Pitufa.at

Birgit Hackl: Cruising with Cats, All At Sea Caribbean, December 2013, p. 42–44. Free download from allatsea.net.

We wish you all a smurfy Christmas and an equally smurfy new year!

The pre-christmas shopping frenzy has reached as far as the remote Gambier islands–everybody’s stocking up to bake and make pig champagne. The shops have been without sugar for a month, last time the supply ship arrived sugar was sold out within 2(!) hours. Yesterday the next one arrived and we started asking at the shops immediately, were sent away 3 times (not yet unpacked), but successful at the fourth attempt. Now we can bake christmas cookies
Now that we’ve stocked up we’ll head out to a tiny little motu on the outer reef, to snorkel and relax

Birgit flew to Tahiti at the beginning of December to pick up her Mom at the airport and to do some shopping (she bought lots of goodies at the big carrefour in Papeete and put them in a packet on a supply ship that will arrive here next week). After a whole week in hot, humid, busy Papeete it was just great to get back to the idyllic Gambier archipelago and to Pitufa. Home sweet home! Christian spent his week alone mainly in front of the computer making the google maps work again on our web site–good for Leeloo who had him all for herself for a while Now we’re taking Birgit’s mom to our favourite spots in the archipelago starting (of course) with Taravai

Yesterday was one of these incredibly clear days with southern winds (no longer chilly, but pleasantly cool) and a deep blue sky without a single cloud. We used it to hike up Mount Mokoto–apparently the second highest peak, but it looks exactly the same height as it’s neighbour Mount Duff (officially the highest mountain). The ascent wasn’t difficult, but extremely steep and despite the pleasant temperatures we were completely exhausted when we reached the peak after walking along a dangerously narrow ridge.
The view over the whole archipelago with the turquoise outer reef and countless sand banks and coral heads glittering in incredible shades of pastel blue and turquoise was simply breathtaking. If there is a place more beautiful than this one we haven’t found it yet

Finally the weather’s sunny and warm and we’ve started making dinghy excursions. Yesterday we visited Herve and Valerie (the caretakers of the village of Taravai) and got news of all the boats that we met here last time around–Valerie’s good at keeping in touch with people. We brought them a few presents (cookies, books, etc.) and in return Herve took us for a walk in the gardens, picking lychees, avocados, soursop, lemons, coconuts, bananas and papayas.
Today we set out prepared with long trousers, hiking boots and a machete to hike up to the peak of the little island Agakauitai next to our anchorage. Despite of our equipment we first got stuck in a swamp, walked around it only to be stranded in meterhigh, sharpleaved reed. We gave up and and decided to use the combination of low tide and strong footgear to climb on the volcanic rocks along the shore of the island. It turned out to be delightful: we climbed over colourful rock formations, found tidal pools teeming with life, little white beaches in between and all that with a view of the fringe reef surrounded by glittering turquoise, azure and green sea. The water’s so clear that we could watch the colourful reef fish from shore.

Yesterday the front with rainy weather finally moved away from the Gambier, but despite the blue skies it was still freakin cold in the the southeasterly winds that howl right into the anchorage off Rikitea–this wind feels like it came straight from the antarctic… We moved to Baie Onemea on the western side of Taravai, where it’s wonderfully sheltered and finally warm

We considered two options for our first cyclone season in the South Pacific: Staying either in the Marquesas or the Gambier Islands. According to weather records, both archipelagos are relatively save, particularly in El Niño-neutral years. We checked out both places and our choice was easily made since we’d totally fallen in love with the Gambier Islands.

Ever since we’ve got back it’s been grey and rainy, first because a front stalled and became stationary over us and then it left a trough behind. So we stay at home and get indoor projects on the boat done. In July all the locals assured us that the weather’d be great in spring and summer, so we feel like the weather’s taking the piss out of us.