Position: 09 degrees, 45 minutes South; 139 degrees, 08 minutes West

It rained all night last night, but cleared in the morning, so we left Vaietahu and had a nice, sunny (for a change, given all the rain the last few days) sail NW up around to the North side of Hiva Oa where we were a couple weeks ago. We’re back in Hanamena Baie, the first place we sailed to after clearing in where we were gifted the fruits and saw the ruins and the pig trap. We’re not going ashore, just sitting the rest of the day out here and we’ll leave around 0400 for Oa Pu (pronounced “whapu”). It’s about 60 miles away and we plan a conservative average of 4 knots and try to get in mid-afternoon. That way if it’s a bit slower, we don’t have to worry about turning the engine on to get there. So far it’s working as we haven’t taken on any diesel since we left Mexico, although we’ll probably take some on in Nuka Hiva which is our next stop after Oa Pu.

Today was just sailing. 20 knots pretty much on the nose. We used a reefed jib only, no mainsail so we weren’t very efficient, but we had all day to get here. Most of the ride was “downhill”, so it was really nice, but the last couple hours were close hauled beating into 4 foot waves. It’s pretty nice now in the little bay, but when we got here, there were at least three foot waves and gusting into the high twenties. Not super comfortable, but the anchor is well dug in so after we were set I took a nap for a couple hours. Once the sun went down, the wind engine shut off and there’s a light land breeze right now. We’re done with dinner (potato, yam, pancetta hash with the little peppers we found while hiking. They are very hot! I only used about three of them-they are about 3/8 of an inch and that was enough to get the burn in the whole dish).

The sky is full of stars tonight which we haven’t seen for a few days, so we’re going to have a “tot” of rum, some home baked cookies and sit out under the stars. Good night!

Position: Still anchored in Vaitahu

It rained all day today and gusted into the 30’s. I dropped Ann at the dock at 0730 and she went to Mass while I stayed on Charisma. There was a 15 minute lull in the rain and wind while I took her ashore and then torrential rains again. Hmmm. Connections?

It was just as well we didn’t go anywhere. The tattoos need some rest. We’ve been keeping them well lubed with Neosporin and Vaseline. They should be good to go tomorrow so if the weather lifts, we’re going to head North a bit.

Speaking of the tattoos, I forgot to mention something from yesterday. There’s a single store here operated by an ex-pat Frenchman. He was very French in that he was rather unfriendly the first time we went to his store two days ago. Then we went into his little store after getting the tattoos. He saw them and said; “Oh, tattoos! Fati?” We replied yes and all of a sudden we were best friends. Seems Fati has a lot of pull around here. The storekeeper could see Ann’s on her ankle but asked me where mine was. I showed him the armband part under my sleeve and pointed to my shoulder as well as I had put on my shirt and did not want to remove it show him. He rightfully grimaced and made signs about such a tattoo hurting. I nodded in complete agreement. He then went back to Ann’s and commented on the beautiful Marquesan cross at the front and then had Ann spin and show him the others. He immediately understood the triple heart that Ann explained represented her “enfants” and was impressed with the manta and the beautiful star. Then the most amazing thing. He pointed at me and signed to come into the store. I followed him back beyond the goods and into his house which was attached in the back. There he went into a curio case and pulled out a volcanic stone about 8 inches long and maybe and inch and a half thick. He handed it to me and said it was an ancient axe head that he found in the river which runs by his shop. It seemingly washed down from on high. He wanted me to have it to put on the tattoo to sooth it, but said I couldn’t bonk “my wife” with it (a little French humor no doubt). But seriously, I looked at it and darned if it isn’t exactly that. The front has two burnished edges that form a 60 degree angle. They have been polished to create a chopping blade. The rest of the piece shows chipping marks and the back has an indentation where it would be joined to a wooden handle. It looks extremely authentic and I don’t think it’s a fake. It’s made from volcanic rock. Very heavy, almost like obsidian only denser. Every time I look at it I’m amazed that he just gave it to me. Must be the power of my new tattoo. It does after all have a Marquesan cross and two Tikis along with a number of other powerful symbols. It’s said that Fati has a lot of Mana (which I haven’t found a translation for yet since we’re not online but I think it means spiritual power) so maybe our tattoos carry some of that power. Today being Mother’s Day we want to wish our favorite mother’s (especially mine and both my sister and all of Ann’s sisters) a wonderful Mother’s Day. Ann’s special day was made complete when her daughter, Stephanie sent her a delightful poem (via email) about our travels. The thoughtfulness of the poem cannot be measured. Thanks, Stephanie, for making Ann’s day!

So, that’s our story for today.