It’s been a while

Well, it’s been quite a while since either of us posted a blog. To be honest, in comparison to Tsunami evacuations and medical rescues, nothing particularly out of the ordinary has happened recently. Writing about our exploits over the past month won’t be too dissimilar to writing a postcard to loved ones back home about all the jolly things you might get up to on your holidays. Things have been really pleasant and well, to be honest, we don’t want to rub it in by telling you about it. I suppose the good thing about a blog is that anyone who doesn’t want to read about that sort of stuff doesn’t have to. With that in mind, I suppose I’ll tell you about all the wonderful things we’ve been up to recently 🙂
We finally made it back to Pitcairn. I realise we’re very late in telling you so because we actually set off on 29th of August, arrived on the 31st August, were able to stay for a whole week and then returned to Gambier, arriving back on the 9th September! It was really wonderful to be back and to see everyone again after the medivac. Andrew came to collect us from Bob in his motor boat and we were greeted at the dock by a group of islanders, Ryan included, and a small round of applause. Of course they all lived up to their reputation and as usual, were all incredibly friendly and helpful. Not only did we spend a wonderful week seeing the sights, wildlife and enjoying great company – we also got a multitude of jobs done which we’d been trying to do for a long time (like acquiring wood to make shelves, get some bits and pieces from the hardware store, stock up on fresh fruit and veg, replenish our petrol supply, fill our dive tank and most importantly, replenish our alcohol supplies with the duty-free booze they sell there). Andrew and his mum, Brenda, were absolute stars and their help was invaluable getting all this stuff sorted. The various dinners and drinks, lifts to and from shore, the use of a washing machine and a hot shower are very much appreciated. Likewise Nadine and Randy for fruit and veg, Jay and Carol for the eggs and to Dave for the honey – thank you guys!

I should also thank Paul and Sue for being excellent company and lending us their spare bed for the night. Paul and Sue run the island’s bar, although unlike a normal bar you might find in England – you just show up at their house and if someone’s in, you sit and have a drink with them. As soon as we showed up, Paul put a huge glass of gin crush in my hand and made sure it was never empty. I also have him to thank for one of the worst hangovers of my life the following day! I don’t think it would have been possible to even make it back to Bob at the end of the night and being able to sleep in a motionless bed made the hangover at least bearable the next day!

The winds during our stay were relatively calm on the whole, but the swells were steep in Pitcairn’s exposed anchorage and being on board at anchor was actually worse than being at sea. It seemed that some sort of current was keeping Bob broadside to the swells (and the wind) and the rolling was worse than I’ve ever experienced before. Absolutely everything had to be stowed away. Cooking dinner was a complete nightmare! I never realised how many fruit and vegetables have a round shape. I tried getting out an onion, two potatoes, a cabbage and a couple of tomatoes for dinner. Before I’d had chance to cut up the first one, the rest were flung horizontally across the boat into various crevices and then proceeded to rapidly roll back and forth across the floor until Alex and I managed to eventually catch them and shove them back in their basket. Note to self – when in a very rolly boat – attempt to chop only one round vegetable at a time! Or even better, find flat vegetables (do they even exist?).

It wasn’t all bad on the boat however and we were fortunate enough to have a very pleasant visit from a family of humpback whales. We knew there were whales in the area and once, after moving to a different anchorage, Alex went for a dive to check on the anchor and heard whale song under the water. Although their songs sound much clearer and louder under the water, it’s possible to hear them from inside the hull of the boat as well – it was amazing! One of the locals had told me about a way to attract whales closer by tapping a piece of wood on the side of the hull in a slow, consistent manner (like the ticking of a clock). To my absolute amazement it actually worked! A mother, calf and large bull came right up next to us to see what was going on. One of them was slapping its tail on the surface of the water in a behaviour known as lobtailing. I’m still not sure if this behaviour is a greeting as if to say “hello, nice to meet you, let’s play”, or territorial aggression as if to say “if you don’t leave immediately, I’m going to lunge on you”. They seemed very calm however and got within 10m of the boat for a closer look, it was really impressive. The mother lifted the calf right out of the water on her back and we got to see them in spectacular detail. I even jumped in the water for a swim, but I guess that was too much for them as they swam off before I even got chance to see them. The songs I could hear in the water though were wonderful, so it was still worth getting cold and wet for. Ah well, hopefully I’ll get another chance to swim with them properly.

We’re now back in the Gambier Islands and whilst we were sorry to leave Pitcairn, it’s nice to be back in a calm anchorage and slightly warmer climes. We even arrived back in time to be invited to a traditional Polynesian barbeque hosted by our friend, Matthew, who is a sailor from Tasmania who had been renting out a house here for almost a year. After all this time he is finally leaving for New Zealand so the barbeque was to wish him bon voyage and a good onward journey. The tradition in Polynesia is to cook locally caught meat (pig and goat in this case) in a ground oven with banana and breadfruit. Everyone brought something with them and there were many other local dishes made from coconut, rice, bread, fish and more. It was a true feast and everything was absolutely delicious. Well….. almost everything. The traditional Polynesian fermented fish was less to our taste but we tried some in good spirit as a ‘cultural experience’. I had a small bit and wasn’t too keen, but Alex’s piece was much bigger than mine and it almost made him vomit. Even worse was that his breath smelt like dog-breath for the rest of the night, and a little bit the following morning too…. Urgh.
We’re now anchored off the west side of Taravai (the opposite side to John and Jessie’s farm) and are just about to visit another boat to have a drink and watch the sunset with our friends, Karine and Mehdi. The sunset is usually obscured by the land but as we’re anchored on the west side for a change, we should have a lovely view of it this evening.

**Answers to fruit photo

Okay, so starting from left to right, the pieces of fruit in the photo are:

Lime, orange, lemon, grapefruit, mandarin.

Bet you didn’t guess them all!