I spent the morning doing a little school then visiting our new friends on Carpe Diem mostly. I went back to our boat to get an item and a woman from another boat came by to pick up her camera case. Cassidy went to get it and this woman went on a rant about local happenings. The guidebooks indicate the property is abandoned (and the structures support that), so the cruisers are taking some of the fruit from the trees. The owner is now here (wonderful man), so with the new information, no one is taking fruit (although he generously gives it to us, we try to give in exchange and at least make a trade for something of value to him). She was going to write an article about how cruisers are raping and pillaging his land and stealing from him because he "doesn't live by the dollar", etc. I tried to smile and let her talk, but she kept going and I couldn't agree. With all her talking, it seemed she was trying to engage in a conversation, so I engaged. I told her that I thought cruisers were wonderful, caring and sharing people and very respectful in general. Cruisers are also thrifty and scavengers by nature. We'll eat off the ground what most people won't, including fallen fruit. We hate to see waste, especially if we have a need. I think we are going off of misinformation that no one is using these trees. I thought the article was a nice idea to update and educate, but I would watch the language suggesting that we are taking from him specifically because of his beliefs of the value of money in life. I thought that was wrong, insulting, and unnecessary in the article. I think merely educating that someone owns these trees and uses them is enough to keep the respectful cruisers asking and trading for the items or leaving them alone if they are not tended to. Wow, that sent her into a frenzy!!! She's made a "private property" sign for him the day or two before and is now stating "fine, I won't write the article and I'll burn the sign." Wow, hostile woman! I suggested she ask Steven, an able bodied and minded person, if he'd like the sign or not. If he thought the article would be helpful, etc. Why not involve him in the "rescue efforts" rather than try to manage him as if he's not involved or capable? Anyway, she was all across the board, very labile, I told her I did not understand why she came to argue and I was done with the discussion. I hopped back in my kayak with the baby and headed to my friend's boat. She chased me down on her paddleboard yelling, "I want to apologize" and whatever. I waved to her that it was fine, but didn't look back. She arrived right behind me at the boat. I told her education was not bad, I would just watch my wording, then climbed into cockpit and let them engage her in conversation. My goodness. I've never met another boater that I disliked. Some that I knew I would not have anything in common with or I may not even like them if I got to know them better, but it's so easy to just let those people be, they let us be, and it's all good. This woman chased me down to argue and was so labile that she contradicted herself regularly. I would prefer to not meet up with her on the beach or in an anchorage. I was right, so I don't mind if she arrives, I've done nothing wrong, but I don't mind never seeing her again! Their boat is appropriately named "Red Witch"
So, after my "fun" morning, Courage and Steven returned from fishing. They had caught a 3-foot Dorado that came up next to the boat but escaped with the lure at the last minute. Sounds like a fish story, right? So, it gets better. Then they were reeling in a nice tuna, it got super hard to reel, so they thought it was a giant!! But then it got really easy. They reeled it in only to find just a head!! A shark had taken the rest! They brought the head to prove this one (and cooked it up on a fire and ate what meat was on it). Then they caught a nice skipjack. Beautiful! They'd had a successful and eventful day. They also walked through the town a couple of bays down. Steven got some bananas and a chunk of pig from friends in town, which they brought back. Steven and Cassidy took over our boat for an hour of so after they returned. The kids and I were on Carpe Diem and they kicked Courage out also. Steven cooked up some rice and the skipjack and some bananas for us! It was so nice. I'm glad he was feeling comfortable enough to make himself at home on the boat. So when it was ready, we and 2 other boats all came and ate a great lunch in our cockpit! It was a lovely impromptu lunch party.
Shortly thereafter, he cooked his pig on a fire onshore and invited all the boats in for some. We brought one of our left over Galapagos watermelons to share with everyone. In the video we showed Steven the night before, he pointed out the watermelon. It seemed he liked them and I haven't seen them here yet. Hopefully it was a good share!!
Then I made up some lasagnas with carrots, onions, potatoes and even snuck some quinoa seeds into it. Courage and I went to have a date night dinner on Paje with our friends from Brazil, and brought a lasagna and key lime pie to share. The kids also had lasagna on the boat, and then watched a movie. Our friends invited us for dinner, but they've had charters for the past 2 months, so I told her I'd bring the food so she didn't have to host all the time, also she didn't have to use up her supplies. She said they weren't catching as much fish as usual, so she's really used up her meat supplies more than she'd planned. These things happen. We had such a nice relaxing night over there. Candle light dinner, table cloths!!, background music, and adult conversation! It was lovely!! And hopefully not too much work for them on their part. She'd made a nice salad, appetizers, and cheesecake for dessert. Impressive.
So it was a great and fun day for our last in Tahuata. It's been such a great experience, but for other reasons than the mantas and diving which made the place so great the first time. This time, the exchange with Steven was so nice!! His personality, hospitality, generosity and wanting to teach about the sea, the land, his culture, his language, etc. He was such a happy teacher; it's a great way to experience a new island, country, and people. He's a great representative of his community! A reminder to us all of how we each represent who we are, where we come from, what our values are, etc. whether we intend to or not.
Shannon
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