#nomadlife – Our World Adventure

Making my own breads, yogurts, tortillas and muffins have been a fun new way to provide staples for Scott and I. Often breads are not to be found at the small island stores. I wonder, how do they make a sandwiche? Homemade baked goods are fun to bring to cruiser parties or as gifts for the village locals. We keep a sourdough “mother” which was given to me from a cruiser friend in Mexico and has provided us well over 50 or loaves! It’s also difficult to find or store packaged yeasts.

Making my own yogurt has also been key, not only does it reduce my plastic trash, it’s versatile and a good staple ingredient for other recipes. Storing large amounts of yogurt also takes up valuable refrigerator space. All I need for making yogurt is powdered milk, easily found and easily stored, and 1 small thermos (oh, and a thermometer)

Another idea I considered was having a small hydroponic garden for a few favorite herbs and sprouts. Fresh greens were the hardest to find in remote islands. I have dappled in this area, since it’s a major land hobby of mine and I come from a family of gardeners. But, nonetheless, it’s quite difficult on a boat. Why hydroponics? Well, having a plant with dirt doesn’t do well while healing sideways, but water only spills and dries up, no mess at all. Hey, we live on the water. My last batch of basil and rosemary got scorched in the direct sun, so back to the drawing board I go. Currently, I don’t have any plants, unless you count my very tiny cactus.

I have dappled in pickling, jarring and drying foods these last 2 years. But, since the mason jars/lids are difficult to find, I decided on mostly storing cheap canned or frozen veggies instead, I know, yuck! I can hardly complain though.

I had learned about pressure canning and was quite successful, only took me one full day! Since I knew we would spend a year in the French Polynesian islands, where meats are pricey and some hard to find, I started my research. It paid off! We had many delicious home made lasagnes, meatballs and stews during the 6 months spent in the remote Tuamotus Atolls. In Mexico, I had made 14 jars total of pork and beef, but the best was italian sausage.

My biggest answer to storing foods while on a boat: Ziplocks! Bulky storage containers often are not airtight and don’t fit well in small fridges, freezers or lockers. Since ziplock bags are hard to find out in the islands, I bought many and use and reuse them until they are so thin or have a tear. Even then, I tend to use them, double bagged style. I was raised to be thrifty, which now comes in very handy!

Provisioning and prepping foods while living on a boat in remote places is quite a challenge but a fun one that I have embraced. My Mom always said “cook with love” which proved to be great advice. Cooking on a boat is a topic for another time, but shopping, storing, and keeping foods and drinks cold is the tricky topic of the day, especially in remote locations and foreign countries. I feel I have done well so far, but have only experienced Mexico and French Polynesia. Learning to be resourceful and having flexibility in the foods you eat are the main key.

That’s about a wrap for the day, no pun intended!!

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.