Atuona, Hiva Oa Day 7 & 8

Atuona, Hiva Oa
Day 7 & 8

The Gauguin Museum located downtown Atuona–
Since they are all replicas and not originals it is hardly worth getting too excited about. However, it is truly wonderful to see all of Gauguin's works displayed side by side – where he was when he painted the pieces – and what year. They are very good clones of Gauguin's originals (mostly done in oils) and there are many, many pieces. Most of the descriptions are unfortunately in French so much of the information was lost to us, but there are small plaques next to each work detailing the name of the piece and where the original is presently exhibited. There are also unusual artifacts exhibited which were found on the island – bone and stone and shell and wood tools and weapons. Gauguin's last home is situated on the premises and available to the public, although it is spartan and again, all the information is in French. Cost for all three of us was $17US. We did not get to see his grave site, which is located in the Calvary Cemetery and was on my list – but I think we had a fresh fish we needed to get home before it began to smell like shark bait.

More boat chores, as the topping lift (very old and frail) finally broke on the mizzen and we also wanted to get rid of a pesky pulley on the backstay (we have no idea for what it was intended) that kept snagging the topping lift at the most inappropriate times... and once while sailing the snarky Tehuantepec that same pulley gripped a loose radio wire and refused to let it go until Jim monkeyed up the backstay to retrieve it. And of course as Carolyne and I hoisted Jim up the mast this time he accidentally pulled off one of the lazy jacks on our Stack Pack when his foot became entwined with it on his way up. That required hand sewing with waxed twine. And more laundry – with the free water in Atuona it is foolish not to take advantage. I mopped up some fresh water that is leaking out of a hose somewhere in the engine room – I still haven't located the source. Jim rinsed the saltwater from the spinnaker's douser and hung it up to dry. Carolyne had school work.

We walked into town both days – bank and baguettes. With the exception of the traditional Marquesan meal we thoroughly enjoyed on Day 6, we have not eaten out. We hear the hamburgers in town and pizza are totally worth the money (about $12US for a burger and $20+ for small pizza), but we are happy with our fresh and tasty boat meals. Carolyne made delicious cream sauces for our fish – garlic one day and parmesan cheese with lemon pepper the next. I made Poisson Cru from the tidbits left on the tuna we steaked out – was wonderful! We have 32 potatoes left from our crossing, which are still in very good condition and a handful of red and white onions. And the kimchi we made is still preserved without refrigeration in our food grade air-tight container – and it tastes marvelous!

Jim polished off the last of the two pamplemousses. He swears they taste like a margarita. And as I wish to do more socializing, I required him to accompany me to play Mexican Train, a game he detests and swears he will never play again. But it was fun to get together with Pam and Ted on sv Roundabout and Steve and Judy and sv Code Blue. Carolyne opted to stay behind and watch more Dr. Who series.

Sandra, who runs the cruiser hut in the Atuona anchorage and is also an employee of Tahiti Crew (Tahiti Crew: the agents who can be employed to help cruisers check into the country hassle-free and without posting bond and will also supply you with duty free fuel papers) is a wonderful resource for all cruisers and speaks very good English. I approached her and asked if she could procure some fresh fruit for us, primarily pamplemousse, limes and bananas. She said that she could and the cost would be 2500 FP Francs, about $29US. We were delirious with happiness and agreed – not knowing exactly how many pieces of fruit we would get for that price. She promised to deliver tomorrow morning. And that is good timing as we are planning to sail to another island tomorrow. We will also haul fuel as it is very convenient here – we'll see what kind of discount we receive.

Total US $ spent in Atuona since leaving La Cruz April 3rd and including tomorrow's fruit:
Tour: $123
Marquesan Meal: $78
Park Fees: $10
Museum: $17
Food & Sundries: $128
TOTAL: $355

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