May 14, 2007 - Enroute to Galapagos

There is an idyllic scene towards the end of James Michener's novel Hawaii, in which a Polynesian vahine makes her lover a dish of Bora Bora poisson cru, the quintessential dish of French Polynesia. While the tuna cooks in lime juice, they while the afternoon away playing lovers games.

As we head towards Polynesia, it seemed appropriate to mix up a batch of poisson cru using the skipjack that Sten caught yesterday as we left Las Perlas. I started by squeezing the juice of half a small dozen limes into a bowl. I cut approximately a pound of tuna into small cubes and added it to the lime juice to marinate. To this mixture I added finely chopped garlic and chopped onion, cucumber (peeled and the seeds removed), and green pepper. Lastly, I poured in a cup of coconut cream, which is a bit heavier than coconut milk. After mixing it all up, I placed it in the fridge to marinate for 3 hours, during which time the meat of the tuna changed from a dark purple to a more appealing lavender tone.

In the late afternoon we were joined by both a pod of dolphins and a few pilot whales. We're currently at 06 11 N, 79 51 W. We had some wind yesterday afternoon and evening, so we were motor sailing. However, since 3am there has been no wind, so we dropped the sails. At least the seas are relatively flat, so it is comfortable enough, if a bit hot. Phoenix, who left a day and a half before we did, is about a hundred miles ahead of us. It would be really cool if we met up with them during the next few days. But they are a much faster boat under sail, so if the wind pipes up before we reach them, we won't see them again until Galapagos.