around we go

We're back where we started after a 4 day circuit around the island. We visited most of the small bays along the way, if even just for a moment. It's a small island, maybe 30 miles around. We went around to the east side looking for a bay with unique volcanic rocks. Pete swam ashore, as there was too much surf to land the dinghy, but no rocks were to be found. The anchorage was too rough to spend the night, so we went around to the south west, and it was rough too. I don't understand how the ocean swell can come from the southeast and the southwest on the same island. So we had to go north along the west side until we found a protected place for the night. We dropped the hook just as the sun went down. We were pretty stressed, as a lot of the island is uncharted.

It was beautiful there though. We went to the beach in the morning. It's all volcanic here with red, orange, purple, grey and white rocks. THere is some coral as well. A shelf along the south side of the bay gave us a great place to walk along. The tide pools were astounding. We saw moray eels, butterfly fish, tons of small crabs and lots of unidentified critters. The shells are new and interesting as well. There are lobsters here, so Pete is trying to figure out how to catch one. We went snorkeling this afternoon, but there wasn't much to see. We're looking forward to the Tuamotus where it's coral and sand. Here it's just rocks.

Almost every bay on this island starts with the letters "haka." We have a hard time remembering the name of where we are. Sailing in islands is so much different than down the coast. The weather is less predictable and there is no real pattern for where to go next. You can go any direction, but then you have to come back, so we're doing a lot of motoring.

I've suggested making a list of goals for the next 2 months. Just simple things like finding a conch shell and more exciting ones like swimming with dolphins. I think if we have more specific goals we will be more pro active in having fun. We're a bit shy about asking questions in French, and I think we're missing some things because of our reservations.

We left the bay on the 3rd morning after a hike into the jungle to see ancient polynesian ruins. We "poked our nose" into the next bay over and decided that since it was only steep sides and no beach, we would move on. As we rounded the corner heading north, we go hit with a head wind and choppy seas. Since the wind would be heading directly into the anchorage we were headed for, we back tracked and anchored for the night in the steep sided bay. The next morning was a bit more settled, so we made our way to Hakahetau for more exploring. A little village is nestled in the valley and we were able to take a short walk after the rain. Let me tell you that even being from the Northwest didn't prepare me for the kind of rain they have here. The trouble is that it stays so hot even when it rains, that you can barely breath with the boat windows and hatches closed. I must have opened and closed them 3 times in the night to attempt to stay dry and cool. Then the wind died down and we found ourselves hanging sideways to the swell. All manner of dishes, shell collections and misc kid stuff flew around the cabin at about 3 a.m. causing Pete to leap out of bed. Needless to say, no one got much sleep. We headed back to the protected anchorage and village of Hakatau. We'll do a bit of grocery shopping and wait for decent weather to head for the Tuamotus. It's about a 4 day trip and I'm not particularly anxious to go to sea.

This morning we planned a hike to the next valley over. We left the boat at 8:30 and it was already so hot as to be miserable. We were dripping sweat like tears. The hike was only 30 minutes over to the next valley where a picturesque beach is located. White sand, purple flowers and breaking surf could be seen from the path. We got down there and were instantly attached by the biting flies. We left quickly and came back to the anchorage and swam. It's 96 in the boat today, and that's in the shade. We're hiding out until this afternoon when hopefully it will be cool enough to do something else. We have laundry to keep up on, so will probably take it with us to shore and do it at the tap. Never take your washing machine for granted.

There is the news, Kellie