Hapatoni Bay - Tahuata

We motored the whole 5 miles south to Hapatoni Bay on the southwest side of Tahuata yesterday. It took us four attempts but we finally got anchored just north of the village. Again, the Polynesian government has invested in infrastructure in most of these villages. There is a substantial breakwater and cement quay with a boat ramp that makes landing nice and easy. The village is spread out along the bay as it backs onto a very step ridge. Being Sunday, there wasn’t much happening but we met one of the local artisans Kalino and his son Erman. He offered to get us some bananas today so we will go back in this morning. The bigger village on the island is about a mile north of here but the anchorage is somewhat exposed. Not that this anchorage is much better but it will do for a night or two. There are 4 other boats here, two from France, one from Holland and our friends on Toketie. We will see how this all plays out.

Had a great visit with Kalino. We looked at his carvings which were quite frankly spectacular. He works in cow and pig bone, marlin bone, antler, rosewood and ironwood, sometimes combining them into the same piece. We bought a small tiki on a neck cord and when Cathy had her back turned, he put another in our pack!! On top of that, he also gave us a hand of bananas. We split this with Toketie as there is no way we could eat them all. After we got back from the village, we decided to head back up to Hana Moe Noa Bay for the night as the anchorage at Hapatoni was not the best. Tomorrow we will head for the north end of Hiva Oa.