Tahu Ata
This was the second island in the chain we were to visit and we were all anxious to get going. Although it was only 4nm across from Hiva Oa, it seemed a world away. It is pretty remote in terms of amenities. We arrived just before sunset and anchored in the nice little bay of Vaitahu. The next morning however, our captain Ben was asked to leave the boat. WTF!!! Okay so now it was just us three, with Brian becoming the default captain. We decided to go to the next bay over with a better anchorage & snorkeling. It was only 30min away and once there, we promptly took the dinghy into the little village of Hapatoni. What was truly amazing was this place had street lights. The road was dirt however. We quickly located one of the many carvers (to which this island is famous for) and looked at his wares. Don tried to get a carving of his boat logo (a Nyami Nyami) made but alas, everyone was busy as they prepared for the upcoming Heiva (massive cultural party) in Tahiti / Moorea / Bora Bora. We watched the sunset from the beach as the bugs devoured our ankles before heading back to the boat. That evening another boat anchored in the bay with us – s/v Escapade. We had met Jim and his son Brendan on Hiva Oa the first day we got there. Their boat is 34’ and it took them 38 days to do the crossing. I would have gone insane!!! Anyhow, we invited them over to the Spirit of Nyami Nyami for movie night. It would be one of many run ins with the guys. The next day we decided to sail up to Baie Hana Moe Noa. We saw this place when coming over to the island. This was picture perfect, with a large, deserted white, coconut lined, sand beach. Now we are talking! There were several boats anchored here as it was also a good snorkeling spot. The following day we had a BBQ / picnic on the beach with Jim & Brendan as they also came to this bay. We snorkeled and hunted green coconuts as we were the only people on the beach. Cool.
