Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Fatu Hiva June 25 - 29




On Wednesday we had great weather for our trip to Fatu Hiva. This is the southernmost island and the only one travelers can not get to by airplane or commercial boat, so we were excited to see it. The bay there was truly spectacular with impressive rock formations sticking way up right at the edge of the bay. Story has it that the bay was originally called the Bay of Penises (and its clear why it would be) but when the missionaries came they added another vowel to it and now it translates to the Bay of Virgins. Interesting what one little vowel can do.
We barely had the anchor down before we were all in the water. It was pretty clear but also pretty deep and dark in that harbor. No snorkeling, but we definitely enjoyed the refreshment of swimming! The next morning Fred took a long swim, then we noticed a local boat in distress and Fred and Jeff got in the dingy and towed them ashore where they got no thanks from the people they towed, but another guy immediately began bargaining with them for the tow roap they used. Nice. Unfortunately the rest of our shore encounters here went about the same, but we've talked to other boaters who had very different experiences there, so maybe we just had bad luck.
As Jeff and Fred came back in the dingy they thought they saw some fish jumping around in the water near the edge of the bay and motored over for a look and were treated to a dolphin show that included baby dolphins! They said it was better than Seaworld and they could almost reach out and touch them. We saw them frequently in the distance, often while we were having our afternoon swim. It's cool to be in the same water with them even when they are about a half mile away. We had a nice relaxing time in the bay here and also got some crud scrubbed off the hull and a few other boat chores taken care of.

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