Goodbye Marquesas!

After a few days in beautiful Anaho Bay, we find ourselves back in the big smoke, Taiohae. We are just waiting on some last minute supplies and by tonight we hope to be anchored in Daniels Bay, are final Marquesian destination before the crossing to the Tuamotus. Winds are forecasted to be light, but we are still hoping to make the 48o NM within four days.

We will say goodbye to the lush green hills, epic rock pinnicles and sheer cliffs, bountiful fruit, easy anchorages and awesome hospitality from the locals, for sandy white atolls, surrounded by coral reefs and water visibility of up to 100 ft or more. While in the Marquesas we enjoyed venturing through the jungle to find epic waterfalls and fruit, or hiking along beaches to find surf, in the Tuamotus we will be concentrating on exploring the water.

We plan on landing in Tacaroa, weather dependant, a western atoll, and then venturing from there. From four thousand feet mountain peaks in the Marquesas, to the atolls of the Tuamotus where the land rarely reaches a couple of meters above sea level, it should be quite a contrast. Expect another post in the weeks or month to come, and a whole bunch of pictures when there is a better internet connection! Thats all for now, after passing the equatorial belt, we are now venturing deep into the pants of the South Pacific. Farewell!

Hiva Oa! We Made It!

After 2700 NM we have made it to the Marquesas! Good winds to start, short trip though the ITCZ's, and finally getting into the trade winds, we made it to Atuona on Hiva Oa the afternoon of the 18th day at sea.

So far we have traveled around the north side of Hiva Oa, bays such as Hanamenu, with fresh fruit all around, Hanaiapa, free diving around mushroom coral, and Paumou, tikis and friendly locals. Then it was south to Fatu Iva and the Bay of Virgins, where we trekked though the jungle to a beautiful waterfall and made trips in the dingy over the the village of Omoa which boasts the best surfing in all the islands. Then it was back up north to the smaller island of Tahuata, where we got in on the leftovers from a wedding the day before. Goat, chicken, fresh fish, smoked bananas and whipped breadfruit is the usual Marquesain fair, and lots of it. With full stomachs we headed again north the the big island of Fatu Hiva and the bay of Taiohae, the biggest town in the Marquesas. Here Mark got a beautiful Marquesain tattoo and we stocked up on baguettes and pate.

From here the plan is to check out the bays of Nuka Hiva then return to Taiohae to take advantage of the stores and fuel facilities before we head out to the next step or our adventure... The Tuamotus! We will try our best to put up pictures and update the blog as much as we can but we are having problems with the lack of internet connections. Never the less Mojombo and her crew are running at full speed and are loving every minute of it!!!