Yesterday was an action packed day.

I got up the first time around 0630 because I suddenly remembered that I forgot to start the autolyze phase of my bread dough. This took about 15 – 20 min during which Inge came out of her cabin. Using, as everyday, a bialetti she made coffee for herself and a pot of tea for me.

We decided to have a small breakfast and then take off to go ashore.

After breakfast we prepared all for departure. I had to inflate my old tender. Inflating needs to be done daily. I just hope it stays like this for the next 2 weeks until we are back in the Tahauku Bay, and Hiva-Oa. The new tender is scheduled to leave Pape’ete on the 16th and to arrive in Atuona, Hiva-Oa, by the supply ship Aranui 5, on the 21st. (I’ll write more about my new tender when I got it.)

When we arrived at the tiny pier, I saw, as expected, a stern anchor was needed. With a good throw of my grapnel anchor, I got the tender into the right position that it didn’t bang against the wall.

We walked into the village. On the way to the supermarket a car stopped. “Voulez des fruits?”, “Want fruits” we were asked by the driver, a man with very friendly smile. “Quelles fruits?”, I asked with my 9 words of French to learn what he has to offer. “Pampelmouses, oranges, …” we understood. Ok.

He asked us to get in his car, and drove a bit up the hill where he asked someone something about pampelmouses and got the permission to take from trees around another house. There we got around a dozen pampelmouses. Then driving to his place we got 2 bunches about 40 green bananas at each bunch. Plus about 10 already yellow bananas; also limes, mandarins, and 2 breadfruits. BTW I learned that they are called “uru” in Tahitian, and “mei” in Marquesian.

We left all at his place and he took us with his son further up the hill. There he and his son plugged oranges from a tree.

Returning to his house, his son remained there, but his wife joined us. She was also a very friendly. Together they brought us to the tiny pier because it was just too much of fruits to be carried by the two of us. A breadfruit weighs about 3 – 4 kg, a pampelmouse a kilogram….

We also saw some health issues today. Not all is paradise in paradise. He stepped, a while ago into a nail and was treated in Nuku-Hiva because of gut infected. Still his foot was swollen and the hole in his foot didn’t look good to me. His wife had only a single tooth in her front rows. But they were very friendly and happy. When I’m thinking about healthy people being very unhappy and unfriendly in a rich country which is not paradise it makes me thinking.

At the pier, when all was unloaded, he asked me for 2000 XPF, 20 USD. It was a very fair price and I paid it happily.

Inge walked back to the supermarket to see what’s available. I had the task to get the fruits already too MaRe. But, there is always a but. Another tender arrived and I gave them a hand with the line etc.

It turned out they are Germans and anchored this morning just south of us.

Then I watched a local fisher. A nice already dead bonito felt into the water when they transfered their nice catch from boat to land. The fisherman jumped into the water with mask, snorkel, and fins and did not only get the fish but also a pair of fashionable, pretty new sunglasses which someone lost only recently. However, there was another surprise. The partner of the local fisherman spoke fluent German. To make it short: German mother, grew up in France, and came somehow to the Marquesas.

With the help of another sailor I got the many fruits into the tender. A task not so easy in swell of almost a meter.

On the way to MaRe I stopped by the boat of Sabrena & Alex and asked if they want fruits. They were happy with a bunch of banana. I also took the chance to asked Alex, who has a strong sewing machine on board for smaller canvas work, if he has canvas on board to make to sun covers for the oars of my new tender when we meet in Hiva-Oa again. Seems he can make it.

When finally heading to MaRe, I saw Inge already waiting at the pier. Thus, I turned around and picked her up. 2 Dutch sailors helped her into MaRe’s tender because of the high swell.

On the way back I wanted to say “hello” to Gerome, a French sailors I met in the Gambiers. He happened to arrive here yesterday early morning, single handed, but he was busy buying fish from local fishermen. We know them and always negotiate their too high prices down. So we didn’t want to disturb.

Arriving at MaRe, all things had to be taken out. The heap of fruits were only placed at stern for being washed on sea water to avoid bringing insects on board. After having the tender up. I cleaned the fruits and stored them in 2 nets and a bilge. Inge took care of the limes.

Then it was time for a small lunch. Inge, who normally doesn’t eat something for lunch, fixed me a soup made from the leftover of the fish curry we had and rice leftover inside. Tasted really great.

While I read and wrote some emails, I heard the water pressure pump of the freshwater system switching on for a short moment. I suspected that the shower head outside at PRT side leaks a bit and needs to be maintained; I saw last night that the valve at the shower head didn’t close as fast as before. When I opened it I found quite some precipitations inside. Cleaning and reassembling and ask was fine again.

Before I worked on the shower head, I had to work on my bread dough again. Aftet adding sourdough, yeast and salt I had to kneed it for half hour before proofing it for 2 hours.

I don’t recall what I did after fixing the shower head. Later I continued on the dough for the bread. Forming and proofing again. Forming was a bit special today as I wanted to make 2 l’epi for our sun set apéro.

While the bread was in the oven we watched the Aranui 5 bringing tourist and goods for the people of Vaitahu village. Among the goods, there was a caar. As there is only a small pier all needed to be shuffled by transfer ships.

It was time for the apéro after the bread came out of the oven. Freshly baked, still warm bread in the shape of l’epi, olive oil with freshly ground pepper, olives. Just the small glass of wine was missing. We ran out of wine the day before…

A bit later we had fried uru for dinner.

After dinner, Inge did the kitchen, I started the genset to charge the service batteries, and do some laundry the same time to be very energy efficient.

At the end of the day, I wrote the end of this narration and hope not to fall while sitting in the cockpit …

However, I was too tired thus publication of this narration is only today.