By 8am we had the deck cleared and we were off to Baie Vaitahu just 3nm to the south. The little village/town there was in a valley surrounded by a towering ridge – quite picturesque. We were soon ashore having tied the dinghy to the dock and thrown out an anchor to stop the dinghy crashing into the dock/rocks.
The town was quite tranquil and I felt a restful feeling as we walked around. The main church had the most stunning architecture. It looked recently built made of a mixture of cemented round stones and wood carved using Marquesan designs. You’ll have to wait for the eventual photos to see. Helen and I both agreed we’d love to have a house built in a similar design albeit somewhat smaller.
There were two small stores in town. In the first one we picked up a stick of bread to eat as we walked around. We decided to walk up to another white cross placed at a point looking down on the bay/town. They seem to have a habit of choosing excellent scenic spots to place these crosses so they become an obvious target for a hike. The walk wasn’t as arduous as the one in Fatu Hiva but we were well rewarded with the view once we reached our goal.
We returned to the town and checked out the second store. It had less in it than the first so we returned to the first for supplies. We bought a couple of boxes of chicken pieces for a really low price as well as burgers and some more bread – we were set for an evening BBQ. Along with a number of other items we headed back to the boat to put things away. On the way we bumped into the Catafjords who’d made their way round in their dinghy.
After a rest, John and I returned to the dock to fill our empty bottles with fresh water from the tap at the dock. John washed some of his clothes while I washed myself down. Nice to do as we’re rationed on the boat as a result of the broken water maker.
We decided to try the next bay down to stay for the night as it was close to a small village called Hapatoni which we’d heard was interesting. We sailed the 2nm using just the headsail. It was quite a challenge as the winds came from all directions and changed strength due to the steep cliffs/mountains.
We picked a spot at the north end of the bay but soon found the boat swinging in the changing winds. I went in the water to check the anchor. Swimming was a trial as the water was full of the stinging type of jelly fish. I found that if I kept my arms in and kept moving the jellies tended to be pushed out of my way although I did my best to avoid them. I did get stung a few times including my top lip which was annoying. I dove 40ft down to the anchor and checked it and the sand around. It seemed fairly well set. All I could see looking up while returning to the surface was a gauntlet of jellies. I had to pick my way through carefully.
Back on the boat we waited a while to see which way the boat would swing. We decided to reanchor slightly further out so we wouldn’t swing too close to the shore as the wind often blew in towards the shore. Once moved we felt a lot more comfortable.
We stayed put for the afternoon and evening. John cooked up the chicken and burgers and we had a good meal of it. We finished the evening watching a couple more episodes of the Fringe.
This morning we’ll head over to Hapatoni to have a look around the village. Depending on how things go there we may then move on to Baie Hanamenu on the north side of Hiva Oa.
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