Highest Highs and Lowest Lows!
The emotions that come along with the life of cruising are a difficult thing at best to try to explain to others. The best way we have been able to explain it is by comparing it to a dysfunctional relationship. We have found that they both have more or less the same emotional repercussions. Some moments you find yourself ecstatic to be alive, so happy that your temples start aching from smiling so much. While other moments you are consumed and blinded by tears of exhaustion and frustration. The last month and a half has been more or less a merry go round of these two extremes at all time heightened level.
After leaving the picturesque and highly expensive islands of French Polynesia, we headed to sea for a week long journey that would turn us up at a completely secluded atoll in the Cook Islands. Being that the only way to visit this tiny seclude island surrounded with unexplored reef is by boat we were pretty excited to see what it had to offer. Once again the lure of the untouched, unspoiled and practically uninhabited areas of the world was sucking us in. What we seem to tend to forget is the other half of the magical fairytale that these places hold. The process of actually getting to these secluded places off the beaten track! The next week was spent miserably rocking back and forth while huge waves of white water crashed into our boat completely soaking everything. We were glued to our seats because the moment we stood up you were either slammed to the floor or thrown across the boat, adding to one of the millions of bruises that covered our bodies by the end of the trip. The ocean was defiantly testing us at level we hadn’t experienced in a long time. The crazy part was we knew that we could turn and take a different more comfortable angle and head for another land fall at any time but our stubbornness and the intrigue of tiny little Suwurrow posed to be stronger than even the fury the ocean was dishing out!
The first thing we saw after the sun rise, while pulling in through the pass at Suwurrow, was a mom and baby Humpback whale swimming out to sea and from that moment on there was nothing but smiles and diving for the rest of our stay. No matter how horrible, uncomfortable, dirty and obnoxious the passages can get. Within an hour or two of dropping the hook, all the bad memories seem to disappear and are quickly replaced with the feeling of accomplishment and excitement.
Suwarrow was everything we were looking for and more. Only one family lives on the island a few months out of the year to collect park fees and make sure the cruisers that do decide to visit protect the surrounding environment. The island itself is covered with palm tress and white sand beaches while the waters surrounding are even more spectacular. Every day was spent diving with our good friends that had also made the passage out to this unbelievable speck in the middle of the ocean. We felt like we were back in the Tuamotus with the abundance of sea life and crystal clear water. Being that there were no stores for hundreds and hundreds of miles in every direction fish and coconuts became a nice supplement to our canned varieties. Brandon devoured every second of the time he got diving the pass. Spear fishing became his new found hobby being that the surf was pretty small. Although we did surf one night at sunset and got some really fun right handers. Between Brandon and our friends on Damojo, we were in no shortage of fresh delicious fish. Many hours were spent hunting down the prized catch TUNA!!!!!!!!! One night just before sunset we got quite a show as Brandon shot a Tuna that managed to swim off with the spear. Within seconds the sharks had caught the scent of the struck fish and just as Brandon was able to hop in the skiff a massive ball of about fifty sharks devoured the tuna before our eyes. It was a huge awakening and reminder to both of us to remember that we were diving off a reef in the middle of the Pacific with hundreds of hungry hungry SHARKs! That experience did not stop us from diving every day but it did seem to tone down the demand for fish! It was so unreal to be swimming along a reef covered with coral and teeming with sharks, fish and turtles. When we weren’t admiring the sea life we were staring mesmerized out into the middle of the Pacific where all we could see was nothing but blue for as far out and deep as your eyes could follow. The reef literally dropped off straight out into the middle of the BIG BLUE PACIFIC! Our days in Suwurrow were worth every minute of every agonizing hour spent getting there. After a week we knew we had to keep going for there were places to see and more Open Ocean to throw us around. So all too quickly we were off for another round of man vs. nature!
Our next stop was an even more secluded island than Suwurrow. Absolutely no one lived on the island. Only a colony of birds were the lucky inhabitants that had the privilege of calling Rose Island home. We only were able to spend one night at this island because of an intense high pressure system that was building bringing rowdy seas and winds with it. That day will never be forgotten though. Once again in the company of our friends Damojo, we were treated to a scuba dive in the pass the morning before we left. Although there was not as much sea life around as there was in Suwarrow we were blessed with the high pitched singing of a mama and baby humpback whale. There communication went on for almost an hour and they were so close to us that we could feel the vibration of there song in our chests. We did not come face to face with them under water but as we left sailing along the Southwest edge of the island we spotted four of them as they waved and splashed only a few yards from our boat. So BEAUTIFUL!!
With weather being always in charge of our constantly changing itinerary, we swapped a landfall in Tonga for Western Samoa to avoid getting slammed by the 40 knot winds and 20 ft seas that were forecasted. Traveling to these remote places is amazing and unlike any experience we have ever had but it leaves you high and dry after a while. With only a few liters of water, no fresh fruits or vegetables and a boat full of dirty laundry, our spirits were lifted onto a pedestal as we motored in to Western Samoa to realize that they had a built a brand new marina. Within minutes we were tied up to the dock for the first time since Nicaragua and the water was flowing. Nothing can compare with the luxury of fresh water when you are cruising. Needless to say once again the discomfort of the passage was quickly washed away as the salt crystals disappeared off the boat and the water tanks began to overflow.
Samoa is unlike anywhere we had visited in the South Pacific. In fact it had more of a Central America feeling. With everything costing half the price instead of double, like in Tahiti, we decided to splurge and went on a road trip in search of waves with our good friends on Domojo. Although the predicted swell was defiantly rolling through, the waves were either too fickle or too treacherous. We did manage to paddle out and have some fun at a few spots though. We visited both of the Samoan Islands in our three day tour and even got to take our car on a ferry across to Savaii. The islands were lush and covered with waterfalls, caves and blowholes. One of the favorite pastimes of the trip became throwing coconuts into the blowholes and seeing how far Mother Nature could launch them up into the sky!
Back at the marina we took care of the small errands we had but spent the majority of our time eating ice cream, drinking the local beer and of course shopping. The fresh fruits and vegetable markets were the best we have seen since Mexico... Families were lined up selling everything from fresh lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers to the biggest yummiest avocados and stalks of ripe bananas. Our mouths watered as we filled up bag after bag of the fresh delicacies we had gone without for so long. With shopping, eating and relaxing accomplished we realized it was time to keep on keeping on and make our way to Tonga. On our way to checkout of customs we were surrounded by the most colorful rambunctious parade we have ever been to. It was like the Solstice parade in Santa Barbara but instead of crazy colorful hippies dancing and singing on there homemade floats, it was 300+ pound Samoan men and women dancing and singing on their colorful homemade floats. It defiantly ended up being one of those afternoons when your temples ach from smiling so much. The parade went on for hours as we followed along and took pictures until it ended at the front of the main Government building. There the Samoan dancing, fire throwing and singing continued as the entire town gathered around. It was the most upbeat passionate crowd we have ever been surrounded by. Our favorite part of the whole parade was defiantly the 60 year old Samoan grandma who while getting down was using a spray bottle to cool off her 400 lb husband who was also doing a pretty good job at pulling the moves. It was a hilarious experience that summed up Samoan culture for us perfectly.
With the weather turning around, we took the window and left the marina early the next morning. Since the swell and wind had been so ferocious for the last week we knew that the conditions were going to be uncomfortable at best. But time is ticking and it is time to get to New Zealand. So here we sit once again glued to our bunk getting doused regularly by waves as we beat into it trying to make as much easting as we can in order to stay on our rumb line to Tonga. Once again we are consumed with feelings of exhaustion and frustration as the sea has its way with us. We know all to well by now that tomorrow morning we will be anchored up amongst the islands of Vava’u in Tonga and all these feeling will be erased. After a dive in the crystal clear waters only the good memories will remain and the rest will be the huge feeling of accomplishment. Because now we realize we only have one more passage left to make it to New Zealand where this crazy adventure will all too quickly come to an end.
