Hi from Apropos in Fatu-Hiva, one of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. We’re so glad we decided to stop here for a few days before going to the downwind islands of Hiva-Oa, Ua-Pou, and Nuku-Hiva. The anchorage is surrounded on 3 sides by steep mountains covered in green, with coconut trees along the shore and part way up the mountain-side. Jacintha and I slept in the cockpit last night and woke up at 6am to daylight, a cool breeze, and the scent of fruit and flowers coming off the land. We took the dinghy to shore in the morning just as it was starting to get hot (I had to jump in the water to cool off while waiting). Once we got around the small rock breakwater we were surprised to see a small village, which couldn’t be seen from the boat anchorage. Standing on land for the first time in 24 days was strange–maybe we had a touch of land-sickness. A man came to the docking area to great us (in French, with a little broken English). He wanted to know who was the captain and mechanic, and all fingers pointed to me. He hurriedly lead us to his house and showed us his broken washing machine and asked if I could fix it. It was an outdoor unit made of plastic with 2 lids–one for washing and one for spinning–and the spinning part no longer spun. Nick and I removed some screws on a back panel to gain access to the inside. I poked around and saw 2 electric motors and the one for doing the spinning wasn’t turning on. About all I could do without tools and a multimeter was to inspect  a fuse (good) and check some wire connections (good). The 4 wires (they use 220V here) that connected to the motor were not accessible without taking the motor out. So after about an hour, I had to tell the man I couldn’t fix it. He then offered us a bag-full of Pamplemousse (very large, sweet grapefruit) for trade, and asked if we had a spare dive mask (glass, not plastic). Nick happened to bring 2 so we told him we would bring one back after we hiked to the waterfalls. It took us about 90 minutes to hike to the falls, first along a paved road where we passed about a dozen houses,  cows, horses, goats, and boars tied to trees, lots of free range chickens, and lots of dogs. After a mile the paved road turned into a dirt road. Soon the road ended and we were trekking through waist-high brush, then scrambling over boulders. Eventually we reached a beautiful 200 foot waterfall with a deep pool at the base. We jumped in the water which was cold at first but felt great. The water ran along the sheer rock wall that the sun was shining on, so when we sat on a small ledge at the base, the water coming off the face was warmer than that in the deep pool acheter kamagra oral jelly pas cher. After getting out we warmed up on some large flat rocks in the sun. This was truly an amazing experience and well worth the trek there and back. On the walk back to the village, we picked a bunch of bananas from a tree along the road. Back at the village, a woman asked us if we wanted to see some wood carvings. Between our broken French and her broken English, we had some conversation as she displayed the Tiki carvings from rosewood and ebony. Her husband had a nice shop with electric tools such a a lathe, grinder, and buffer. Since we hadn’t been to a bank to exchange money, we had no French francs (the local currency). She didn’t want US dollars but would accept Euros, which Nick had. Even though we decided not to buy anything, she happily sent us off with a large bunch of bananas and some small fruit she said would be good in a salad. As we continued to walk, we began passing children walking home from the small school, some with their parents and some alone. We stopped to take pictures of the 2 boar, and 4 curious kids stopped next to us. We exchanged Bon Jours and then Karen pointed the camera at them to take a picture and immediately the turned away and put their hands over their faces. When she lowered the camera, they came back. We exchanged names and learned that 2 of them were neuf (9) and 2 were huit (8). They were curious about the camera so we showed them the picture of the boar we had just taken. As we walked past the house of the man with the broken dryer, we picked up the sack of Pamplemousse and continued past the school, where a dozen kids were playing soccer on a big slab of concrete. As we neared the dingy, the man was sitting along the road and reminded us about the dive mask and we told him we would go to the boat and bring it back. The spare mask that Nick had was plastic and the elastic strap was not in good condition, but we took it back to his house. He didn’t look too excited with it and asked if we had any wine or fishing lures! Back at the boat, we were all very hungry and tired. Nick and I replace the VERY chafed windvane line that had steered us for 2800 miles with a new line and got the dinghy back onto the boat while Karen cooked spaghetti with minced meat and anchovies. After we ate dinner in the cockpit, Jacintha fell fast asleep. Nick soon followed and Karen is reading on her Kindle as I type this email. We plan on leaving this bit of paradise tomorrow morning and sailing to Hiva-Oa, 48 miles away.

For our jump to the Marquesas, we decided that having 3 adults on board would be much better than 2.  A 2-person watch can be exhausting especially in heavy weather, and since this crossing will take 3-4 weeks, it just made sense to have another crew member aboard.  So, a few years ago we mentioned our cruising plan to Nick, who lives in England, and he was all for it.   In fact, he was so gung ho that he contacted us in February 2014 to let us know he was all ready and was going purchase his airline ticket to meet us in Mexico.  After we let him know he was a year early, he then had an entire year to really prepare!

So Nick flew from England to Mexico via California and arrived on March 7.  He will be with us until April 26,  when he flies out of Tahiti bound for New Zealand, then back to England.

While anchored in the bay near La Cruz, we’ve been tackling some final boat tasks during the day and going to live music in La Cruz at night.  The local bands have some pretty amazing musicians playing 70’s, 80’s and 90’s music.  One venue called Anna Banana’s had about a dozen leather Crown Royal whiskey pouches hanging from the ceiling that contained the ashes of former cruisers who hung out there.  Another favorite was Gecko Rojo, so named when they were painting the walls red and a gecko happened to be on the wall and got painted.  We watched a 2-person band at Ballena Blanco called The Traveling Band, who played amazing electric guitar to the beat of a mesmerizing bongo drum.  Here’s an 8-minute video of her bongo solo:  http://youtu.be/KZOu1qV-v2c

We’ve also been attending some of the cruising seminars that are put on at various marinas around Banderas Bay.  Topics such as Medical, Electrical, Fishing, and Weather have all contained useful information as we prepare for the jump to the South Pacific.

Baby Turtle Release II

We went to another turtle release that was held along the beach about a mile from Paradise Village.  This one was a bit more relaxed compared to the one we went to in Zihuatanejo.  After a brief and very informative talk by the volunteer coordinator, everyone in the group scrubbed all scent off their hands using the sand, then were handed a baby turtle.  We got to hold it and give it a name, then place it in the wet sand 15 feet from the surf.  It’s important that they make their own way to the surf, especially the females.  While they are on land, they are using their senses to “map” the exact location using the earth’s magnetic fields, and the females will return to the same exact beach in about 7 years to deposit her eggs, just as her mother had done.  It’s an amazing process and is why sea turtles have survived for millions of years, where many other creatures have become extinct.

YouTube video:   http://youtu.be/XV9U_Sr3h78

Carol and Lance are friends of ours from Victoria, BC and fellow Hans Christian boat owners.  They have a 38′ MkII and are liveaboards, so they felt right at home staying aboard Apropos for a week at Paradise Village marina.  What started out as a request for them to bring us a few boat parts turned into a suite case ++ full of boat parts, special food requests, and some mail.  They even made a trip to Seattle and picked up a huge order I put in at Fisheries Supply.  Being in Mexico for 4 months makes you appreciate the selection (and price) of boating supplies in the US.  It will get even more difficult in the South Pacific, which is why I stocked up on more spare parts…..  Karen and I sorta went crazy with our requests though–peanut butter, cans of ravioli (for Jacintha), Cheerios, Snoqualmie Falls pancake mix, sewing machine needles, brackets for the SUP, more iPhone cables, an electric pump, spreader light bulbs, caulking, zincs, filters, tools, and more.

We spent the week enjoying the resort facilities–pools, yacht club & restaurants–and also accomplished a bunch of boat projects like finishing up some deck re-caulking, some work on Ian (Fleming wind vane), replacing spreader light bulbs, fixing a few leaks, canvas work, ratlines, etc.  We attended a “Paradise Village Welcoming Party” that had free food, drinks, and entertainment–part of which Carol and I were participants.  Carol volunteered herself and then me in some sort of dance contest where we made complete fools of ourselves dancing to 4 short songs of different genres (including disco and the song “What Does the Fox Say”)!  But we were well rewarded with the winning prizes of Para-sailing (for Carol), a bottle of Tequila (for me), and a Mexican blanket (note–the audience was the judge and we had some friends in the audience)!!

During the week Karen, Jacintha, and I also went to the South Pacific Puddle Jump kickoff party that was held at the Puerto Vallarta yacht club.  Andy from Latitude 38 Magazine (organizer of the Puddle Jump) presented a slide show and talked about what we can look forward to in French Polynesia.  We also participated in some fun games with other fellow “jumpers” and Jacintha won a prize for getting up in front of everybody and telling a story–something about fishing in Australia.  Each boat’s crew was interviewed for the Latitude 38 Magazine and a group photo was taken.  It was a fun evening spent with around 40 other cruisers, most of whom we will meet up with in French Polynesia and beyond.

My 16 year-old daughter Amanda came for a visit during her mid-winter break from school, happy to leave the wet Pacific Northwest behind for a week.  We hadn’t seen her for 6 months so it was great spending time with her.

During her stay, we visited old town Puerto Vallarta, hung out in the pools at Paradise Village, tried boogie boarding and stand-up paddle boarding in the ocean surf, and did a bit of sailing.  Jacintha really enjoyed having her big sister around.  As connectivity via wifi is paramount to a 16 year old, we also hung out at Starbucks in Paradise Village ALOT!

We had a long motor-sail from Manzanillo to Zihuatanejo, a distance of about 200 miles.  Winds were light but we picked up an extra knot by having the sails out close-hauled.  Right after daybreak we pulled in 2 small tuna within 15 minutes of each other, one with a rod & reel and the other on a hand line.  The hand line is much harder on the fish since it doesn’t allow them to run and drags them at the speed of the boat from the moment they’re hooked.  We would have released the smaller one caught on the hand line but there was too much damage (missing an eye).  It’s much more fun having them run and bringing them in with the rod & reel.  Anyhow, Karen marinated the tuna in some tequila and lime juice and we were eating fish tacos for lunch about 4 hours later.

Our arrival was timed perfectly with the Seahawk-Panther NFC divisional playoff game.  A quick solar shower, a short dinghy ride into town, and a 10 minute walk to a restaurant/bar where we met John & AnnaMaria from Seattle (Hawk fans) and Gus & Ellen from Charlotte (Panther fans).  They all arrived that same day and are staying at the Club Intrawest resort not far from where we anchored in the bay.

We spent 8 days in Zihuatanejo hanging out with our friends at the resort.  Most days we would lock our dinghy to a coconut tree along the beach next to the resort and enjoy the pool and luxurious 3-bedroom flat.  This has been the first time we’ve spent any significant time off the boat.  We stayed overnight 4 nights and were spoiled by the king-size bed, TV, and air conditioning (thanks John and AnnaMaria!).  Since we were anchored the entire time, we periodically went back to the boat and ran the generator to supplement the solar charging of the batteries.  One day we motored an hour north to Isla Ixtapa where we dropped the anchor and enjoyed the afternoon swimming around the boat, relaxing, and grilling.  We also had lunch with Bob who makes Zihuatanejo his home 6 months a year and lives on his boat at the same marina we’re at back in Seattle the other 6 months.  In town we walked around the marcado, ate at local restaurants, and shopped.  Karen and AnnaMaria went on a half-day marcado tour where they bought fresh produce and spices, brought them back to the resort, and learned some new recipes for making salsa, guacamole, ceviche, and camaron risotto.

One evening at the resort we had dinner cooked for us along the beach.  Before dinner was served, there was a baby sea turtle hatchery release.  A group collects green sea turtle eggs from nests along the beach and keeps them in a protected area buried in sand.  About 50 days later, they hatch and are released along the beach near the surf.  They roped off an area for people to gather around which also keeps predators such as birds away so the babies can at least make it to the sea.  As they were released near the surf, they instinctively crawled toward the water because of the brighter horizon, and were helped by the waves washing up on the beach.   Hatchery programs like this improves the statistics for turtles reaching the sea.

Zihuatanejo is definitely a charming town with a lot of character and friendly people, 80 degree water, and white sand beaches.  Everyone from Alfonzo who would watch over our dinghy whenever we took it in to town, to David who helped our dinghy in and out of the surf at Playa la Ropa near Club Intrawest, to the restaurant and vendor workers who were always smiling, to the woman who sold us a conch shell and repeatedly blew different ones until we found the one we liked best, and on and on and on…..made Z-town one of our favorite stops in Mexico.