WE HAVE NOT MOVED?
I can not believe that 4 weeks has snuck by since we arrived in Anaho Bay. And yes, we have not moved.
It must be a beautiful spot!
Yes it is, but it is also a great calm anchorage to get lots of work done on the boat. But, with most of these completed, we are finally free to get cruising again. Hooray! This cruising stuff seems to be more ‘fixing your boat in exotic locations’ than any of that actual ‘touristy’ stuff.
If the humans are willing to put in the man hours fixing this old tub, who am I to argue! I got a great beach here.
Some electrical work on the top of the mast
While you are up there? A picture across the bay looking east.
Looking west towards the dingy channel through the reef at low tide
YOU LEARN SOMETHING EVERY DAY
It was the weekend. Many of the locals have ‘additional’ family members with holiday homes here. They come over from the main village on the island where they work or go to school, and enjoy the weekends and holidays here for a break. My ‘language challenged’ British owners were lucky enough to meet one lovely lady today that spoke very good English. She was finally able to answer a few of their burning questions. And what did they want to know? The meaning of life? NO. What they asked was the educate for picking fruit, and where are all the cowrie shells? Oh my simple minded humans!
WHO OWNS THE FRUIT?
Maria explained that there is a law in the Marquesas that no one can own the water, beaches or the land 50 ft from shore. The government has designated these lands as PUBLIC to give freedom of access to all Marquesans. This land may be public, but if the soil is good, the Marquesans often plant fruit trees and flowers. Since these are on public land they accept people may pick a few as they pass by. Mango and lime trees are always over producing, so no one minds if these fruits are picked, within reason. Fruits on private land, such as grapefruit, pineapple, bananas, breadfruit, soursoap ect., you should ask permission to pick from, but most property owners are happy to share.
PUBLIC ‘PARK’ IN ANAHO BAY
Speaking of public land, Maria also informed us that the stretch of land, in front of the anchorage, is a designated public park. It was set aside, and maintenance is funded, by the government for visitors to the bay to enjoy. They have built public toilets, showers and cleared all the ‘brush’ back to make a lovely shaded grass area. They have also planted lots of fruiting and flowering trees to add to the beauty.
Out on the hunt for my mango toppers
COWRIE SHELLS
The humans have been finding smashed cowrie shells on the beach. No whole ones and no live ones when they are snorkeling. They asked Maria where they were all coming from. ‘They are nocturnal’ she announced and ‘loved by the octopus in the bay’. If the humans wanted to see them, they would have to venture out onto the reef at low tide with flash lights at night. She insisted they would find a reef alive with shell fish and mollusks. Now to keep the humans awake after cruisers midnight!
THE WEATHER GODS
There is only one other thing that would get in the way of us getting cruising again, and that is the weather. After 4 weeks of gentle winds and sunny days you just forget that unsettled weather exists. So, of course, the humans were surprised when rain clouds and stronger winds came storming in. Who called for this? Oh, well, it is just a passing front. Nothing much to slow us down.
ONE LAST THING ABOUT MANGOES
The humans find it funny that I would rather eat mangoes, bananas or breadfruit over my dog food. If you ate the same thing every day, you might feel the same. The humans have felt a little like ‘Robinson Crusoe’ going out into the forest and collecting the never ending supply of ripe mangoes falling from the trees here. It certainly has gone a long way to stretching out that last bag of dog food I have from Panama. Never look a gift horse in the mouth. The next group of islands we are headed to, the Tuamotu Atolls, are only a few inches above sea level and have no soil. Some how I doubt a mango ‘topper’ will come with every bowl of dog food when we get there.
NEW ADVENTURES AROUND THE CORNER, YOU JUST HAVE TO LOOK THERE
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