February 2010

Hello everyone,

El Nino : fine weather for pigs !
An "El Nino" year sends a few perturbations -moderate ones so far, over French Polynesia, an area usually spared from this kind of phenomenon ; since the beginning of the year, sunny days have been few, rains aplenty, and a warning that the north wind is going to strengthen for the next few days has led us to find shelter in the lee of a small low-lying island on the coral reef that circles the Gambier archipelago : indeed, just like Bora Bora or Maupiti, the Gambier islands include in their center high hilly islands ( great hikes can be taken through them), and a circular part similar to the atolls of the Tuamotus. The deserted islet we have chosen is called Puamau.

After mooring Banana Split a short distance away from the shore, we've had the surprise to see running to the beach an animal species which is not often found on deserted islands,pigs : Thierry, the island's owner, lives a few miles away in the village of Taku, on the large island of Mangareva; he breeds pigs, that roam free through the islet. In the beginning, we wondered what the little piggies of Puamau could find to eat in their small island; we would give them buckets of fruit and vegetable peels, but they much preferred when we'd cut coconuts in half for them with a heavy ax. And then, on a regular basis, Thierry comes, with his two children and his grandpa, to bring the pigs large tubs of ripe mangoes, and even a few large fish, which they enjoy a lot: the big sow, the young male, and the small piggies, which run towards us every time we land, crying loud "Oink, Oink".

So the place is deserted, except when a passing sailboat makes a call; the other day, we have taken snapshots of Banana Split next to Mowgli, a catamaran built in the same shipyard as mine, Prometa, and led by a sympathetic family : Philippe, Virginie and small Emma ; Philippe is about forty years old, he has retired after earning a good living in optometry : he sold materials used to make glasses to one of France's largest builders of lenses. For the past two years, he has been cruising on this beautiful catamaran decorated with beautiful drawings of African inspiration.

Finally, as a change from the piggy pictures in this letter, I send you a bouquet, not of flowers, but of coral, a small, sparkling white bouquet , freshly re-grown on a coral reef that all thought defunct.
I wish you a great month of February
Antoine