Last night one of the boats dragged out to sea, we had pretty strong winds a lot of the night. I put a blanket on for the first time in months!! Probably only second time in a year!! Felt nice to be cool and cozy all at once. We also made wind power all night, which was great. The overcast kills our solar production. Another boat lost part of their bridle system overboard sometime last night (expensive and irreplaceable here). They were pulling out dive gear after a couple of failed attempts to get down to it. Courage went to see the commotion (they are right behind us) and he free dove down and grabbed it. They were quite thankful!
This morning we woke up to many fires on the beach, Steven was doing some brush clearing. Then he cleared a big area with trees. The flames were over the tallest coconut tree with ashes, loud crackling, and lots of smoke!! We were already in the dinghy, so we aimed for shore. The family on Elena grabbed some buckets and came in. Another boat also kayaked in to help. He reported that all was well. He waited until we were awake for that one since he knew those trees would crackle pretty loud. He says he was just "waking the trees up." We could still see fire out of a top branch of a dead tree and made sure everyone stayed clear, as it would likely burn through and fall. We put the kids to work helping rake leaves, put them in buckets and throw them on fires. I don't think they realized it was work!
He gave a big burlap sack of fruit to the Swiss boat and a pile to us!! The Swiss boat brought him some beer and rum. He appeared to be eternally grateful. Alcohol is notoriously expensive here. He had the 6-pack with him all day, progressively getting lighter. We gave him a new machete. He's been on a mono-hull, but not a catamaran, so Courage invited him out. He came out this afternoon and we gave him a tour. He was called back in to shore. He'd told another boat that if they catch a fish, he could advise them on ciguatera and if it's good. Apparently they got some form of a parrotfish. I believe it was deemed as OK. We shall see tomorrow?? I know parrotfish eat coral?
They all hung out onshore while I made dinner. I made pizzas. Today is another boater mom's birthday, the one we did the kid swap with. We made her oatmeal raisin cookies this morning and went over to sing happy birthday (when the fire began). Well, apparently she gets anaphylaxis with eggs, unrenowned to me. So, she noticed it and spit it out quickly, but we tried to poison her on her birthday! That's not good!! So, I told her I'd make an extra pizza (egg free!!) and they could stay on shore all afternoon and play, then swing by and pick up the pizza on the way home, like take-out, so she didn't have to come home an hour and a half early and cook, then do dishes. So, I made a bunch of pizza and hopefully it was good for them.
Steven came back out with Courage to look through lures. They've arranged to go fishing at 5 am tomorrow, so organized their fishing gear. He stayed for pizza and key lime pie, then we watched our Galapagos family video to show him the Galapagos as well as where we've been and what we do. He seemed to enjoy it and Innocence cuddled up on one side, Intrepid on the other. I had Valiant and Integrity cuddling. Courage took him home afterwards and said he really seemed to have enjoyed it. He said he doesn't get to do that with his family really. He has nieces and nephews ages 20's down to our guys' ages. It sounds as though there's some riff about this property, which is owned by the family. He wants it pure and natural and native. The family would like to sell it to a developer for income. So they are upset if/when they need money, because he won't allow the sale. He is upset that they would trade the family heritage and nature for money. Difficult situations exist when people have different priorities. He definitely seems to make the most of it here, eating the fruits from the trees and meat from the sea. He collects rainwater for his fresh water supply and to water the trees he re-routes the rainwater. It's all very nice, and goes with his attitude and hospitality. He is so gracious and generous and appears genuinely happy. His hospitality, interactions, and education about local life has made this an excellent stop over once again, but for very different reasons. This was a totally different experience.
He is missing a diving mask that was sitting out the first time we were here. I think we've all read the same guidebooks indicating that the place is abandoned. So one of the cruisers made him a sign saying private property, please ask permission before picking fruit. (Not worded quite as nicely though I thought). Anyway, letting people know that it is occupied property so don't take things. He has been gifted dive gear and a Hawaiian sling. He does not seem to have a grudge against the cruisers in any way. As a matter of fact, he seems to enjoy them. He seems to be living a peaceful life, at least here. He says he can't spend more than a couple of weeks or so in Hiva Oa before needing to come back and relax here.
So, we shall see what the dive brings tomorrow. In the Galapagos video we are eating watermelon more than once, and he seemed to love it (and we haven't seen any here), so we have one left, we thought we'd crack it open after they return, send some back with him, and maybe a couple other boats who indicated they have no fresh fruits left will get some. It's a little old, so hopefully it's OK and we can spread some generosity. One of the other boats here came by to visit today, toured our boat and mentioned no more fruit, so we shared some mangoes (with the warning that they aren't quite like the ones we're used to) and the grapefruit that Steven had shared with us. They seemed pleased! They'll be high on the list for watermelon tomorrow. Cassidy made it all around the anchorage today exchanging books and DVDs with other boats so everyone has fresh supplies.
Shannon
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