Our sailing home takes us, Scott and Kathy Erwin to travel the world one island at a time. Come along on this adventure to learn, or join Kathy’s Yoga, and explore and see the world.
Not just your average anchorage; Hakatea Bay (aka and formerly Daniel’s Bay) Nuku Hiva. (The most remote Island in the world). This is the site of Season 4 of the TV series “Survivor” and also the last known case of Cannibalism in the Marquesas. How recent you might ask? Recent enough that I think the guy is still in jail. lol.
This amazing place was the Royal center of Nuku Hiva for over 1000 years. Up to 20,000 natives lived in this valley until Small Pox and other introduced diseases wiped out thousands, in past centuries. Now and over the past 80 years less than an average of 10 people live in the valley.
Video tour of the Royal Palace
As we hiked up the Royal trail to the waterfall we came across dozens of Pae Pae’s or foundations of ancient buildings. We are amazed that they are basically in the process of returning to earth. Over grown jungle and trees growing through the middle of many of these ruins. Archaeology has shown that in some cases the heads of families members or warriors have been buried under rocks in the Pae Pae’s after the tribe or leaders ate the eyes and brain out of the skulls. (To take their visions and knowledge). We didn’t move any stones!
Boy was that waterfall loud!A rendition of the village a few hundred years ago.2 Tiki’s
The local family that is still in the valley cooked us lunch and filled our bags with fruit upon our return.
It’s very difficult to explain the day and what we saw. All I can say is I can’t believe this place isn’t a museum. Oh yeah, the water fall was cool too. The only way to get here is by boat. Ya have to see it to believe it…..
Our 15th island here in FP and it sure didn’t disappoint. Oa Pou, on the most isolated archipeligo on the planet; Marquesas. We sailed back her to spend the off season, the hot summer months, and the well known cyclone seasons. It is so peaceful and friendly here that we stayed 2 weeks. Daily walks through The village of Hakahau and up the hill to Restaurant/Inn Pukuee for a cold beer and great view of the bay was a treat.
We hired the owner Jerome for a well guided Jeep tour of this majestic island. We visited the largest ancient archeological site here, examining the floors, homes, quad area, dancing platforms, and temples. I looked closely for the ancient skulls buried in the rocks, but found none. We learned that hundreds of these Pae Pae grounds are buried up here in the high jungles of the island. The Tavaka Tribe was around 1,500, living on the highest peaks of Marquesas.
But, what Ua Pou’s is most famous for is the very rare “flower stone” in a north bay. Certain minerals formed when the volcano here was alive and molten. The cooling process created what appears to be miniature gold flowers in the stone. (See photo) We watched a local stone carver at his work bench.
Shopping trips come in all varieties when you live on a boat on an island. This one was sure unique. We heard from other cruisers that there may be a little store open in the neighboring village, Haakuti, in Ua Pou. So 6 friends took our dingies and kind of crash landed on the mossy wall.
The surge had highs and lows, making the dingy exit and entrance tricky. Funny that we had to anchor the dingies out a ways and swim to shore. We walked about the village and met some very kind locals. The children here were shy, one boy had a pet rooster on a leash. We explored the church and cemetery, then asked around for some bananas. A sweet mother of 3 gave us some mangos, pomplemouse and oranges as she had way too many. On our way back, we bought a box of limes from this darling family. They even served us delicious limeade and gave us a ride back to the rocks.
Navigation at its most extreme in these parts. There are no paper charts, no depth soundings and no navigational marks in sailing apps such as Navionics. In and aound all these atolls, you can see coral heads or “bommies” as they are called out here in Polynesian waters. You can clearly see the coral heads all about.
In and aound all these atolls and anchorages you can see coral heads or “bommies” as they are called here in Polynesian. A respectable and necessary practice here is to float your anchor chain, floating above these bommies, with 4-5 floats. Also important, most cruisers download files called OpenCPN for the coral heads and a crew is always on lookout (best if it is sunny and daytime). Satélite imagery is the key to sailing in the Tuomotus Atolls, since it’s some of the most remote place in the world. Cruisers rarely, if ever, traveled these atolls until recent years when satélite imagery was married to GPS positioning.
We use downloaded files called OpenCPN and of course our eyes. Satélite imagery is the key to sailing in some of the most remote places in the world. This location was inside the east side of Rangiroa, French Polynesia. Cruisers rarely, if ever, traveled these atolls until satélite imagery was married to GPS positioning. We travel areas like this only when the sun is at its highest so we can see the coral heads and white reefs. If it’s an overcast day, it’s a no go. Thank you friends on Fundango for the drone shots. Sea Bella will be getting her own drone later this year.
When we go exploring about in the dingy, we both are on a keen look out for these bommies, but also for the shallow waters and sand bars that are in front of the Motu inner islands. The outboard motor can be lifter into 3 different positions, when at its highest working position we draw about a foot. This is when one of us gets out to walk ashore.
We had shorty wetsuits for our long afternoon of snorkeling.4th of July beach party, Fakarava.
Sailing the French Polynesian waters of the Tuomotu Archepeligo is an amazing experience. Scott and I have spent most of the 6 month sailing season in and around about 8 Atolls. If you glance at a map, you will see these islands are all similar and mostly aligned with the SE trade winds, which makes for excellent travel in this direction. Our experienced was fabulous; the beauty of the pink sand beaches, reefs, sunsets, and sealife are remarkable. Most Atolls in the Tuomotus are very remote and only have a very small village with maybe a market or two. Shipments of foods and drinks come every week or two from Tahiti. Buying the French baguette or croissant is the excitement of the morning and a cruiser is lucky to find a few fresh vegetables or fruit. The people here are very friendly and helpful. It’s really a happy place. Although again, it’s very unusual to find fresh produce, so stocking up with canned or frozen is important.
A very typical cruiser schedule in the Tuomotus is ‘early to bed early to rise’ as is with most remote cruising experiences. Mornings are usually lazily spent reading or on Starlink, researching the area, conditions, resources, or making a family call or one to a mechanic, but hopefully not. After the DIY boat projects and repairs are done, most sweaty sailors are ready to snorkel a reef, have fun with water sports, or explore the Motu, see below photograph. Most anchorages in the Tuomotus Archipelago are extremely remote, with out a village or house for 10 miles. And as for a marine services, there is only one area and that is in Tahiti 300-600 miles away. So, cruisers rely on each other. Most people want a sense of community, support, and friendship. It’s typical that cruisers end most days with a social time (boaters are from all around the world out here, so multi languages is common in the anchorages) people are ready to gather up for social hour, usually at a close beach, to meet new friends, share stories, drinks and snacks, discuss weather, sailing, projects, local news, travel ideas, and maybe play some games. These months in the Tuomotus I learned that every day is kind of the same, but by far, the people and beautiful places make it a unique cruising ground.
Scott and I really enjoyed our stay in Marvelous Moorea for a week in August. These photos show an area we hiked and explored. Moorea was formed millions of years ago by a volcano that erupted, collapsed upon itself, created a massive caldera and caused 2 giant mudslides.
Two beautiful bays are the result of the slides. One bay is Opunohu, the other is the famous Cook’s Bay (where the movie “Mutiny on the Bounty” was filmed). The movie, and book are historically fascinating. It’s about in 1788 a true story of Christian Fletcher. He sailied to Tahiti and kidnapped young Tahitian men and women. Fletcher then sailed off with the captured villagers to the southern Pitcairn Islands. He then burned up his ship, leaving them all stranded there. Today, some of their descendants still live there as well as in New Zealand, Australia and United States.
Below are the ancient tribal platforms made for the chiefs to perform the archery challenges. A regular sporting event in those times.
Our snorkeling adventures in Tikehau brought us to a a small coral area where the Manta Rays get a dental cleaning. These are definitely our new friends. Today off the old Pearl Farm in Tikehau, Tuomotus, we encountered these gentle giants being cleaned by small wrasses and remora which rid them of the parasites they have on the skin and mouth.
Although some cruisers prefer to scuba dive, we find the best colors and the most animals are within the top 20’. We have all the scuba equipment (including the compressor) but we rarely find scuba is worth the time and effort. Believe it or not, the water is getting colder, it’s winter here, in August, and the locals don’t like getting in the water (80f, 27c) lol. We are even wearing shorty wet suits. A bit spoiled we are. It’s supposed to get down to 77 by the end of September. Burrrrrrr, it will be even colder South of here. I never thought I would say we need to go more north to get warm(er) Ha! We even have a blanket on the bed.
A few facts on Mantas: Kathy is intrigued by the Reef Manta Ray. Learning about these new friends; he can grow to a wingspan of 16 ft! But we have only seen these 3 of about 6-9 ft. You can see at the front of his face, he has a pair of cephalic fins which can be either rolled up in a spiral for quicker swimming or they can be flared out in front to channel the plankton filled water for feeding. I watched today that he has a small dorsal fin and a long black tail without a spine or barb like his cousins have.
Mobula Alfredi (Reef Manta Ray)
These Mantas are not afraid of us at all and often turned to look and see where we went. The Tuomotus never fail to amaze us and this atoll Tikehau is no different. We will poke our way around this atoll for a week or so before moving on. We are adventuring French Polynesia, one island or atoll at a time.
This checks off another box of “things we want to swim with”. Lol Adventure never seems to be far away….I can’t tell you how cool it is not to be in a hurry.
The Epidemy of Tahiti Photography. I must have walked 100 miles all throughout Papeete these weeks. Photos really sum it up well. We were lucky to witness a small wedding ceremony and dance. Downtown every corner has either a Tahitian Pearl shop, a pub selling Hinano Tahiti Beer or possibly a cute Grandma lady hand crafting floral headgear. Country Pride is evident with many flags flying and banners announcing the Summer Olympic surf event next July. Resorts are primarily thatch roof huts over crystal clear aqua waters with views of the surrounding coral reefs. Typical fauna includes fragrant pulmeria and vanilla plants, banyan trees, mango, breadfruit and of course coconut. Its typical to find pastel colored churches and yummy fruit stands along the road. Unfortunately the wall art isn’t what we saw in Mexico, and there is quite a lot of Graffiti, as Papeete is a big city of 136 thousand people.
True Vacation or just more of the same? 2 years into our World travels and we have learned some very important tips. Traveling throughout Mexico, nearly all the United States and now French Polynesia have gained us some realizations that “not all is as it appears”.
Faking a call in Point Venus, Tahiti. We had to bus out of town 30 miles to find some local vibes.
We’ve grown up with our beliefs that we travel to these “Love Boat Destinations”. Let me explain. As young people (I know I’m dating myself) we grew up with expectations of these great vacation spots to see the world. For example Cabo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, St Thomas, Oahu, Montego Bay, Tahití, and even Vegas or New York City. (enter your own memory here).
Makemo, Tuomotus, French Polynesia. This villager treated us to coconut milk, he lives alone, lives off the land and is the only person on this 2 mile wide (Motu) island.
30 years ago this might have been the cultural experience that reflected the county or region you were looking to see. But it’s 2023! Now-a-days these spots, and hundreds of others, nowhere near reflect the culture that actually resides in these countries or states. My Uncle Lou (who traveled tonight countries) said to us “The less money you spend when you travel, the more you’ll see of what you really were hoping to experience”. It’s not about the pricey hotels and restaurants folks!! It’s about connecting with the local people! The biggest travel tip is that is FREE!
Renting bikes for the day in Fakarava, French Polynesia.After scuba diving Fakarava south pass, it was time for a beer at the only bar in the village. Tuomotus, French Polynesia.
A week in the Hilton Hotel in Papeete Tahiti will have a nice pool, access to great fluffy drinks and catered scuba diving, but you will not see this island for the wonderful Polynesian Culture that has centuries of history. You won’t shop in their grocery stores or learn what drives their economy or family structures. Take a walk, a bus, see the people and explore.
Hiking the backside of Hiva Oa, Marquesis, we met Jaba cooking his fish dinner. He cut down coconuts for us!Wandering around Fatu Hiva, we met Marta, she gave us 4 Pomplemouse and we gave her a raincoat.
Mexico is a perfect example of this. We spent nearly 2 years throughout these speacial coastal regions from Ensenada to Zihuatenejo. Biggest tip: A trip to Puerto Vallarta is the opposite of what Mexico is all about. There is a bar on every corner with pricey drinks watching other tourists walk the strip. Or siting at a nearby tourist beach, under a Palapa with nearby stands of inflatable Chinese beach toys. This is not the real Mexico.
A local invited us to dinner. Fatu Hiva, French Polynesia.Local village children will come and play if you sit and hang out awhile!
Folks, if I may……. Get out of these places (unless that fluffy drink is what your looking for). Find someplace meaningful to you and maybe the people there will find you meaningful. A week or two in Marquesas, Mexico City, Fakarava, Copper Canyon Mexico, Prague and millions of other places will leave you with more culture than all the places I listed earlier above. Rent an apartment, shop in their grocery stores, walk their streets…….have a drink in their corner bar….learn some of their language! When you spend a $ in Cabo the bartender only cares about the next drink. When you sit with the guy covered with tribal tattoos and he explains his involvement in the tribes drum group and explains how the village hunts together with the one gun in town he doesn’t care about your $’s. Just sayin’.
Agua Verde, Baja, Mexico.
If you’re still reading and interested, let’s talk safety. Of all the time we’ve spent in Mexico, Kathy can only remember one time she felt unsafe and it was in Mazatlan. She confesses it was probably fine, but the area was dirty and sketchy and is not on our real Mexico list. On the other hand, we’ve both felt unsafe in multiple places in the United States and in California. Of course we believe in not getting yourself in a bad situation. World wide! I feel it is much easier to get yourself in a bad situation in California than in Mexico. Jus’ sayin’ again. Plan ahead, and GO!!
La Cruz, Mexico.Mexico City.Barra de Navidad, Mexico.
Beautiful sunsets of Moorea, French Polynesia. No matter where we are, or when, the views of this majestic Mountain island are unforgettable. Going there on a friend’s Catamaran tomorrow then we will take the ferry back. Sea Bella is stuck at the dock for another week…stay tuned.
Heiva is a spritely celebration and competition of ancient Polynesian culture (held every July) that was long suppressed by colonialism. However, many families from all over the 65 inhabited Islands secretly kept traditions alive practicing ancient dances and songs. France recently began ‘permitting’ the Island groups to participate again. Consisting of tribal dance and costume, art, sport and music. The musicians made instruments primarily drums, lukulele, a bamboo nasal flute, and conch shells. Passionate singing is sung a cappella in the ancient native Tahitian language. It was amazing to experperience Heiva, such an incredibly unique and emotional celebration.
Our World Adventure 