It is a quiet afternoon in a beautiful anchorage on the island of Taravai. Jo-Ann and Greg are paddle boarding near the reef, Tim is asleep on the tramp, and I am cooking a large chunk pork seasoned with an herb recommended, but never before seen or smelled by any of us, that we bought from a local farmer.
We moved from an anchorage on the other side of the island near Herve and Valerie’s home (afore mentioned purveyors of food) this morning. We snorkeled, paddle boarded, hiked, and socialized for most of the day yesterday and decided to move on this morning to an area with a good sunset view.
Taravai is an exceptionally beautiful small island with 7 inhabitants. Herve, Victoria, one of their sons, 3 young British men who are house sitting, and an Australian we haven’t met. All of the residents are completely self-sustained and incredibly nice. There are horses, chickens, pigs, goats, and a couple of great pet dogs roaming the island, along with a ton of fruit, herbs, and some misc vegetables. Remember that it is late autumn here so the produce reflects the season and the latitude. We are currently loaded up with pamplemousse (a large grapefruit variety), passion fruit, bananas, mango, papaya, avocado, rosemary, frozen green beans, and pork all purchased from Herve and Victoria. There is also a lovely orchid arrangement on the counter; a gift to the “ladies”. When we met the family yesterday, we brought in a small gift for their 4 year old son that he seemed very pleased with, and they gave us an extensive tour of their farm and the surrounding areas including an old chapel and graveyard. We were sent on our way towards the 3 British guys (as they seem to be universally known) who greeted us and shared coffee, tea and stories. They are all in their 20’s and have been sailing around in a small boat (26′ Contessa – same boat Tanya Abei used for her circumnavigation). There was someone on the island that needed to leave for a few months, they fit the housesitting bill and are taking a break from sailing, living off the land, and having a wonderful time from the looks of it. Really nice guys. The last few days are what cruisers dream about and it is wonderful to be experiencing the Polynesian and sailing culture in these small islands. We met a young couple from Seattle in Rikitea (the main town in Gambier) and chatted with two other sailing groups. All of the people we met we may see again since we’re headed in the same general direction.
Our big goal for the week is to find Atomic Pizza in Rikitea and see if we can manage to score a meal from one of the other two restaurants in town. It is hit and miss. The mini markets do have plenty of food which is a relief, but it is very expensive.
We are having a great, very relaxed time with Jo-Ann and Greg (who is back from paddle boarding and now walking laps on the boat to get his steps in). I’m feeling grateful and relieved that stage one passage is over!
