Tag Archives: taravai

Herve, Valerie, Ariki, Alana

Taravai Christmas

We arrived Gambier on the 12th of December and took a few days to regroup while anchored in Rikitea (main town of Mangareva).  We arrived the day after the supply ship came so we were able to stock up on fresh fruits and veg, replenish staples, and catch up on sleep.  As excited as we were about the fresh goods and sleep, we really did have an awesome Christmas in Taravai.

The winds dropped and the water was glassy.  We had stunning sunsets and sunrises.

Then as usually the case, we high tailed it out of the main, crowded anchorage and headed toward Tauna.

Tauna

This is a small motu on the South East side of Gambier.  It is known for its shallow sandy shelf and great winds which makes it an ideal spot for kiteboarders.  I do love to watch the kiters but it takes away from the beauty of this little slice of paradise so we tend to not visit this motu when it is crowded.  We got lucky with a few days of very little wind which meant we had the anchorage to ourselves for 4 days!

We rested, explored the motu, swam, and enjoyed the peace and quiet.  After we were well rested and caught up on a few boat repairs, we made the move to Taravai. 

We had super light winds coming from behind us so we put up the parasail and enjoyed a leisurely 3-hour sail.  If you zoom in the photo you can see our instrument showing 3.0kts of wind and our boat speed is 3.2kts (we had a little help from the current).

Parasail downwind run

Parasail downwind run

Taravai

As you know, Valerie, Herve and their two sons (Alan and Ariki) live on Taravai.  They are 4 of the 12 people that inhabit this island. They’ve become good friends of ours and we wanted to celebrate Christmas with them.  We arrived at Taravai Christmas week.  Everyone greeted us with huge hugs and warm smiles.

I spent several days preparing and baking Christmas cookies.  I made well over 600 cookies including gingerbread, sugar, peppermint, white mice, and toffee.  It was a labor of love, but it was fun to pass out bags of sweet treats to our cruiser and local friends.

We enjoyed several happy hours onshore with our friends and spent Christmas morning celebrating the holiday over blueberry muffins.  They are such generous and loving people!

Herve, Valerie, Ariki, Alana

Herve, Valerie, Ariki, Alana

Our Cruising Christmas card

Coral Spawning

In mid-December the coral spawn emitting a gazillion eggs.  Huge patches float and gather all over causing a pretty bad smell and really gross mess.  The wind blew trillions (at least that is what it seemed like) of these eggs to the shores of Taravai.  They leave a trail on the waterline of the boat as well.  Hopefully, some of these eggs actually make it to coral.

Coral Spawning

Coral Spawning

For some reason, there are lots and lots of jelly fish.  These are the non-stinging kind, but it still gives me the willies!

We see man beautiful sunrises and sunsets.  Love the top left photo with the blue shooting out of the mountain in Mangareva.  The cat’s name is Shasha and she is 5yrs young.

After our eventful passage to Gambier (see passage post), we truly enjoy our time in Gambier.   Events from this blog post occurred just before Christmas 2021.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.

Matt’s Taravai Birthday

Lots of love for Cinco de Mateo this year!  We started our birthday celebrations by getting a sneak peek into one of the local dance team’s performance for their upcoming Heiva.  Our friends Stephan and Manu were both singing and dancing!  It was beautiful even though they were not in costume and they were performing in a parking lot.

Afterwards, we headed to Stephan and Manu’s house for a late happy hour.  Our friend Heifara showed up as well so it was a lot of fun.

Stephan, Matt, Me, Manu

Stephan, Matt, Me, Manu

Way before sunrise I found myself baking bread for our breakfast date and cheesecake for our birthday celebration later in the day.  I was graced with a gorgeous sunrise.

We headed up the hill where we enjoyed a huge breakfast with our good friend Poerani (Popo).  She made French toast, eggs, and sausage along with the fresh bread I brought.  She is such a gem!

Then we left Rikitea for the last time this season and headed to Taravai.  For the 3rd year in a row, we celebrated Matt’s birthday with Valerie and Herve (the local family who live on Taravai).  They hosted a giant bash for all of the cruisers.  Tons of food was shared before several heated games of volleyball and petanque.  Check out Matt’s birthday last year on Taravai.

We were actually celebrating three birthdays.  Matt, Tom on Pakia tea and Doug on Hannah.

Valerie made all the birthday boys’ birthday floral crowns and each of the significant others received floral leighs!

Sonya (Tom’s wife on Pakia Tea) made cake and chocolate pudding while I made jello shots and cheesecake bites.  Valerie gave Matt a dancing snowman as a bit of a joke.  His face was priceless!

Tom and Sonya’s son, Keanu played the recorder which was so sweet (lower left).  Sonya and I (top left), Matt and Tom (bottom right) and Ariki (Valerie and Herve’s son) on top right.

In addition to a wonderful birthday celebration it was also a goodbye party.  The winds presented a good weather window to leave Gambier so several cruisers were taking advantage of it.  It was hard to say “goodbye” to our friends as we have had a truly blessed 5 months here.

Alan, Matt, Valerien, Me, Ariki, Herve

Alan, Matt, Valerien, Me, Ariki, Herve

It amazes me how wonderful our fellow cruisers and the locals are!  They made this a truly blessed birthday to remember.

Events from this blog post occurred on 5 May, 2021.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.

The master piece!

Polynesian Sand Art

My beautiful and very talented friend, Valerie, created a sand art masterpiece for us.  She is a self-taught artist well-known all-over French Polynesia.  She sells and sends her art to the States, Canada, France and Tahiti.  It will be very difficult to showcase her creations as you just can’t appreciate the intricacy without seeing it in person.  But I will endeavor to try for you.

Valerie uses local, natural sand and soil for all of her work.  First, she considers her customer and creates a story for them.  This story is then conveyed using Polynesian symbols and designs.  The second step starts with outlining the story on graph paper.  The third step is artfully and carefully gluing the particles of sand and soil into place.  Yep, you read that right.  She applies hundreds of thousands of particles of sand and soil individually to create her sand art.

Breaking down the artwork by sections…

The Fairytale of My Life

The 1 represents Matt.  He is the man, solid.  He gave and continues to give force and protection to his wife, Christine.  The 2 represents, Christine.  She passed from life to death and from death to life.  Matt (3) and Christine, as the wind comes from the North (4), travel across the ocean (5).  With their love and passion (6)., they take care of each other and their home (7).  Generously (8) giving.  Christine, you are a beautiful woman (9) and Matt is your hero (20).  Like the bird, you always take flight (11) to other islands and countries.

Starting at lower right corner.

  1. Arm/Leg “Puha tahi” (bend with two matching ends) = Matt. Force, solid, protection
  2. Marquesan Cross “Peka ‘enana” (above arm, square) = Christine. Transformation, cycle of eternity, from life to death and death to life.
  3. Man “Vahana” = Matt. The husband.  Woman = Christine. The wife.  (stacked man with woman above)
  4. Cohort of the Tiu God “Pi’I ia o Tiu” (design looks like X’s with dots on top). Wind from the North.  Those that go beyond the sea
  5. Sea “Tai” (waves over arch). To Travel.
  6. Love “Hinena’o” (looks like checkerboard under the waves). Love passionately. My lovely wide.
  7. Woven material “’A ‘aka ha’a” (zig zag with lines under love). Made with Pandanus Odoratissimus leaves.  Woven together for life.  Home, family, take care of each other.
  8. Arm (armpit) “Ka’ake” (bottom center, below bird and shooting up to the left of the arm/leg #1) force of generosity, gift of love, cherishment.
  9. Woman’s belly “hope vehnine” (two images, left of Marquesan cross). Femininity, beauty.
  10. Manta Ray “Haha’ua” (center). Men’s protector animal and wisdom.
Sand Art Story

Sand Art Story

Continuing the Journey

You are always read to listen and understand others (12).  The ancestor’s spirit protects you (13) and also the good luck spirit gives you power (14).   You’ve got courage to brave (15) the ocean even when it’s raining, windy, and stormy.

  1. Bird “Manu” (bottom. Semi-circle) Taking flight, soul’s journey
  2. Ear “Pua’ika” (left of bird, looks like surfer’s “s”) always ready to listen, understanding
  3. Sacred Divinity “Etua po’o’u” (below bird and ear). A protector or ancestor’s spirit.
  4. Glinting / Gleaming look “Mata Hoata” (type of tiki. To the left of Sacred Divinity) Good luck spirit which gives power. Awaken to the world.
  5. Ornament for the calf “Poe vae” (Two stripes from Sacred Divinity to flower. Hourglass design) Represents courage and bravery.
Sand Art Story

Sand Art Story

The Guiding Star

The compass (16) is your star who guides you across the ocean.  Success (18) in all your life, trip, and love.  As the turtle (17), you always return to the sea (19).  For our continued journey to see and meet other worlds and new friends.

Compass and Turtle

Compass and Turtle

I zoomed in on a small portion of the photo with the hopes that you can see the sand particles.  There are dozens of colors of sand in this small corner alone.

This is a photo of the sand art as a work in progress…she has drawn it out and is working on adhering the sand.

Work in progress

Work in progress

And the final masterpiece of sand art….

The master piece!

The master piece!

Me and Valerie, the artist extraordinaire!

Valerie and I with my Sand Art

Valerie and I with my Sand Art

It takes Valerie between 3-4 weeks to complete one sand art creation.  She inspires me and leaves me speechless with her talent!

Events from this blog post occurred during the end of March.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.