Best of Times, Worse of Times

Monday 29 May 2006 The last two days have been a study in contrasts. We had our best experience so far in the Marquesas, one that is destined to be one of the highlights of our voyage. The next day (yesterday) is destined to be one of the low lights.

First, the good. We decided to stay at Ua Pou another day or so after we heard there was going to be a beauty pageant at the village community center, which is a market work days but is fairly new and open with beautiful 18" glazed tile floors. A ticket cost $25US but included dinner, music and dancing by boys and girls, and of course the beauty pageant which appealed to us dirty old men. They really decked the place out during the day with palm leaves woven around the interior columns, flowers and lights. We could hear a live band with ukuleles and drums playing all day getting ready. It turns out that most of the cruisers in the harbor were there and we had about a third of the tables. They made us feel very welcome but they did segregate us on one side which is to be expected.

The dinner was nice but not too special which is what you get at large banquet deals. We had green-lipped mussels from New Zealand poached in wine and beef bourginon (sp?) with home made fresh cornbread, baguettes and others, with a bar in one corner for drinks. The announcing was in French and Marquesan, and he tried to do some English, but none of us could understand any of the "English" but it was a nice try. It started out with these three tiny white girls in native costumes. There had been a rumor that the pageant was going to be for 12 yo girls so we thought may be this is it. Turns out these girls were about 7-8 yo and they started hula dancing. The hip action would have put a Vegas stripper to shame. It was awesome, and the lecherous old men were thinking it was $25 well spent. They did a couple of numbers and their mommas were very proud, and daddies, one of whom was one of the local gendarmes.

Next up were some men/boys in wraps and nothing else so the lecherous women were thinking they got their $25 worth. They did a couple of intense, almost violent, dances to the drums with lots of shouting and thigh slapping and chest beating, along with fierce stares and facial expressions. Then, three women in fancy outfits wearing sashes with names on them were introduced. We think they were the older "Miss Ua Pou"'s but still not sure. They were lovely despite being more the native norm of about 20-40 pounds heavier than considered model quality in the US. Then the real hula dancers came out and everybody went wild - men, women, children, locals, cruisers. They were a mix of ages with one obviously the local dance coach who was gorgeous and very Marquesan. Not skinny but well proportioned. They all had bare mid-drifts of course. All the dancers had cloth outfits and no palm skirts. They knocked everyone off their chairs with the dancing. It obviously took a lot of energy to do the wiggling they were doing as the sweat rolled down their bodies and they panted after each dance and took a break. The drummer in the corner was even hot, sweaty and tired.

The beauty pageant wasn't for 12 yo girls. They were about 18 and there were three of them. The first was the prettiest by all counts with beautiful dark Marquesan features. Her carriage was very calm and graceful. She also lost hands down. The next two were "Productions" with music and choreography, very well rehearsed and designed to be professional and sexy. The judges and the crowd bought it too. They all did the traditional pageant sequence - gowns with a speech, swimsuits and then a "number". The last two really hammed it up. In between sets, the live bands (two of them) did island favorites with some American and French pop music thrown in. After the coronation where losers and winners wept, the dancing for everyone else started. It was a fun night with the highlight being the hula dancing and just being part of a local, not-made-for-tourists function. This was definitely something for the locals mostly and they let us come.

The worse of times was yesterday. We were set to leave in the morning but White Swan was under the weather from the night before and the skies above were definitely not better - dark and ominous. We decided to wait a day and glad we did. A squall came through the anchorage with rain blowing sideways in 30 knot winds with one gust to 37. We turned on the engine in case our stern anchor came loose so we could miss the boat next to us which was less than a boat length away. It was nasty and a little scary. White Swan's stern anchor did pull loose and they got within 10' of us before they pulled up both anchors and moved. Two other boats in the middle with only bow anchors drug and had to move. A big catamaran lost there stern anchor when the anchor shackle fell off. There was so much spray in the air you could not see 100'. Very, very nasty. Everything got wet, even under our normally dry cockpit. It would have been awful outside.

So this morning is mostly clear and we will weigh anchors and head off for the Tuamotos, finally.