Surprisingly our weather has become favorable to leave the Tuamotu Islands and try for the most easterly island of the Marquesas called Fatu-Hiva. This little window is coming at a bit of a price because to catch the east winds we need to motor for one day as far east as we can in light winds to turn northeast at the opportune time.
Saying good-bye to Makemo was challenging because the people we met were very friendly. Wade and I found the lady with the bowl of pearls (1637’24″S,14334’2″W) and we got a great deal on some of the shiniest pearls we’ve seen in French Polynesia.
We stopped around 10:50 AM at the Magasin (grocery store) before our sail to provision for the next month and inquired about the Opareke Grill (1637’25″S,14334’20″W) next door, which opens at 11AM. The owner heard that we were inquiring, kindly came into the store as we were shopping, took our order, and said to stop by after shopping. We have not eaten in an air conditioned restaurant honestly since leaving Honolulu. We were so pleased to walk into a cold room and relax. We took our seat under the main AC vent and enjoyed our best meal in French Polynesia, steak with frites and chow mein special. The steak was thick and juicy served with Rouquefort sauce and fries from real potatoes, perfectly golden, and the chow mein special had meat and shrimp with a to die for sauce. Wade even said it could compare to the Four Season’s in Bora Bora. We do want to pass-on that fish is served only in the evening because it is fresh caught that day, cleaned, and served.
With our full bellies we grabbed the last of our frozen foods from the grocery store and prepared to get underway. We were brave and bought an entire box of chicken. We were optimistic that we would be able to fit it in our freezer, but we underestimated the amount of chicken in the box and overestimated the amount of freezer space. As we got outside the Makemo pass around 3pm we fired up the pressure cooker and started cooking the chicken so we can let it cool, remove the meat from the bone, and stuff in jars. As it is getting later in the day we’ll actually do the canning tomorrow so the solar can help the alternator keep the batteries full.
Good-bye to our last atoll for this trip, hopefully we’ll be back in three years.
Cheers,
Wade and Sara
Comfort Cruising Tip: Makemo has a chicken farm on the atoll, so they have fresh eggs almost daily. Our eggs were only a day old and 450 Franks or $4.50 US for a dozen.
Boat position at noon: 16 degrees 37.659 minutes south and 143 degrees 34.457 minutes west.
