Friday, July 06, 2007

June 28, 2007 - Fatu Hiva

After a morning snorkeling trip to the next bay,
Sten set his sights on trekking the north ridge of the bay. While he scrambled up it, I (still recovering from yesterday's waterfall hike) went into town to buy a few staples at the local magasin. The village seems to live on the citrus fruit that they grow in their yards, coconuts gathered from and goats hunted on the surrounding hills, and expensive imported canned goods. Bypassing the $4 can of Pringles and the $8 carton of eggs, I went for the $1.75 can of condensed milk (for an upcoming key lime pie) and the $1.25 box of flour. I'm glad that there isn't more to tempt me to spend money here - other than a few subsidized goods, the prices are so steep.

The ridge Sten trekked:
and his view down into the valley from the ridgeline:
Sten's trek down the knife edge ridgeline was a bit more difficult than the trip up. Stephan and Martina on Muline and I were watching his progress down the ridge as the sun got lower and lower. He would disappear behind the scrub for 15 or 20 minutes at a time as he worked his way down nearly vertical sections of rock. At any moment I expected to see his body falling to the rocky shore below. Later he told us that the soil was so loose that he would be holding onto a rock for support, only to have it come away in his grip. We were about to launch the search party when Martina noticed him reappearing 100 meters above the shore. We were all relieved that he made it back down before dark. In my vows I promised to give him the time and space to do these kinds of things, but this was a bit more nerve wracking than I had intended to sign up for.

The incongruously fantastic sunset that occurred while he was still getting down the ridge:

No comments: