One of the biggest benefits of the sparsely inhabited Tuamotu atolls is the outright friendliness of the local inhabitants. When we were finally able to visit the village at Raroia, the local folks greeted us warmly and invited us to sit and chat. I got invited to go spear fishing with a couple of guys and the hunt was so successful that they gifted us two nice fish then invited us for a BBQ feast on a large black jack the following day. Spending time with the entire family and some friends was a blast, eating their cooking was great. Turns out cooking a big fish slowly over a very gentle fire really brings out the flavor. Folks gave Isabel pearls for her birthday, and when I went to the store to grab a couple of things the proprietor went out back to fetch me some herbs from her own kitchen garden.
Makemo was a great stop, and the local villagers were all smiles and friendly. We found locally grown lettuce and the farmer was really helpful, and the shopkeepers were as nice as they could be, offering me a ride back to the dinghy after purchasing fuel, even helping me load the jugs.
Here at Tahanea there are only local inhabitants during the copra harvest. We’ve spent time the last several days with a fellow named Yo (well, that’s how it sounds anyway) and his cousins. They all have been working their asses off harvesting, drying, and bagging up the copra. The weather will finally settle enough for them to travel with their harvest back to Fa’aite, the atoll where they live with their families. Over the past few days we’ve all looked at ways we can offer a little help, and I’ve rebuilt their solar charger and camp lighting battery connections, fabricating alligator clamps from materials on board JollyDogs. Today I’m copying music onto a couple of our small 4 gig micro-SD hard drives to give them. Turns out they like Bob Marley, UB40, even the Scorpions, and they’ll also get a wide selection of whatever we’ve got to offer. We brought their little boom box out to the boat to charge as Mr. Sun is hiding behind the clouds and they’re not getting much out of their one small panel.
Yo spent some time this morning teaching me how to open dry coconuts with a simple tool (gotta get me one of those) and he showed me how to harvest and open green coconuts for their water. His cousin Vahine spent a few hours this morning giving Isabel and Rachel lessons in the local Polynesian dialect, while Rachel’s husband Josh finished making a fiberglass repair on one of their fishing harpoons. Josh and Rachel have also had the opportunity to go spear fishing with them, learning about the local fish and shark habits in the process. Tonight we’ve the opportunity to go with them on a coconut crab hunt.
This is the sort of interaction we’ve been looking for since we arrived. Polynesians are some of the friendliest people on Earth, happy to share what they have, wanting to learn about our culture and teach us about theirs. In turn we look for ways we can give back to them, and it’s a big win for everyone. They make their living from the copra harvest but are also happy for us to take some coconuts to eat for ourselves. They’ve been out to visit various bats in the anchorage and have shared meals there and ashore. Yesterday morning when we went ashore to see what projects we could help out with, Vahine had made a big platter of the local fried donuts called Fidi Fidi, and we all helped ourselves.
There are parts of the country where the inhabitants choose to live off the government subsidies rather than work for money, trading or hunting and fishing for everything else. These men and women we’ve had the good fortune to spend time with have been working their butts off with the hopes of sending their children off for higher education or improving their living situation. Harvesting copra is really hard work.
It’s not just the “American Dream”. It’s many other people’s dream, too.
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