Category Archives: French Polynesia

French Polynesia islands including: Marquesas, Society, Astrolls, Tuamotus, and Gambiers

Rainbow across Mangareva

A Community Coming Together

A nightmare = getting injured in remote places.  A blessing = a community coming together.  Do you remember how the United States pulled together and stood as “one” a truly “united” country after 911?  Where you were proud to help your neighbor and proud to be an American?  I had that same feeling again (on a much smaller scale) with our local community here in Gambier.

Several boats were anchored near a small uninhabited motu called Tauna (pronounced Towna) which is about 7-8 miles from the main village of Rikitea.  It takes a sail boat about 2-2.5 hours to get from Tauna to Rikitea. 

A father of two girls was up early to foil board (kite boarding on a foil).  He fell near his boat and was stung by a jelly fish.  The father, now patient, had a severe allergic reaction.  His friends brought him on his sail boat where he was ferociously vomiting and in extreme pain.

Sugar Shack was located in Rikitea.  We first heard about the incident on our hand-held VHF radio.  However, we only heard bits of the conversation because our handheld was not strong enough to receive the transmission.  We turning on the ship VHF because it has a larger antenna and we could hear better.  Not expecting to be able to do anything – just being curiously nosey.

The Help

Eve from “Auntie” was visiting us on Sugar Shack during this time which was around 0830.  Nathan, a 14-year old boy on a neighboring yacht in Tauna, hailed us on the VHF (thank goodness we switched to the ship VHF). He asked if the physician was in at the clinic.  Their plan was to bring the patient to Rikitea on their sail boat, which would take 2-2.5 hours.  That’s a long time to be in severe pain.  As I am communicating with them, Eve flags down a panga with 75hp outboard (super-fast).  The men on the panga are part of the pearl farm community, we did not know them.

We were able to communicate the medical emergency using broken French.  The panga had a dozen empty water jugs and a cooler in their panga.  These items had to be removed and were quickly unloaded onto Sugar Shack. Matt jumped in with them to take them to take them to the patient at Tauna.  The plan was to load the patient and bring him back to Rikitea in the panga.  The panga can make this route in 15-minutes vs the 2-2.5 hours in a sail boat.  Of course, this is in the midst of a rain storm and the arrival of the supply ship.  But our community did not waiver. 

With Matt on the way to the patient, I convey to Nathan (who is on a boat near the patient’s boat), that they should not head this way in their sail boat.  I told him that a panga was on the way and will transport the patient and his family to the hospital.

Community

The community jumps into action.  I call my friend Stephan (local) and ask him to help me secure to take the patient from the dock to the hospital.  He calls his friend at the gendarmerie (local police) and tells me they are on standby to help.

Another cruiser went to the hospital to tell the doctor a patient with a severe allergic reaction to a jelly fish sting was coming in and to be on standby.

And yet another cruiser went to the dock to wait for the panga to arrive to help load the patient into the vehicle.

In the meantime, it is still raining, the dock is getting more and more crowded in anticipation of the supply ship and we have no way to reach the panga to tell them we made transport arrangements on shore.

The VHF and the SSB are constantly in use as Sugar Shack becomes the central hub for all communications.  We end up using the SSB radio to communicate with the boats in Tauna and use the VHF to communicate with shore.  The community was calling me on three different VHF channels and the SSB trying to solidify arrangements.

About an 45 minutes after they left, I see the panga on the horizon and call everyone into action.  It worked seamlessly.  The transport and gendarmerie met them at the dock and rushed him to the waiting physician who was able to treat him and get him stable.  He was released and feeling much better within 5 hours.

What Happened?

Once the patient was onboard his boat, he would not stop vomiting.  He was in extreme pain.  The patient’s wet clothes were removed just before the panga arrived.  He was laying on the floor of his boat as they helped change him.  This caused tremendous pain and his breathing became labored. His breathing was so bad that he almost stopped breathing.  They gave him an epi pen injection which helped tremendously.

As the patient and his family were coming to Rikitea, one of his friend’s was hanging his swim trunks.  He found a 3’-4’ barb / tentacle inside the patient’s shorts.  They called me to tell the physician and family.  Yikes!

The Outcome

The patient had massive welts all across his belly.  The same panga brought him back to his boat and he was resting by evening. 

The rain finally stopped and the community was able to retrieve packages, water, propane, and fuel from the supply ship with no delay.

The local community and the sailing community reacted quickly, efficiently, and professionally.  It was one team coming together to provide aid and care for this human.  It was so fulfilling to be a part of this community.

I did not have an opportunity to whip out my phone to take any photos which is why there are none for this blog.  Imagine that?

Events from this blog post occurred on 9 February 2021.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.

Carving School in Rikitea

The main school in Gambier is located right on the water overlooking the bay. There is an elementary school, intermediate school, and a trade school which includes an agriculture and carving school.  Students usually attend “high school” in Tahiti.  I use quotation marks because the school breakdown is very different than what I am used to in the states.  The school is called College St Raphael Rikitea.

We met the carving school teacher, Hefara at our New Years Eve party.  He has since become a frequent friend of ours as we visit Rikitea.  He invited us to tour the carving school.  The first thing I noticed were the beautiful views of the bay from every building!  I imagine it is difficult to learn while being surround by such beauty.

College St. Raphael Rikitea

College St. Raphael Rikitea

The grounds are impeccably maintained with a huge grassy area between all of the buildings.  There are a few old relic structures on the grounds as well (see bottom left photo and middle right photo).

College St. Raphael Rikitea

College St. Raphael Rikitea

Inside the Carving School

Inside the carving school, I was shocked at how many work stations!  They had 12 stations for carving oyster shells and another 12 stations for miscellaneous carving (wood or special projects).

Inside the Carving School

Inside the Carving School

They also had about 4 grinding stations with 2 grinders each (top photo), 4 grind/buff stations with 2 stations each, and 4 buffing stations with 2 stations each (bottom photo).  They use these machines to clean and buff the oyster shells, wood, pearls, etc…

Grinding and Buff Stations

Grinding and Buff Stations

There were bags and bags of oyster shells, pearls, shells, and wood all over the building.  Ready and waiting to be made into the next master piece.

Teaching the Trade

We arrived just before lunch so the students seemed more interested in us than finishing their work.   We were able to watch 2 students carve oyster shells, one student carve a pearl, and one student buffing a piece.

Carving school students

Carving school students

Creative Outlet

One very creative student was carving eye glass frames!  Can you imagine how spectacular that would be to own a pair?

Another super creative student was creating a dream catcher!  I love this idea!  She had already made the large circle with carved oyster shells on the exterior and two small circles with carved oyster shells.

Dream Catcher

Dream Catcher

The school had beautiful carved wood everywhere.  A giant, life size tiki stood at the door, the Gambier archipelago (lower photo) and of course Christ (it is a Catholic school).

Huge displays held many treasures that were for sale.  Everything from jewelry (necklaces, ear rings, bracelets), oyster shells, key chains, and more.  Each item is a unique piece of art

Display cases showcasing art & jewelry

Display cases showcasing art & jewelry

It is amazing to see what they can do with the oyster shells.  They made these beautiful clocks that were surrounded by carved oyster shells.  In addition to the stunning boxes for your most prized possessions.  The each sparkled when the light hit them creating a rainbow of colors.

Art or Jewelry?

Of course, they had many carved oyster shells and a few super unique pieces including the swimming dolphin (top left photo), swimming manta rays (bottom left) and a beautiful gold painted headshot of Christ (top right).

Intricately carved sets of jewelry sets.

They had striking necklace and ear ring sets.  The photo on the right has hand carved wood and oyster shell!

Hefara wanted me to experience the joy of wearing one of their stunning necklaces!  I swear I felt powerful the moment it touched my skin.  I felt like a queen and could not stop smiling!  It was stunning.  Of course, it only cost 80000xpf ($800)!

I know this necklace was featured in the above collage, but I thought it deserved its own photo because it is so incredibly beautiful.  The student carved wood into the oyster shell on the left of the necklace and into the drop of the earrings!  In addition to the pearls and pearl shells near the top of the necklace!  It is 80000xpf or $800.

It was a fabulous opportunity to see the young generation learning the traditions of the island.  I feel blessed for having the chance to see all of their beautiful work.

Events from this blog post occurred on 2 February 20201.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.

One way to move a banana tree

Hiking Across Mangareva

Mangareva, the largest and main island in the Gambiers has wonderful mountains, ridges, trails and paths to explore.  So, we spend a few days hiking across Magareva.

Pt. Mataiutea Hike

The first “hike” for the new year was actually a very gentle 7.2 mile walk along a road.  Good for me as I had not exercised in a long time and needed to ease into it again.  Even though it was long, it was mostly flat and very easy.  We walked along the main road which turned into a dirt road which hugged the coast line along the water’s edge.  It was super pretty, a little breezy, and just what I needed to start the new year.

7.2 mile hike across Mangareva

7.2 mile hike across Mangareva

7-Miles Across 3 Trails

We took Kirimiro to Taku (Pt Teauorogo) to Chemin Ramapiko.  We decided to tackle the hardest incline first so we started on Chemin Kirimiro (which is across the street from the best magasin on the island, JoJo’s).  It is a steep and consistent incline that leads you to Arc de Triomphe de Kirimiro.  Half way up the first part of the hike we had a beautiful view of the Rikitea anchorage.

Rikitea Anchorage-Half way up the hike

Rikitea Anchorage-Half way up the hike

Fun photo of the Arc where we have had the pleasure of visiting before. 

Matt showing off under the arc

Matt showing off under the arc

From here you can walk the ridge to the left or right.  You can also go under and through the arc and continue down to the small village of Kirimiro which is what we did.  Once we got to Kirimiro, we turned right and walked along the road for 2.1 miles until we got to another small village (meaning 3 houses) called Apeakava.  On the road we came across this local transporting a banana tree on a moped!

One way to move a banana tree

One way to move a banana tree

Further down the road, we came across a rocky cliff.  Matt discovered a hidden gem inside the rock’s ledge.  A baby boobie.

Baby Boobie nested in the rocks

Baby Boobie nested in the rocks

We passed several old ruins that were once mighty and majestic.

Old ruins around Mangareva

Old ruins around Mangareva

From here we hiked up and down the Chemin Taku trail which connects with Chemin Ramapiko and leads you back to another road.  From there is was a short 1.2 mile walk back to the dinghy dock.

Mangareva Hikes

Mangareva Hikes

Looking at the map below, we stared just below the little below the small, blue image of a ship, then walked up to Arc de Triomphe de Kirimiro, down the dotted trail to the white road.  Followed the white road to Apeakava (where the dots are), across the trail to the gold star and then back down to the blue image ship.

Hiking Across Mangareva

Hiking Across Mangareva

The French Navy Arrives

The Bouganville is a French Navy war ship that travels around French Polynesia ensuring the waters are safe for travel.  We had the pleasure of touring this fascinating vessel in Makemo (click here to read about the tour).  Our friend Stephan had alerted us of the Navy ships arrival and asked us to clear the channel of all cruising boats.  We did, but that was 3 days before they arrived.  The day before the ship’s arrival, two French cruising boats anchored right in the channel.  The French will do what the French will do.  The ship had to maneuver around them to get to the dock.  But with massive bow thrusters and fancy engineering they made it without incident.

The ship was only here for 1 day and did not allow for any tours.  Must have been a shore break for the crew.

French Navy Arrives to Mangareva

French Navy Arrives to Mangareva

Taravai Bound

We left Rikitea and headed toward Taravai to prepare for my birthday party!  It is always a serene and stunning anchorage.  We visited Valerie, Herve, Alan, and Ariki and procured lots of fresh produce.  Herve was being silly and strategically placed a rather large cucumber…. And we came across a humongous pig.

We were blessed with sunset that streaked across the sky.

Taravai Sunset

Taravai Sunset

Events from this blog post occurred in January 2021.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.