Village of Taravai, Island of Taravai, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia – Sunday BBQ with Herve and Valerie 2

YES, WE ARE BACK AGAIN

The humans know a good thing when they see it. The friendly hospitality of the locals Herve and Valerie are famous among the cruisers that make it this far south to the Gambier Islands.

Most cruisers stop into Taravai Village because they have heard that this is one of the few places you can pick up some ‘fresh’ fruit and garden vegetables before heading north into the more arid atolls of the Tuamotus.

Many cruisers come by for the Sunday potluck and BBQs that Herve and Valerie host. They have set up a large BBQ area, shaded seating, volley ball court, petanque and have a long shallow beach area for the kids to play. They always make the effort to make a few local Polynesian dishes for everyone to try.

A few cruisers stick around and become good friends. Herve and Valerie are always willing to welcome new people into their home. They enjoy learning new things from cruisers and equally teaching the cruisers a few new tricks. Hunting, fishing, foraging, how to pluck a chicken, how to make coconut milk, cooking, weaving and flower lay making are just a few skills they regularly pass on. Despite the fact that cruisers are a ‘transient’ lot, never sticking around very long, it never seems to stop them from opening their hearts and their home to everyone who stops by.

CULTURAL EXCHANGE

Herve and Valerie usually have a busy day of schooling their youngest son Ariki, gardening, hunting, fishing and maintenance. It is a Polynesian tradition to ‘drop everything’ to receive guests. For this reason my humans saved most of their visits to ashore for the late afternoons (3pm). A couple of hours to chat, squeeze in a game of petanque and watch the sun set. But they took some extra time with Herve to join him spear fishing, in his favourite spots, and to teach Valerie how to make yogurt.

Their home is also a meeting place for cruisers. Here in the Gambiers the boats have come from a large range of countries.
The mutual interest of sailing brings all these different cultures together and it is a great opportunity to exchange information. There is also a mixture experiences as some boats have been in French Polynesia for a season or two, while others have just arrived. Some individuals have electrical or engineering skills while other boats need a helping hand with a repair.

Some boats have traveled here with young children. A gathering place is good to meet other boats with children they can play with. The local schools on the islands are very welcoming and allow the cruising children to attend classes during their visits. This frees up the parents a bit during the day and gives the children a local play mates and a fabulous cultural experience.

MONO-LINGUAL

The official language of French Polynesia is French. Each archipelago of islands also has its own dialect, for example Mangeravian for the Gambier Islands. But it is the French language they binds all these islands together, all official paperwork is complete and most commerce. Unfortunately my silly humans do not speak French. No problem, they can just learn French, right? But my humans have been lazy as they keep running into cruisers, locals and professionals that speak English. In fact most people they meet can speak multiple languages. It seems that the only mono-lingual people they meet are from the ‘English’ speaking countries.

The BBQ was attended by locals, and boats from all over Europe and even Russia. Valerie, the hostess, speaks Tahitian, Mangarevian, French, English, German and even a bit of Spanish. Most of the other locals also knew a bit of English and many of the other cruisers were at least bi-lingual. The only mono-linguists in attendance were my British humans. Very embarrassing. In fact we have found, over and over, the only cruisers coming to French Polynesia who can not speak French originate from an ‘English’ speaking country. Why is that? Why are we such a lazy lot?

I will have to whip these humans into shape.