Weather Helmed

Let me tell you, nothing inspires you to get nekkid as much as sitting on a sailboat, on a beautiful warm sunny day, anchored in water so blue you can see the ripples in the sandy bottom thirty feet below.  So, guess what we did as soon as we pulled into Hanamenoa Bay, Tahuata?!?!   We ditched our clothing and wandered around in just our birthday suits for a whole week.  And, yes, there were other boats in the anchorage, but, it was all ok – their crews were naked too!!   Hanamenoa takes the cake as my favorite anchorage that we visited in the Marquesas.  First, it was gorgeous – the island had great weather, a beautiful white sandy beach, perfect clear water, some nice snorkeling, and a variety of other cruising boats to keep things interesting.  We met two other young couples while we were there and spent some evenings hanging out with them.  We also had our first encounter with really cool wildlife.  One early afternoon as were chatting with Alex and Leah from S/V Reflections No.1, we saw fins flipping in the water near another boat.  We jumped in the dinghy, Matt and I grabbed our snorkeling gear and we were off.  As we got closer, we saw that it was a huge manta ray, probably 12-15 feet.  When we were about 10 feet away, Matt and I pulled on our masks, slid into the water and watched the huge ray glide slowly through the water.  It was incredible!!  We continued to follow him around and then we tried to engage some dolphins too, but I think the dinghy motor scared them off.  Swimming with the manta, even for just a moment, was awesome.  The water underworld is so new and foreign to me that even just watching the common, small fish swim around while we’re snorkeling feels like a radical experience with nature.

There was no village at Hanamenoa and it appeared to be uninhabited despite a house, fenced-in, on the beach.  Matt and I attempted to refuel on pamplemousse and mangos, but the land there was crazy hard to access!! We bushwhacked our way through hundreds of downed palm trees, finally making our way to what ended up being the very back of the fenced-in property.  We found a few limes and some near-ripe pamplemousse and bagged ’em, but it was clear that no one had made any efforts to clear or contain the rest of the land.

Our time at Hanamenoa was negated by only one thing – no-no bites.    We think we got the bites from Hiva Oa, but they could have been due to our bushwhacking here, we can’t be completely sure.  All I know is that no-no bites are AWFUL.  They are far worse than mosquito bites, especially since you won’t only get one or two bites.  Oh no, without you even knowing, hundreds of no-nos (ninja bugs as Matt calls them) will attack you and a day or two later, you will wake up itching like mad with hard, bright red bumps all over your body. I noticed that the bites right on bone or near joints itched the most.  What’s also nasty is that, because wounds take so much longer to heal in the warm, salty air of the tropics, guidebooks warn you that scratching at no-no bites can cause a staph infection if you’re not careful!  So, Matt and I spent each morning and afternoon slathering aloe vera with litocaine and neosporin all over each other, feeling like mutants because of the strange welts marring our skin.  So, be forewarned – if a book or anyone else tells you a beach has no-nos, listen to them and wear whatever you have to to cover yourself up.  A week and a half after the bites appeared, they are less red, but still itchy and still covering our bodies.

Other than that, though, I loved loved loved being at Hanamenoa and am missing that amazing clear water even as I type.