weight classes. In each class the stone weighed more than the competitor. The flyweight men lifted 80 kg. The big dogs lifted 150 kg. For those of you metrically disinclined, that's 330 lbs.
My crew, Mark and Shelly, left the boat today. I was sad to see them off. We have had a lot of fun together for the last month. they are headed to New Zealand by plane. My sister, Ann, is flying in tonight and will be aboard for almost a month.

July 14, Fakarava, Tuamotos

It's a full day today in the lagoon of Fakarava in the Tuamoto island group northeast of Tahiti. This morning 15 cruisers including five boys from two boats went aboard a trimiran, Elesium, to a reef near the entrance to this lagoon to snorkle. The reef was spectacular. The water is very clear, the coral vivid in its many colors and shapes, the fish in many shapes sizes and colors including several sharks about four feet long.
We returned and went ashore to see the spear throwing contest among several men from the atoll. They were dressed in sarongs and head dresses of various sorts, some wore hats of woven palm frond, others were wreaths of some type of greenery. Each contestant has a half dozen spears which are limber sticks about six feet long with a sharpened rebar attached to form a point. They stand about fifty feet from the base of a twenty-five foot pole on top of which was a coconut. Each one throws his spears underhanded in an attempt to pierce the coconut. To make it even more interesting the coconut is marked off in horizontal bands of increasing value towards the top of the nut. Of approximately 15 throwers, therefore about 80 spears there are between 4 and 8 spears stuck in the coconut after each round. The pole is lowered and a tally made by a judge and announced on a loudspeaker. There was much teasing and laughing by the participants and the announcer. There was a good crowd assembled to watch the contest with definite favorites among the throwers. One of the best throwers appeared to be the oldest. He stuck spears twice in a row once! go ahead a try this one in your backyard just to see how hard it is. Just make sure the children and dogs are kept away from the wrong side of the coconut.
After soft serve ice cream and a couple games of Foosball we came back to the boat for a rest and dinner. Tonight is the music and dance that I am especially looking forward to. Tomorrow there is more with the added excitement of a genuine cruise ship visiting the lagoon. The streets will be filled with sunburns for half a day and the boat will be rocked by all the shuttles going by.
The breeze has been very light for the past several days. It's lucky that we haven't had far to go. the trades are supposed to return tomorrow or the next day to help us on our way to Tahiti.

June 30, Nuku HIva, Marquesas

We are back in the anchorage off the main town on Nuku Hiva after a night in Daniel's Bay, about 5 miles west. It's not many miles but a world apart.

On June 28 two other cruising boats and we rented a 4WD truck and made an excursion around about half of the island. We climbed out of town up a precipitously steep hillside to a ridge with a magnificent view of the bay and the sea beyond. This bay was the site of Herman Melville's escape off a whaler in 1842 when he was 23 years old. he took off across the same ridge to another valley where he spent a glorious month with a tattooed sweet young thing and wrote about his adventures in Typee, his spelling of Taiohae, the bay where we are anchored.

On our land excursion we saw several valleys and bays. In antiquity each valley was a separate chiefdom more or less at constant warfare with their neighbors. If attackers tried to march over a ridge into another valley, they were met by flying stones from slings. If the attack was by sea the weapons of choice were long clubs, some with a large tooth tied at the tip, spears that were shaped to break off after piercing the opponent. Once the fighting was over and there were captives, those unlucky ones had their necks broken with a specially shaped Y-shaped device. After that they were eaten. These Marquisians were and probably still can be pretty fierce.

On June 29th we sailed to Taioa Bay to hike up the valley to a 2000 foot waterfall, the third highest in the world. Cruisers call this bay "Daniel's Bay" after a gentleman who for 60 years welcomed visitors to this compact valley of just a few souls. We found out from one of the residents that Daniel had just passed away last week. Although our informant spoke only a few words of English, it was clear by his expression that the village experienced a great loss.

The hike to the waterfall took us past many raised stone platforms, daises, and walls in the forest, evidence of a very active previous population. the path often used an ancient road about 8 feet wide and very straight. It was raised from the surrounding ground by stone walls on each side and filled in the middle. Besides being straight, the path held a very steady grade, as if heavy objects might have been transported over it. The waterfall seen from afar was most impressive in its height. Arriving at the base, we could see only the bottom thirty feet or so because the rest was hidden in a fold of the mountainside. It was a fascinating four hour hike.

Back in the village we met a man who brought us into his house which consisted of a roof, a raised platform for a bed, and some benches and tables where he stored his tree cutting tools. there were no walls and the floor was dirt. He gave us papayas and we gave him a pair of swim shorts. Many of the houses in the village were of the similar construction making privacy practically unheard of. Each house was surrounded by a garden of fruit trees and flowers. Most were very well tended. Leaves were raked, grass was cut, bushes were trimmed. One man told us life was vary tranquil there. From what we saw that was an understatement.

We are now back in Taiohae Bay where tomorrow morning at 5:00 am there is a fruit and veggie market. We will stock up for our passage to Tahiti by way of the Tuamoto atolls. after the market at 9:00 am is France versus Brazil in a World Cup match. That should draw a crowd.