(12th – 20th August 2022)
Just a short one this time 🙂
We arrived at Nuku Hiva after a 21¼ hour sail as the sun came up and lit our way into the large anchorage of Taiohae Bay. As we motored in deciding where to drop the anchor, we saw what we think were manta rays patrolling the surface of the water feeding and then a little later, a turtle came up for air just behind us. After the night crossing, we were a little weary so had some rest before going ashore at around 2.30pm to explore our new surroundings. We went up to the site of Fort Collet. There is nothing left of the old fort buildings, but instead, it is a really pretty, quiet place with seating areas overlooking the bay. It is also home to Tiki Tuhiva, the highest contemporary sculpture in the Pacific. Over the next couple of days, we did come more walking around the bay area and spent time at a local cafe that had wifi (we were still having issues with organising internet onboard, even though we had a sim and data). We employed the services of an American expat, Kevin, who offers yachting services, help and advice to visitors. Shawn’s visa only gave him 3 months to stay in FP, so he had to apply for a Carte Du Sejour and Kevin helped with this process. We knew this was something we would have to do, but it’s a short process ( around 1 hour) and once the paperwork was completed and submitted, we could go about our business. Ally’s visa was for 6 months with the Carte Du Sejour already issued. Shawn had applied for the same 6 month visa, but maybe Panama can only issue the 3 months with the requirement for the additional paperwork..who knows? It’s all sorted now anyway and will be ready for pick up in Tahiti when we get there before we leave the country in December. Thankfully Kevin was also able to help with our wifi connectivity issue too, so we are very happy about that!
On the 19th, we had arranged to go horse riding, so we were picked up by Sabine at around 9am and driven up to the plateau where she lives amongst her many horses, dogs and ducks. Some of the scenery on the way up and down could have been in the forest just outside our home town in the UK, especially when the temperature dropped as we went to higher altitudes and the mist /low cloud surrounded us. The hour we spent out riding through the countryside was really lovely…there’s just something about being on horseback that is so relaxing. We were delivered back to the quay side at lunchtime so went to a cafe there and had very good steak and chips for lunch. This is the first time we have been out for a meal ashore since Ally returned to the boat at the end of June!
