Hi from Clare, 4-2018 Mopelia and Suwarrow Friday 29th June 2018
A SPECIAL PLACE
Our last week in Mopelia was just as memorable as the first. We met nearly all the inhabitants and learnt more about their lifestyle. Previously it had struck us that there were no children on the island. We thought maybe it's a place for retirees, but no the children are living in Maupiti with relatives and attending school. They are due home shortly for the school holidays. We also discovered that most of the local people have held down regular jobs on other islands or in Paris. They have chosen to return to Mopelia to enjoy the simple life. They don't have a lot of material possessions but they have everything they need.
WONDERFUL COMMUNITY
We had a wonderful Pot Luck dinner with eight cruisers and six local folk who provided an abundance of fish and coconut crabs. The cruisers provided the nibbles, salads, sweets and alcohol. The local folk provided music by way of guitars, drums (a combination of barrels being beaten with a rubber thong) spoons in a bottle and wonderful singing voices.
This Pot Luck dinner is an event the local folk do when a number of cruising boats gather. They laid out the meal and played music, sang and had a few drinks while we ate. One local lady in particular, who used to be in the French military, spoke good English and had a very good singing voice. We had met this lady a few days before looking every bit a Polynesian just sitting on the beach cleaning fish and throwing the scraps to a dog. Looks can be very deceiving!
WONDERFUL CUISINE - MAYBE?
Talking about dogs, our friends on 'Fandango' were invited to dinner at Jean and Tuarae's home and in addition to the usual fish they had a very spicy dog stew. Ian from 'Fandango' said it was very tasty and he had two helpings. The dog in question was badly bitten by a coconut crab and was bound to get an infection so they decided to cook it instead. We had patted this dog a number of times and we felt sorry for it and we don't think we could have eaten it.
PLENTY TO DO
Every day we went for a walk on the island. There is a vehicle track that runs the length of the island just a short distance inland from the beach. It was a very pleasant walk in the shade of the palm trees and there are a number of smaller tracks along the way leading over to the ocean side of the atoll. It was on these walks that we met the local folk as the track runs by all the houses. We would invariably stop and chat and end up taking home more island produce than we needed. However it was too hard to say no. They would have it ready for us on our return trip along the road. It seems that their culture is to give you something. Just amazing considering that they don't have a lot.
Most days we would swim in the shallows in the lagoon or in the rock pools on the ocean side of the atoll. One day when the lagoon was flat calm we took three dinghies out and snorkelled the pass. There was less than the usual current running so we just held onto the dinghy and drifted by the colourful display of tropical fish.
PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW
Sadly we had to leave this wonderful playground and sail west. We will always remember the unexpected gem of Mopelia and the happy faces of the people who live there.
We set off for the 570 miles sail to Suwarrow on Monday 18th June and arrived Friday morning. Exiting the pass was easy as there was little current and the seas were a mere 1.5 metres. We had a very enjoyable downwind sail with the main sail our to port and the jib polled out to starboard. At one stage when the wind dropped to 8 knots we put the spinnaker up as well.
ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL SPOT
Suwarrow is a small uninhabited coral atoll about 500 miles east of Samoa and is a good place to stop for a rest. It is a Nature Reserve and very pretty with lush vegetation, mostly coconut trees, and sparkling aqua water. There are two attending Park Rangers here between June and November to check the passing yachts into the Cook Islands. They also make sure we do not damage the environment or ourselves. There is a variety of aggressive sharks here so many of the rules are focused on not luring these sharks into the lagoon. So no food scraps overboard, not spear fishing in the lagoon, no cleaning fish off the back of the boat and no kite boarding. They reported an incident where a kite boarder out in the pass had about five grey sharks following him just waiting for him to drop into the water. Also before 'no spear fishing' was a rule, a spear fisherman had his fish and spear gun totally chomped up by some sharks. Fortunately he lived to tell the tale. So the rules are not to be flaunted. We have been here for a week now and haven't seen any dangerous sharks in the lagoon. However if we walk to the ocean side of the atoll we see nurse sharks, black tips and white tips and greys cruising close to shore where the Rangers clean their fish and throw the scraps to the sharks.
A PRIVILEGED TO WATCH
The main attraction here is the manta ray. They come in the early morning to a shallow reef area some half mile from the anchorage as this is a cleaning station for them. They are truly wonderful to see. So big and yet so graceful just gliding around while the little cleaner fish remove any parasites that have attached themselves. Sometimes we have had as many as sixteen snorkellers and six dinghies out there watching the parade but the manta rays are not the slightest bit perturbed.
MAKE YOUR OWN FUN
At present we have seven cruising yachts here. Six of us were at Mopelia together and so we continue to have ongoing good company. A few nights ago sixteen cruisers were the guests of the Rangers for a pot luck dinner ashore. There is a lovely shaded area with a large table, benches, a fire place, hammocks and a swing made from old fishing nets. It is a very pretty setting and the Rangers provided the fish and the cruisers did the rest. The senior Ranger (Harry) performed the official Tongan welcome and we all had a very social time.
Harry is a professional baker in a former life and he gladly shared his recipe for home made bread with Clare. The recipe has been tried on Eye Candy and turned out very well. Harry says the most important ingredient is patience.
We also had a dinghy drift for sundowners last night. We tied six dinghies together and just drifted in flat calm water while we handed around nibbles, had a few drinks and enjoyed a glorious sunset. The sky was blue, pink and grey and the cloud formation big and fluffy. How fortunate we are to enjoy such peace and calm far away from the troubles of the world.
SOME MENTAL STIMULATION
Andrew has been very busy using his SWR meter and dummy load to repair the Rangers HF radio station and their solar panels. The radio lost its tuner on the ship coming back to the island this season meaning that the Rangers had no radio communication with their base at Rarotonga. To replace their tuner and long wire antenna Andrew built a half wave dipole antenna from the bits and pieces lying around and bingo they are back on the air again. The Rangers are very happy and can now communicate to base 3 days per week to report on visiting yachts.
Andrew tracked down a couple of blown diodes in their solar panels and replaced them with others found in old solar panels to enable charging for their twelve volt batteries. He also gave them an old multi meter so now they can check on their charging.
He has also helped many of the cruisers with radio problems mostly caused by corrosion. In fact he has been so busy they almost have to book an appointment.
SO WHAT NEXT
We have some very strong wind and big seas coming in a few days as a very intense high pressure passes. So we will stay put until things settle down. We are prepared with two anchors out and floats on the anchor chain so we don't get hooked on one of the many coral heads covering the bottom. It might be a bouncing in here, but better here than out at sea.
Love Candy xxFriday 29th June 2018
A SPECIAL PLACE
Our last week in Mopelia was just as memorable as the first. We met nearly all the inhabitants and learnt more about their lifestyle. Previously it had struck us that there were no children on the island. We thought maybe it's a place for retirees, but no the children are living in Maupiti with relatives and attending school. They are due home shortly for the school holidays. We also discovered that most of the local people have held down regular jobs on other islands or in Paris. They have chosen to return to Mopelia to enjoy the simple life. They don't have a lot of material possessions but they have everything they need.
WONDERFUL COMMUNITY
We had a wonderful Pot Luck dinner with eight cruisers and six local folk who provided an abundance of fish and coconut crabs. The cruisers provided the nibbles, salads, sweets and alcohol. The local folk provided music by way of guitars, drums (a combination of barrels being beaten with a rubber thong) spoons in a bottle and wonderful singing voices.
This Pot Luck dinner is an event the local folk do when a number of cruising boats gather. They laid out the meal and played music, sang and had a few drinks while we ate. One local lady in particular, who used to be in the French military, spoke good English and had a very good singing voice. We had met this lady a few days before looking every bit a Polynesian just sitting on the beach cleaning fish and throwing the scraps to a dog. Looks can be very deceiving!
WONDERFUL CUISINE - MAYBE?
Talking about dogs, our friends on 'Fandango' were invited to dinner at Jean and Tuarae's home and in addition to the usual fish they had a very spicy dog stew. Ian from 'Fandango' said it was very tasty and he had two helpings. The dog in question was badly bitten by a coconut crab and was bound to get an infection so they decided to cook it instead. We had patted this dog a number of times and we felt sorry for it and we don't think we could have eaten it.
PLENTY TO DO
Every day we went for a walk on the island. There is a vehicle track that runs the length of the island just a short distance inland from the beach. It was a very pleasant walk in the shade of the palm trees and there are a number of smaller tracks along the way leading over to the ocean side of the atoll. It was on these walks that we met the local folk as the track runs by all the houses. We would invariably stop and chat and end up taking home more island produce than we needed. However it was too hard to say no. They would have it ready for us on our return trip along the road. It seems that their culture is to give you something. Just amazing considering that they don't have a lot.
Most days we would swim in the shallows in the lagoon or in the rock pools on the ocean side of the atoll. One day when the lagoon was flat calm we took three dinghies out and snorkelled the pass. There was less than the usual current running so we just held onto the dinghy and drifted by the colourful display of tropical fish.
PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW
Sadly we had to leave this wonderful playground and sail west. We will always remember the unexpected gem of Mopelia and the happy faces of the people who live there.
We set off for the 570 miles sail to Suwarrow on Monday 18th June and arrived Friday morning. Exiting the pass was easy as there was little current and the seas were a mere 1.5 metres. We had a very enjoyable downwind sail with the main sail our to port and the jib polled out to starboard. At one stage when the wind dropped to 8 knots we put the spinnaker up as well.
ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL SPOT
Suwarrow is a small uninhabited coral atoll about 500 miles east of Samoa and is a good place to stop for a rest. It is a Nature Reserve and very pretty with lush vegetation, mostly coconut trees, and sparkling aqua water. There are two attending Park Rangers here between June and November to check the passing yachts into the Cook Islands. They also make sure we do not damage the environment or ourselves. There is a variety of aggressive sharks here so many of the rules are focused on not luring these sharks into the lagoon. So no food scraps overboard, not spear fishing in the lagoon, no cleaning fish off the back of the boat and no kite boarding. They reported an incident where a kite boarder out in the pass had about five grey sharks following him just waiting for him to drop into the water. Also before 'no spear fishing' was a rule, a spear fisherman had his fish and spear gun totally chomped up by some sharks. Fortunately he lived to tell the tale. So the rules are not to be flaunted. We have been here for a week now and haven't seen any dangerous sharks in the lagoon. However if we walk to the ocean side of the atoll we see nurse sharks, black tips and white tips and greys cruising close to shore where the Rangers clean their fish and throw the scraps to the sharks.
A PRIVILEGED TO WATCH
The main attraction here is the manta ray. They come in the early morning to a shallow reef area some half mile from the anchorage as this is a cleaning station for them. They are truly wonderful to see. So big and yet so graceful just gliding around while the little cleaner fish remove any parasites that have attached themselves. Sometimes we have had as many as sixteen snorkellers and six dinghies out there watching the parade but the manta rays are not the slightest bit perturbed.
MAKE YOUR OWN FUN
At present we have seven cruising yachts here. Six of us were at Mopelia together and so we continue to have ongoing good company. A few nights ago sixteen cruisers were the guests of the Rangers for a pot luck dinner ashore. There is a lovely shaded area with a large table, benches, a fire place, hammocks and a swing made from old fishing nets. It is a very pretty setting and the Rangers provided the fish and the cruisers did the rest. The senior Ranger (Harry) performed the official Tongan welcome and we all had a very social time.
Harry is a professional baker in a former life and he gladly shared his recipe for home made bread with Clare. The recipe has been tried on Eye Candy and turned out very well. Harry says the most important ingredient is patience.
We also had a dinghy drift for sundowners last night. We tied six dinghies together and just drifted in flat calm water while we handed around nibbles, had a few drinks and enjoyed a glorious sunset. The sky was blue, pink and grey and the cloud formation big and fluffy. How fortunate we are to enjoy such peace and calm far away from the troubles of the world.
SOME MENTAL STIMULATION
Andrew has been very busy using his SWR meter and dummy load to repair the Rangers HF radio station and their solar panels. The radio lost its tuner on the ship coming back to the island this season meaning that the Rangers had no radio communication with their base at Rarotonga. To replace their tuner and long wire antenna Andrew built a half wave dipole antenna from the bits and pieces lying around and bingo they are back on the air again. The Rangers are very happy and can now communicate to base 3 days per week to report on visiting yachts.
Andrew tracked down a couple of blown diodes in their solar panels and replaced them with others found in old solar panels to enable charging for their twelve volt batteries. He also gave them an old multi meter so now they can check on their charging.
He has also helped many of the cruisers with radio problems mostly caused by corrosion. In fact he has been so busy they almost have to book an appointment.
SO WHAT NEXT
We have some very strong wind and big seas coming in a few days as a very intense high pressure passes. So we will stay put until things settle down. We are prepared with two anchors out and floats on the anchor chain so we don't get hooked on one of the many coral heads covering the bottom. It might be a bouncing in here, but better here than out at sea.
Love Candy xx
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Saturday, 30 June 2018
Friday, 8 June 2018
3-2018 Maupiti and Mopelia
Greetings All, 3-2018 Maupiti and Mopelia 7th June 2018
We left Bora Bora on Saturday 26th May after farewell drinks at Bloody Mary's Restaurant with Sue and Rob on Athanor. It was sad to say goodbye as we have spent many happy hours together in recent years. However our allowed time for the boat in French Polynesia has run out, unless we pay Import Duty.
NEW HORIZIONS
The low 1.5 meter swell was perfect for entering the narrow pass at Maupiti some 25 miles west. This is a lovely spot with a small but well appointed village nestled by the side of a mountain which provides welcome shade by late afternoon. The water is a vivid aqua and the island is well protected by surrounding reef. A place where we could easily spend a few very relaxing days.
However the next morning, taking advantage of the low swell, we continued on to the atoll of Mopelia. A very peaceful overnight downwind sail with a full moon to light our way. We arrived early morning and waited for good overhead sunlight before entering. This pass is said to be the trickiest in French Polynesia because it is very narrow with strong currents. In addition it is not marked and there are breaking waves on each side of the entrance. Fortunately for us a Frenchmen anchored inside the lagoon saw us studying the pass, called on the radio and offered to come out and lead us through. As it turned out this man (Gilles) who lives in Raiatea has been coming here for twenty seven years and knows the pass well. He was a great help to us, boarding our boat and directing Andrew as he gunned the engine. Once committed there is no turning back as the pass is too narrow and the current too strong to turn around. We could see the sharply defined edges of the coral on both sides. The water was quite turbulent with lots of eddies but no breaking waves once inside the pass. We sailed across the lagoon avoiding the many coral heads and anchored at a lovely sandy beach.
MEETING THE PEOPLE
This is the most interesting place as the twenty inhabitants are virtually self sufficient. They are all related and live dotted along the lagoon 200 meters apart. They each farm the copra within their area and they belong to a co operative that manages the collection, transportation and sale of the copra. A copra ship (also their only supply ship) comes once or twice a year depending on how much copra they produce. We have been told the atoll produces on average 50 tonnes of copra a year and the government price is $1.40 a kilo. Some locals are well set up with adequate housing, solar panels, refrigeration, a power boat and in some cases a motor vehicle or a bicycle. Others survive with fewer material things but are still blessed with plentiful supplies of fish, lobsters, coconut crabs, mango, coconuts and eggs from a colony of Sooty Terns living and breeding on one of the small sand islands within the lagoon.
We first met two sisters aged 30 and 25 who chose to stay here and continue farming the family copra plot after their parents retired and moved to Maupiti. I think this would be very hard work for women but these girls love living here and don't want to leave. They gave us coconut juice and a cooked coconut crab and we gave them some apples and oranges. The girls were educated in Raiatea and spoke very good English. They are well set up with solar panels and refrigeration.
A TROPICAL PARADISE
We then met Jeane and Tuarae who came out to our boat to say welcome and gave us four paw paw and two coconuts. They invited us to their home for dinner the following night. Jeane is Italian and lives with Tuarae who was born here. They met in Maupiti two years ago and Jeane moved here to Mopelia a year ago to live with Tuarea. At the time he lived in a tin shed but Jeane has been cracking the whip and today they have a beautiful home. It is made up of independent huts. One hut is the kitchen with a gas cook top, benches and a small seating area similar to a family room. Another hut is a separate dinning area with a long table under a lovely high pitched roof covered by coconut palm. The A frame hut for the bedroom has glass windows and a door. There is a huge built in fire pit under the palm trees, and an outdoor enclosed shower area. They have a fresh water well but also collect rain water for drinking. Jeane has established a vegetable garden and although the soil is sandy and of poor quality she has introduced as much compost as possible. She is having some success producing her first zucchini, some beans, various herbs and a small but healthy looking lime tree. She is fastidious and their home is nicely decorated with coral, shells, photos of the family and hand painted flowers on the interior walls. She has a book shelf full of books and glossy magazines on the hand made coffee table. Jeane has also purchased some linens and scatter cushions to add a splash of colour. Taurea is very industrious, can turn his hand to many things. Jeane said she is not that popular with the other inhabitants as Taurea used to do lots of jobs for them but now he has to do all the jobs for her. However the end result looks like a movie set for The Swiss Family Robinson. At dusk we watched a blood red sunset which added to the beauty of this magical spot nestled under the palm trees by the water's edge.
OUTSTANDING GENEROSITY
The dinner consisted of delicious coconut crabs, spicy rice and the heart of the coconut tree. This has a delicate taste and is similar in texture to the crunchy solid part of a cucumber. I contributed a cake for desert and some cold beer, a treat for them as they don't have an oven or refrigeration. We had a very interesting night learning about life on Mopelia. Jeane was glad to have company and talked fifty to the dozen. This is rather exhausting as Jeane adds some French to her English with an Italian accent and breaks into Tahitian to keep Tuarea up to speed. The dinner was waiting on the table for half an hour before starving Andrew asked "Are we going to eat" Jeane drew breath, looked a little startled and said "Oh yes, eat, eat". Poor Tuarae who speaks little English gave up and drifted off to listen to some music.
Before we left they invited us for lobster the following night. However the wind picked up and rain clouds rolled in and so we all decided to postpone. Andrew and I took the boat a few miles away to the south east end of the motu for better protection from the wind. Late the next afternoon Jeane and Tuarae arrived at out boat with the promised dinner. Tuarae had barbecued a big fish, cooked six lobsters and made some delicious poisson cru, which was raw parrot fish soaked in lime juice and coconut milk. I made a big salad and we all enjoyed an extraordinary meal. They also gave us a dozen fresh Sooty Tern eggs and two more coconuts. The locals poke a hole in the coconuts and add home made alcohol to make a cocktail but we just drank the juice.
NEW PLAYMATES
In the last few days two Canadian boats "Fandango" and "Pelorus Jack" have arrived. Jeane and Tuarea have been busy entertaining "Fandango" and we have spent time with Kathleen and Brian on PJ. Yesterday the four of us went for a walk and met Pierre who lives by himself and speaks little English. Fortunately Kathleen and Brian speak fluent French and Brian mentioned he waned to see how to hunt coconut crabs. Pierre took us to a shaded area under the palm trees where he keeps his captured crabs. There were a dozen crabs of various colour there each tied to a long string attached to a palm frond.
Pierre said the blue ones were the most tasty. He feeds them coconuts and keeps a regular supply for eating. Andrew, Brian and Kathleen went crab hunting last night with Pierre. Andrew said at night the crabs were out in the open on the ground and easy to pick up, just keep away from their big pincers. They didn't take any crabs last night, the boys were more interested in how they were caught.
THE NEXT ADVENTURE
Tonight we are having a BBQ and Pot Luck Dinner on the beach. Tuarea is out fishing now. We will tell you about this adventure when next we write. We are enjoying Mopelia very much, it is a beautiful place and the local people are very nice. So far we have met nine of the twenty inhabitants. It's a pity we don't have any internet access to send photos, but I guess the remoteness of this atoll is its appeal.
There is a big sea swell outside and so we are waiting patiently for this to settle before we sail 570 miles west to Suwarrow. We are not in a hurry as Mopilia is pretty good.
Love Candy xx
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
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We left Bora Bora on Saturday 26th May after farewell drinks at Bloody Mary's Restaurant with Sue and Rob on Athanor. It was sad to say goodbye as we have spent many happy hours together in recent years. However our allowed time for the boat in French Polynesia has run out, unless we pay Import Duty.
NEW HORIZIONS
The low 1.5 meter swell was perfect for entering the narrow pass at Maupiti some 25 miles west. This is a lovely spot with a small but well appointed village nestled by the side of a mountain which provides welcome shade by late afternoon. The water is a vivid aqua and the island is well protected by surrounding reef. A place where we could easily spend a few very relaxing days.
However the next morning, taking advantage of the low swell, we continued on to the atoll of Mopelia. A very peaceful overnight downwind sail with a full moon to light our way. We arrived early morning and waited for good overhead sunlight before entering. This pass is said to be the trickiest in French Polynesia because it is very narrow with strong currents. In addition it is not marked and there are breaking waves on each side of the entrance. Fortunately for us a Frenchmen anchored inside the lagoon saw us studying the pass, called on the radio and offered to come out and lead us through. As it turned out this man (Gilles) who lives in Raiatea has been coming here for twenty seven years and knows the pass well. He was a great help to us, boarding our boat and directing Andrew as he gunned the engine. Once committed there is no turning back as the pass is too narrow and the current too strong to turn around. We could see the sharply defined edges of the coral on both sides. The water was quite turbulent with lots of eddies but no breaking waves once inside the pass. We sailed across the lagoon avoiding the many coral heads and anchored at a lovely sandy beach.
MEETING THE PEOPLE
This is the most interesting place as the twenty inhabitants are virtually self sufficient. They are all related and live dotted along the lagoon 200 meters apart. They each farm the copra within their area and they belong to a co operative that manages the collection, transportation and sale of the copra. A copra ship (also their only supply ship) comes once or twice a year depending on how much copra they produce. We have been told the atoll produces on average 50 tonnes of copra a year and the government price is $1.40 a kilo. Some locals are well set up with adequate housing, solar panels, refrigeration, a power boat and in some cases a motor vehicle or a bicycle. Others survive with fewer material things but are still blessed with plentiful supplies of fish, lobsters, coconut crabs, mango, coconuts and eggs from a colony of Sooty Terns living and breeding on one of the small sand islands within the lagoon.
We first met two sisters aged 30 and 25 who chose to stay here and continue farming the family copra plot after their parents retired and moved to Maupiti. I think this would be very hard work for women but these girls love living here and don't want to leave. They gave us coconut juice and a cooked coconut crab and we gave them some apples and oranges. The girls were educated in Raiatea and spoke very good English. They are well set up with solar panels and refrigeration.
A TROPICAL PARADISE
We then met Jeane and Tuarae who came out to our boat to say welcome and gave us four paw paw and two coconuts. They invited us to their home for dinner the following night. Jeane is Italian and lives with Tuarae who was born here. They met in Maupiti two years ago and Jeane moved here to Mopelia a year ago to live with Tuarea. At the time he lived in a tin shed but Jeane has been cracking the whip and today they have a beautiful home. It is made up of independent huts. One hut is the kitchen with a gas cook top, benches and a small seating area similar to a family room. Another hut is a separate dinning area with a long table under a lovely high pitched roof covered by coconut palm. The A frame hut for the bedroom has glass windows and a door. There is a huge built in fire pit under the palm trees, and an outdoor enclosed shower area. They have a fresh water well but also collect rain water for drinking. Jeane has established a vegetable garden and although the soil is sandy and of poor quality she has introduced as much compost as possible. She is having some success producing her first zucchini, some beans, various herbs and a small but healthy looking lime tree. She is fastidious and their home is nicely decorated with coral, shells, photos of the family and hand painted flowers on the interior walls. She has a book shelf full of books and glossy magazines on the hand made coffee table. Jeane has also purchased some linens and scatter cushions to add a splash of colour. Taurea is very industrious, can turn his hand to many things. Jeane said she is not that popular with the other inhabitants as Taurea used to do lots of jobs for them but now he has to do all the jobs for her. However the end result looks like a movie set for The Swiss Family Robinson. At dusk we watched a blood red sunset which added to the beauty of this magical spot nestled under the palm trees by the water's edge.
OUTSTANDING GENEROSITY
The dinner consisted of delicious coconut crabs, spicy rice and the heart of the coconut tree. This has a delicate taste and is similar in texture to the crunchy solid part of a cucumber. I contributed a cake for desert and some cold beer, a treat for them as they don't have an oven or refrigeration. We had a very interesting night learning about life on Mopelia. Jeane was glad to have company and talked fifty to the dozen. This is rather exhausting as Jeane adds some French to her English with an Italian accent and breaks into Tahitian to keep Tuarea up to speed. The dinner was waiting on the table for half an hour before starving Andrew asked "Are we going to eat" Jeane drew breath, looked a little startled and said "Oh yes, eat, eat". Poor Tuarae who speaks little English gave up and drifted off to listen to some music.
Before we left they invited us for lobster the following night. However the wind picked up and rain clouds rolled in and so we all decided to postpone. Andrew and I took the boat a few miles away to the south east end of the motu for better protection from the wind. Late the next afternoon Jeane and Tuarae arrived at out boat with the promised dinner. Tuarae had barbecued a big fish, cooked six lobsters and made some delicious poisson cru, which was raw parrot fish soaked in lime juice and coconut milk. I made a big salad and we all enjoyed an extraordinary meal. They also gave us a dozen fresh Sooty Tern eggs and two more coconuts. The locals poke a hole in the coconuts and add home made alcohol to make a cocktail but we just drank the juice.
NEW PLAYMATES
In the last few days two Canadian boats "Fandango" and "Pelorus Jack" have arrived. Jeane and Tuarea have been busy entertaining "Fandango" and we have spent time with Kathleen and Brian on PJ. Yesterday the four of us went for a walk and met Pierre who lives by himself and speaks little English. Fortunately Kathleen and Brian speak fluent French and Brian mentioned he waned to see how to hunt coconut crabs. Pierre took us to a shaded area under the palm trees where he keeps his captured crabs. There were a dozen crabs of various colour there each tied to a long string attached to a palm frond.
Pierre said the blue ones were the most tasty. He feeds them coconuts and keeps a regular supply for eating. Andrew, Brian and Kathleen went crab hunting last night with Pierre. Andrew said at night the crabs were out in the open on the ground and easy to pick up, just keep away from their big pincers. They didn't take any crabs last night, the boys were more interested in how they were caught.
THE NEXT ADVENTURE
Tonight we are having a BBQ and Pot Luck Dinner on the beach. Tuarea is out fishing now. We will tell you about this adventure when next we write. We are enjoying Mopelia very much, it is a beautiful place and the local people are very nice. So far we have met nine of the twenty inhabitants. It's a pity we don't have any internet access to send photos, but I guess the remoteness of this atoll is its appeal.
There is a big sea swell outside and so we are waiting patiently for this to settle before we sail 570 miles west to Suwarrow. We are not in a hurry as Mopilia is pretty good.
Love Candy xx
----------
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