Our third group of visitors, Ann and Gwen, are tough travelers! From Tahiti, they first flew to Nuku Hiva where we were but the airline wouldn’t let them change their ticket to get off. They stayed on board and flew to Hiva Oa where we were originally going to tmeet them. After a night in Hiva Oa at a little AirBnb where someone went to get food for them on a moped, they flew back to Nuku Hiva and we met them at the airport in a rental car. Ann is a long time friend- we met rowing but we now infiltrate many parts of each other’s lives. Gwen is my half sister whom I was lucky enough to connect with the first time less than 2 years ago. They are both avid travelers and it didn’t seem like the prolonged trip and arrival put them off too much. It is said when visiting sailors you can choose where or when but not both and that certainly proved true this time around.
To pick them up at the airport on the North side of the island we got a rental car again. Greg managed the narrow winding roads and manual transmission car with ease and we had some time to enjoy the airport scenery before their plane landed. For the one plane arriving and taking off again that day it was fun to imagine how many people it took to execute all the jobs that needed to be done. We watched some staff quickly switch positions from ticket counter agent to luggage handler.
We stopped at many viewpoints and shared our version of the island’s history and magic as we wound our way along the road back to Taiohae Bay. Down at the dock we did a few dinghy trips back and forth with them and their massive bags of goods for us. What troopers they are for bringing almost 150 pounds of parts and stuff for us! Ann even brought a bunch of Red Vines licorice that promptly blew up into pieces in this warm and humid climate. I can verify is tastes delicious even in smaller chunks. Gwen brought some cheese from her last work trip and another big block of Tillamook cheddar, what treats! (Later… it’s been so fun to share the last of Gwen’s cheeses from Amsterdam with our Dutch friends!) That night we walked over to the pizza place but they had a big party and no seating left so we ate our take out at the Nuku Hiva Yacht Service’s picnic table with our favorite stray dogs.
We relaxed in Taiohae and let them get used to boat life and motion for a bit. Ann helped Griffin with math (brilliant!) and I did some engine and water maker maintenance. We walked around town and checked out the cathedral, grocery stores, and a building on the waterfront historic site full of locally made crafts. Gwen and I swam lots and she helped me clean the boat’s waterline. The water here is extra nutrient rich which just means that every few days growth is visible. We hung out at the sandy beach and listened to a music group practicing, made cocktails with lots of local fruit, and shared a dinner with Henk and Caroline. Though it’s a bit rolly here, we stayed one more day and went to a church service, changed Ann and Gwen’s return tickets, and enjoyed the stargazing.
Next up was heading back over to Controllers Bay and the little town of Taipivai. We set our stern anchor to keep the boat pointed into any waves that wound their way into the bay. A few of us walked on the big beach while Griffin looked for shark teeth. We made pizza on board that night, fun. Paradiso showed up with just Siebe and his French sailing buddy. We walked up to Belle Vue for lunch and watched a few rain showers pass. One day the 3 girls took the dinghy over the bar and up the river at high tide to walk around the village. We walked to the bakery for so many treats, swam with mantas, and did some snorkeling along the shore too. With the lack of bioluminescence, we got out the underwater light to see if any interesting creatures came to check it out. We saw a few mantas but nothing quite as exciting as the glowing hammerhead sharks.
Life jackets on for our short morning passage and then and dinghying up the river at Taipivai.
Back in Taiohae, we celebrated Valentine’s day with some homemade pasta that traditionally we dye pink but no beets and no food coloring so it was just creamy colored delicious pasta.
The next morning we were going to rent a car but it turned out not to be available. Instead, we walked up to the viewpoint and down to the beach, good to move early. Some more beach time, a trip to the gift store, and cockpit happy hours rounded out Ann and Gwen’s visit, they took off the next day and got to have a day in Tahiti touring around. What fun to share this place with them. Next up is Greg’s sister Margretta coming in just a few days!
In the real-life-living-on-a-boat department, I had finally figured out that the transmission oil leak was from the seal around the shifting arm, about as good as possible! Not having to try to get the transmission off of the engine with the type of shaft seal we have was a good thing. The engine and transmission are my department but the coupler and everything aft of that are Greg’s department. Selfishly, I like my problems to stay in my department. There’s likely not enough room to take the tranny off without screwing up the shaft seal and that would mean a trip to Tahiti to get hauled out, no thank you! Miraculously, a business near Seattle could UPS the parts we needed to Greg’s sister and arrive with her in a few days. We’ve been away from the whatever you want whenever you need it world for so long, this feels like an absolute miracle.
