We anchored midway up Huahine at a beach with no houses, thinking it was a remote spot where we'd basically be alone, aside from boats. This wasn't totally the case. It's nice, white sandy, clear waters, shallow entrance, etc. There's a little hut built out of metal siding and a thatch roof, with a bamboo railing in front. A local man does not live there, but rather seems to come every day in his outrigger. From what I can understand, he's from France, where he worked in the Army for 22 years and retired with $2500/month pension. I heard him tell someone else that he has 3 homes. This is more than he needs, so he gathers/buys shells and seeds, and makes necklaces, earrings, and bracelets for the people that come through as gifts. He buys the fishing line and attachments. He brought the girls into the hut and let them pick 8 matching shells. He popped holes in them, then the girls threaded them onto the fishing line. He tied them into a circle, sewed them onto the bracelet, and then sewed a few shells into the middle of it. He measured out their wrists, sewed a shell on the end, and cut the bracelet to size. They were very cute!!! We have found many similar shells on the beaches, now we have a great project idea!
Then a party barge arrived. It was a simple flat boat with a motor. It was a local Huahine Iti family who came for the day to celebrate 3 of the kid's birthdays. There was a grandma and grandpa with their 8 kids and all the grandkids. It was really nice. Some of the guys cooked a BBQ. Another guy played guitar while the women sand and danced traditional dances. Then some of the kids dressed up in grass skirts and woven palm headbands and did a dance or two. The local boaters on the beach joined in and they were welcomed with classic French Polynesian hospitality. Then the young girls, maybe teens or just less, came around bringing plates of food to everyone. We'd brought a picnic lunch of cheese and crackers and peanut butter, applesauce, and water. I declined taking their food and the first girls continued on to other people. I definitely saw other boaters eating with them. But we were fine. Then an older woman came with a couple plates of food. I declined again, thanking her. She was sure the kids needed some food, so I took just one of the two plates. It was rice made 2 different ways, chicken, meat, and potato salad. It was good, especially for beach camping food. Then they brought some baguette and even offered beer or vodka. Very generous considering the price of alcohol around here! It was very nice, and the kids loved it.
Then the local man pulled out some stilts made of bamboo and our guys tried them. Not as easy as they look. The local kids lined up to try them too. The kids then got to try playing the guitar and something they called a banjo. They really enjoyed it and played for close to an hour trading the 3 instruments around.
We met a 4-year-old girl from Switzerland, her father is French, and her mother is from California. She spoke French and English. The girls had fun with her, went for a little swim, etc. We went home for dinner, and the little girl, Lucille, came over to play for a little bit. They were all exhausted from a long day on the beach, so they faded quickly and sat down to watch a movie. Lucille is not a cruiser, her French grandparents are and she's out on vacation for 3 weeks. It was fun to meet her. Next morning they were heading to another anchorage, so we only got to play this once. Lots of nice and interesting people we are meeting out here.
Today we experienced impressive generosity from those who have little and wonderful hospitality. I really enjoyed watching the local family interact and celebrate. I like how they incorporate traditional music, song, and dance into their party. I have heard that there is concern as things become more industrialized, that the younger generations are listening to iPods or whatever and are losing their tradition. This is a great way to hand tradition down from one generation to the next in a fond, memorable way. It also turned into a great way to show off and share your culture with foreigners! There were French, Swiss, American and Italian boats there at the time. It was a great day, we were worn out and slept well!!
This was not the calm, isolated beach we thought it was, but it was a great and very interesting stop.
Shannon
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