Monday, March 30, 2015

What Awaits Us?
By Michael
LA PAZ, MEXICO


To take this picture of Eleanor, I had to set down
my cold beer. For all of you out there cruising with
younger kids, this is how getting ready to sail
to the South Pacific looks when you've got
older kids. She's twisting off the engine oil filter.
We’re going to French Polynesia. It’s a French protectorate comprised of 118 islands that stretch 1,200 miles across the South Pacific Ocean (and if you add up the land area of all the islands, it is roughly equivalent to that of Rhode Island). These 118 islands are divided into five island groups and they are very distinct. 

The first group we’ll stop at are the Marquesas. They are lush and with dramatic relief. I don’t think a lot of traditional commerce happens there. After the Marquesas, we’ll travel through the Tuamotos. Many people have told us this is their favorite group. Islands are a misnomer for this group; they’re sandy, palm-fringed atolls with few people living on them. On Google Earth they look like a patch of ringworm on a child’s leg, most of the rings with a gap just wide enough for Del Viento to pass through and into the big shallow swimming pools they form in the middle of nowhere. The third group we’ll visit are the Society Islands. These islands are lush like the Marquesas, but lower-lying and fringed by coral reefs. Tahiti and Bora Bora are in the Societies, so I suspect there are lots of tourists in this group.

The French are allowing the Robertsons only three months in French Polynesia and we’re not going to be able to explore it all. The Austral and Gambier island groups are off the beaten track and we’ll not visit them (this year).

French Polynesia will be pretty, no doubt. Everyone agrees on this. But what often matters about an inhabited place isn’t the beauty, but the people who call it home. We’ve seen ample beauty in Baja, but five years from now, my positive impressions about this peninsula will come from the mayor who included us in Puerto Magdalena’s New Years’ Eve celebration, from Geronimo and his daughters on one side of Agua Verde and Tio and his dog on the other, from Ana and the rest of the SHLP volunteers in La Paz, from Gerardo and Rodrigo camping with their kayaks on Isla Angel de La Guarda, from Isabela and her friendly staff at the Fonatur marina in Santa Rosalia, and from hundreds of kind strangers all over whose names I’ve forgotten.

Heading to French Polynesia for the first time, I’ve read and heard enough disparate impressions from the people who’ve traveled there before us to be eager to reconcile them with my own.

We'll miss our good friends Norma
and Christian of Mana Kai. We
planned to take off about the same
time, but they're going to spend
another year in Mexico before
heading west next year. Maybe
it's something we said.
My folks were there on a small cruise ship a few years ago and they were thrilled with their visit and can’t wait to learn about ours. I’ve read dozens of cruising blogs from people who eagerly share their own happy experiences in French Polynesia. My friend Kim on Puna gave me photos to share with the people she met in the Marquesas forty years ago, people she still remembers fondly.

Then there are my Bum friends who are famously dispassionate about these islands (even going so far as to say that everyone else feels the same way but are reticent to admit they are anything less than blown away after sailing thousands of miles to be there). In his book, South to Alaska, my friend Mike Litzow writes that after you’ve been a few weeks in this, “tropical paradise that Westerners have been idealizing ever since the days of Captain Cook,” you begin thinking that the, “lush green silhouettes of the islands are mostly comprised of marijuana plants.” He describes one encounter with people who seem to me jaded by visitors and bored by life. That said, Mike and his family have also enjoyed enriching encounters with Pacific Islanders; I hope we have our own.

My vegetarian diet is a concern. How awkward and insulting will I seem if we do something nice for someone and then find ourselves at a pig roast in our honor? None for me, thanks. I’m still full from that pamplemouse I had this morning. Oh, you caught that fish today? Yes it looks very fresh. A gift for us? No, I don’t eat fish either.

No matter what impression we get from French Polynesia, we are awfully lucky to be going there to form impressions. The beauty of the place will not disappoint and to share that with my girls, to see them brave a swim with a reef shark or delight at the sight of a waterfall at the end of a long hike, that will be enough—everything else will be bonus. Our tentative departure date is April 9.

--MR

Schoolwork aboard.
Our buddies on Bliss left the other day to head north to
explore the Sea of Cortez. The only downside about
our French Polynesia plans is that they have us heading
south, away from the Sea we love.

7 comments:

  1. We are excited for you guys! We will be eagerly awaiting your reports and impressions of French Polynesia as I will admit that I am unsure whether that is a place we would enjoy or not (we are not much for heat and humidity). We wish you a great and safe trip!

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  2. What an awesome adventure ahead -- so many cool new places coming!

    I was an 11-year old when we landed in Hiva Oa... my sister and I discovered that the local kids liked jumping off a bridge into the creek near the anchorage, and so we "invited" ourselves to play with them. That turned into multiple invites out to the boat which turned into copious gifts of fruit (pamplemousse for the win!) (and no meat :P) which all turned into one of the best memories of four year's of cruising.

    So I think kids can be a pretty amazing door opener... but it'll be interesting to see what you guys think!

    (Also, to be fair -- language is always a barrier / helper. I spoke fluent French, and that helped with a lot with officials, local kids, etc)

    Exciting times ahead!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I loved French Polynesia, and yes, it helped that I spoke French. It allowed us to scratch under the surface and get a more realistic perspective... Though our friends who have been there for the past few weeks already, have French citizenship and have therefore been able to spend more time there - and really that's what it is - time. If you have more time, you can get to know the people there - and that's where the magic happens. I've been reading Letitgo's blog and see how we barely scratched the surface with our 3 month visa. Still. It's worth the journey. (You can check their blog: http://svletitgo.com/

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  4. Well, I will be headed to Vegas to see Fleetwood Mac on the 9th w/ Shaun. You will be headed across the Pacific......ok. Be safe- we won't hear from you for how long? A month? I will speak to you before then. I am excited to hear it all. Where will you go from there, when your 3 months is up. NZ? Love you all so much! Francie is starting to look different to me in the pictures....xoxoxo HB

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  5. That said, after three visits there...Alisa and the boys and I LOVE French Polynesia in a kind of unrestrained way. Some islands/towns/villages aren't our faves, but there's bound to be variety in such a big place. The good stuff has consistently blown our minds...and yes, we have worked on every visit to get off the beaten track to some extent.

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  6. oh, and! bring along a speedo. I find it helps me to get into the French Poly mindset...

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  7. We are looking forward to read about your impressions of French Polynesia! All the best with your final prep and it looks like we will be coming your way to La Paz one more time before your departure. Cheers, Bliss crew

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