On one hand, Alisa and I agree that these four years of travelling have been a complete blur. On the other hand, we also agree that we have a lot to show for that time - friends we never would have met if we'd stayed at home, and a very rich collection of experiences that are the everyday stuff of this life afloat.
We're anchored off the village of Hanaiapa, on the north shore of Hiva Oa. After the crowded anchorages of Atuona and Tahuata, this place is blessedly without another yacht. Getting off the beaten path isn't always hard!
It's a very bucolic little village - brightly-painted outrigger canoes on the cobble beach, well-tended gardens along the single-lane concrete road, fruit growing everywhere. And above the narrow valley, impossibly steep lava cliffs that hem everything in.
Exceptionally friendly people, though without a mutual language we find ourselves incapable of any nuance in our interactions, and it is all too easy to get 'captured' by the first or second person you meet, and to end up with obligations to see that person every visit ashore...
Alisa rose to the occasion for our celebration, as always - pizza for dinner, followed by chocolate cake.
Elias wondered what the fuss was about, though he was happy enough for the cake. What's so special about living on a boat for four years, he wanted to know.
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