Now that we are heading east towards Wallis we are finally making some speed although with the wind directly behind us it is hard to hold the course. Despite 6 years on the voyage, I have not actually had a lot of experience sailing a course, so this is good practice. We have a new wind gage, right at eye level in the cockpit which not only gives wind speed but shows where it is coming from in relation to the boat. All I have to do is hold it in position and we are good. There is of course a small problem, the wind vane is not working Apparently at some time during our last season in Vuda we smashed against the concrete wall while stern in and bent the wind vane. It had not been a problem while we were going into the wind but now that we were going downwind, It would not work right so it was back to hand steering with the help of tiller ropes
A day and a half later we are off the coast of Wallis. The entrance is through a narrow passage which needs to be run on the slack tide in the day time so we heave to to sleep until daylight and wait for the tide. The passage through the reef went smoothly and once we were inside the reef the seas calmed down. In typical French fashion, the channels are marked with well maintained, highly visible markers which we followed around to Gahi Bay where we dropped anchor at last, 10 days after leaving Fiji.
It is Sunday here. Even though we are on the other side of the 180 line the International Date Line wanders all over the place out here. Monday morning we gather our paperwork, launch the dingy and head to shore to clear customs. We are not actually anchored off the town, but in a more sheltered bay about 10 miles west. According to our trusty guide book we just walk up the hill and catch a ride with the friendly locals. We are met as we get ashore by a lovely woman and her two children. She asks if we have any “pourbelle” and once I figure out what the word means takes our bag of trash from us and gives us a large bag with bananas and papaya. It is so different from Fiji. Instead of small houses clustered into villages there are lovely homes set on wide lawns with beautiful landscaping. As promised, shortly after we come to the main road we get a ride to the main town.
The rest of the day was a series of irritating misadventures. First, we arrived at the Gendarmerie at noon so of course it was closed for the traditional two hour French lunch. We decided to see if we could find an ATM while we were waiting so we walked down the hill to the post office to ask for directions. Unfortunately, we misinterpreted the directions (remember, our French is minimal) and walked half and hour in the wrong direction. Once we got turned around we caught a ride to the one and only “shopping center” on the island. It consists of an large hardware store, several boutique clothing and fabric stores, a grocery store under construction, a small cafe and the bank with an ATM. The only ATM on the island and it will not recognize any of our 3 debit cards. Of course the bank itself is closed until 2:00 and it is raining. I had brought along some US dollars, just in case, so when the bank reopened I went in to see what I could do. First the clerk went back with me to the ATM to be sure it was not just out of cash. It was not. When I produced my American dollars she said that yes, they could change them but only in the morning tomorrow. Not today. So here we are, low on food. No wind or beer on board and no way to get any money.
Now the it was after 2:00 we headed back to the gendarmerie. Luckily the pelting rain had stopped because there was no ride forthcoming this time. Back at the gendarmerie the officers were friendly and helpful. They confirmed that the only way to get around the island was by hitchhiking. There are no cases or taxis here. Apparently the French subsidies their cars somehow so everyone has a fairly new car. We also learned that the government officials are sent from France for a 3 year tour of duty. We were quickly stamped in and told the we now needed to go to customs on the dock to complete the paperwork there. Turned out they closed at 1:00 for the day. Next stop, the post office to see about wifi. Turned out they had closed at 4:00. It is now getting late and we are tired. We had passed a grocery store just the other side of the gendarmerie so we tracked back up the hill once more. Luckily they would take our credit card so I got some bread and pate and shrimp and beer and a few other odds and ends. I did not find any wind. This time we did get a ride back to Gahi and made our way back to Rhapsody. After a lovely dinner of garlic shrimp on pasta we turned in early for a long night’s sleep.
Next day we ended up just staying on the boat. The weather was lousy, the outboard won’t start and we are tired. In the late afternoon the local outrigger racing team showed up to practice. So lovely. Too bad Fiji does not have outriggers any more. The older we get the longer it takes to recover from one of these adventures. Wednesday we headed back to town again to try our luck at the bank where we were finally able to exchange dollars for Polynesian francs. With coins in our pockets we hit the cafe for French pastries and cafe au lait. Our next ride took us to La Cave au Wallis (the liquor store), waited while we shopped and then drove us down to the wharf so that we could finally clear customs. Unfortunately the customs office was out so while we waited we walked back to the Post Office to see if we could finally get onto the internet. After a few false starts we purchased 2 passwords, one each, good for 24 hours each for $10. We finally sorted out the log on process and then discovered that it would only work in the immediate vicinity of the Post Office. Not in the shopping center and definitely not in Gahi. Alan went back to customs to finish clearing in while I went back to the market and bought baguette, pate, cheese and cornichons to make a picnic lunch. We sat on the lawn outside the post office and had lunch and checked email and updated Facebook so people will know we are safe.
The next several days we just stayed on the boat, reading, doing odd jobs and watching the weather . The weather here is lousy. Wind and rain every night, clearing slightly around 10am and then clouding up again in the afternoon. Sunday and Monday it poured but Tuesday it cleared up a bit and we decided that it was time to leave. Once more into town to check out with the gendarmerie and customs. After asking several different people and walking a good way down the street we finally found what seems to be the only restaurant in town. Alan is determined to have a good French meal before we leave here. The palace was packed. The portions large and the food good. Also expensive, especially compared to Fiji. We made one last stop at the market to stock up on pate and pickles. Unfortunately they were out of bread. I never did find a produce market. Hitchhiked back t the boat one last time rowed out, hauled up the dingy, folded it and tied it down on deck. Next morning we left Wallis on the tide.
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