Bay of Virgins

We have had a marvelous week here. We have done some hiking and snorkeling, took a dinghy trip to the other and larger village on the island, attended the Sunday church service, attended a Polynesian dance, played soccer with the islanders and caught up on boat projects. All and all a great introduction to the islands of the south pacific and nice way to recover from the passage.

The panorama of the anchorage is absolutely stunning with the sheer cliffs coming down to the water and the village nestled in the valley at the bottom. The village is absolutely spotless with fruit bearing trees growing everywhere. Our favorite local fruit is the pamplemousse, a relative of the grapefruit.

The interaction with the villagers has been a mixed bag, we have traded for fresh produce, been bullied a bit, especially the kids, felt at times welcome and at others very much out of place. It is a very small village with about 300 people and very isolated as they get only one ship per month of goods and have no airport or other intra island ferry service. I think at times they resent the crush of cruising boats and at others are happy for the economic opportunity. Though with the support of the French government there does not seem to be much incentive to work hard.

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