Star Fruit Pasties

 

It was a painless journey getting to M/V Antipodes in the Taihoai Bay in Nuku Hiva. There were so many opportunities for something to go wrong with the timing of the flights, the night in a motel in Tahiti, the hour long off road trek around the island to the bay from the Nuku Hiva airport, and getting to the boat via dinghy with two 60 lb inverters and all of our gear. The boat, left unattended for a month at anchor, was in surprisingly excellent condition and everything was working well, which was a huge sigh of relief for us all. We’re in paradise my friends and all our worries have melted away!

The scenery is just incredible here and we are all in awe of the beauty. On one side of the island the landscape is arid, dry, and volcanic, while the other side boasts a   luscious, dramatic, green landscape with jagged mountains accented by fog in key spots as if it were man made by fog machine. The water is clear, but the visibility is not the best in the bay due to the surge of the ocean. The sea beckons us to come swimming, although reports of hammerhead sharks make us a bit apprehensive. As we settle into the boat and Mike begins his crash course of learning the systems with Jim, Andy and I forget our fears and throw ourselves off the back of the  boat into the delightful green sea. Instantly, I am happy. The grime from our travels that once encompassed my body is long gone and I feel like a new woman.

As we all settle into boat life once again, the dynamic mix of personalities starts to come out. We are entertained by Andy’s (AKA The Naked Canadian) antics in particular; one of his shining moments being a little song and dance around the galley with cut star fruit slices as pasties. Giggles and jokes fill the air as the adventure starts to creep out of our bones and we delve into the world of Nuku Hiva. Mike and Jim still tinker away on board Antipodes with a promising end in sight, while Andy takes me around the bay in the dinghy where I am first exposed to his fearless sense of exploration. He seeks out a spot where he thinks the snorkeling will be alright, throws the anchor overboard, and flips off the dinghy eager to get amongst the marine life. I try to follow suit as quickly as possible starving for the excitement that awaits me. 

The visibility might not be the best, but I don’t care.  There are fish, millions of beautiful exotic fish swarming me in a tropical bliss. The marine life is exquisite and the times are thrilling. We’re in a very rough spot where the waves are crashing into a point and I am exhilarated by the experience of it all. I decide at that moment that the type of snorkeling Andy does could safely be called “extreme snorkeling”. This isn’t your gentle putter on the surface admiring all the pretty fishies kind of snorkeling (although that is mostly what I did thanks to the plugged ears from my head cold). Andy dives down deep below scouring every surface and crevice constantly searching for treasures of any sort whether it be a lobster or fish for dinner or a beautiful shell to take home to his wife. He pokes and prods anything he desires and gets up close and personal with fish whether they like it or not. Sharks, manta rays, eagle rays, eels, lion fish, parrot fish, scallops, you name it! Nothing intimidates this man! The sea is certainly his playground. I found myself fascinated more by Andy than I was by the snorkeling. Funny enough, I later found out that Mike is exactly the same, which means when the two of them were together you were certainly in for a good time.

The little bit of playtime that Andy and I shared in the beginning quickly defined the remainder of our time in Nuku Hiva. Mike finished learning everything on the boat and was feeling confident in being able to Captain her across the Pacific. Jim tied up loose ends and then quickly headed back to be with his wife as he heard her condition had worsened. Everything was ready for us to go aside from the shipment of fuel that we had ordered in from Papeete, Tahiti. With a few days to spare while waiting on the fuel, we raised the anchor and took off in search of other bays around the island.

Bay hopping was a delightful and educational process, which we were thankful for having. Initially, as we were getting a feel for the boat under rough seas everything seemed ok because we had a decent angle which the boat preferred. On one passage, however, we had very unfavorable seas which sent Antipodes into a bit of a fury as she launched her drawers, chairs, and anything else that wasn’t seriously battened down. It became a war zone as we dodged flying utensils, storage bins, and even a giant rocking chair! I was so worried about the massive TV in the settee flying across the room and taking me out. We all learned that even though it is a power boat and does not heel like the sailboats we are used to, there is still no excuse for leaving things unsecured. 

Aside from the fact that the boat had looked like it had either been robbed or trashed from a serious party, the boat handled really well during our bout of coastal hopping. It gave us great confidence for the longer passage that we will soon be getting around to one of these days! It has been nice to cruise around Nuku Hiva and see all that this beautiful slice of heaven has to offer.

The bays that we explored vary greatly in what they have to offer. On the side closest to the main harbor, we visited a few bays that were very popular with other cruisers, thus providing a bit of a social scene where everyone gathered together at a bonfire. One bay in particular, led us on a long walk through the jungle to what once used to be a small village, but now was barely inhabited. We meandered through the jungle finding fruit trees (star fruit, mango, limes, bananas, coconuts, and guava) amidst the old foundations of houses and sacred maraes (or religious sanctuary). Beautiful little colts appeared out of no where, but were too skittish to come close. There was one family that we saw with two children riding a bike with the rubber on   the tires completely burnt out and falling off. We wished we had a bicycle with us to give to them! It didn’t stop them from having any fun. We were told by the other cruisers  that this was the place where we could trade for fruit with the family. Unfortunately, we hadn’t prepared ahead of time and didn’t have anything to offer. It would have been nice to have bundles of fruit to take back to the boat rather than buying a single piece of fruit for $1.50 at the market. Food here isn’t cheap unless you barter.

We ventured to another bay where we were the only people around, which is what we prefer. We decided to take the dinghy to shore first then dabble with snorkeling a bit later. Shore looked desolate and we were told this beach was uninhabited. Well it was certainly uninhabited by humans, however, pigs had decided to set up shop here. Thousands of pigs populated this little beach, and we later discovered that it was a pig farm/butcher. I fell in love with the tiny black piglets and tried to chase them around to catch one and pet it. Those little suckers are fast!! I never did get to pet one. Instead we meandered about picking up beautiful shells on the beach and stocking up on limes from the trees. We did run into a couple locals, but given that none of us speak French, it was hard to figure out what they were telling us. We decided to leave and see what the reefs had to offer.

Once again I found myself extreme snorkeling with Mike and Andy. This time they were armed with their gloves, spear gun, and knifes in dire need of finding the lobsters. We hit the reef, which was beautiful, but quite washed up due to the wind that funneled through the bay. Next, we decided to trek a bit further out to the high cliffs that seemed to miraculously be illuminated by choice sunrays. Andy found a spot by the side of one cliff and did his usual back somersault into the water to check it out. He was instantly stung by a jellyfish upon touching the sea, but that didn’t stop him as he scoped out the scene in hopes to find the “bugs” or lobster. “No bugs here, let’s move on” he said as he hopped back onto the dinghy just as fast as he left. We puttered to another spot, where the waves were crashing harder and the current was stronger. I was certainly a bit timid to  hop in as these extreme snorkelers did, but I didn’t want to show any fear and followed suit. My visual world had once again been impressed. While swimming along the cliff edge I was in awe of the instant serenity of the underwater scene. Waves were harshly crashing into the jagged rocks above, yet below the fish were peacefully swimming amongst the spiky sea urchin oblivious to the power of the sea. I felt ambivalent, on one hand I was greatly in fear of the waves slamming me into the rocks, yet when I dove down below I felt as calm as the sea creatures unaware of the fury above. This was one of the highlights of my trip. The snorkel adventure only got better as we encountered an eagle ray, many white and black tipped reef sharks, manta rays gliding beside us and along the cliff wall, and caves filled with sleeping sharks. Extreme snorkeling is my new favorite hobby!

It was hard to top the experiences we had in those two bays alone. While the rest of the bays were equally as beautiful and pristine and had just as much to offer, they were no match for our earlier encounters. We got to experience the great diversity on this island as we circumnavigated and hiked around it. The lush, green dramatic mountains slowly toppled off into rolling rocky, desert-like hills with parched shrubbery as we approached the opposite side of the island. The surging ocean in the bays calmed down to a gentle lull with better protected reefs. The varied landscape determined our mood; where there was dramatic, exciting views, there was great adventure, and likewise where the landscape softened, so did our moods. The last bay we visited was a nice relaxing reprieve where we were able to get a bit of sun and rest up for our long passage. 

Today is our final day in Nuku Hiva as the fuel has finally arrived. We may not be able to post blogs while underway,so may be the last for awhile. It will take us anywhere from 20-30 days to get to land again, and our final is route is still yet to be determined due to the weather. Wish us luck!

*Many photos courtesy of Andy