Mangareva, Gambiers – 25 March 2019
We had an early morning today. Because of the distance, we needed to cover before tomorrow’s arrival on Pitcairn Island. We finished our breakfast and was ready to board the barges for Rikitea by 7:30 am. Because we had anchored a long distance from land, we arrived on the shore just before 8 am.
I went to what I thought was an internet cafe but there was nobody around that early in the morning to serve drinks. As a result, they gave us the internet password and we just sat beside an old building to try to download messages. It only lasted a few minutes before cutting out so we decided to move on.
The village of Rikitea is the most populated in all of the Gambier islands, it was great to see so many teenagers in this village as it is one of the few places in the region where kids don’t have to be sent off to Tahiti for their schooling until much later. As we walked toward the school, there were teenagers lined up on the side of the road to guide us to where a 9 am performance was prepared.
The school kids had prepared a music and dance presentation. They were all dressed in traditional ti leaves for their performance. It was evident that they have been taught the traditions and cultural dances of their area for many years. Coming through the village later on in the day, we saw a school class in a field, learning and practising some of the dancing and music.
Leaving the school area there were a number of boys inviting us to look at their agricultural school. They told us that there were 11 students there at the time and only the students that chose to focus on agriculture were able to study there. They had a good size farm and were growing corn, cucumbers, squash and a number of other vegetables I did not recognize. One looked like an orange shrivelled skinned cucumber. It was refreshing to see that these students were leaving skills that would enable them to return to their homes and provide for themselves through agriculture.
On our way back to the pier we stopped at the oldest and largest church in the region. Saint Michel’s Cathedral is a very large Catholic church famous for its mother of pearl decorations and was so big, it could probably fit the entire population of the island.
The day got warmer and warmer which was perfect for a swimming stop. We found a narrow stone archway leading between some school buildings and to the shoreline. Tucked right beside a palm tree was a small 20-foot wide white sand beach where Kirsten set off to do some snorkelling. The corals here were purple, pink, orange and various shades of blue. There were little fish swimming among the coral but more than anything, the water was a great escape from the heat of the day.
After a 20 minute walk back to the pier, we departed on one of the last barges back to the Aranui around 11:15 am. It was a beautiful short stop in Rikitea and gave us a glimpse into this island that had at least a dozen snack shops and other entrepreneurial businesses along the roadside.
Lunch was, as usual, a filling 3-course meal. It consisted of a salad with thinly sliced meat, the main course of curried chicken and vegetables with rice followed by an artistic ball of ice-cream sandwiched between a cream puff pastry and drizzled in chocolate. I keep telling myself that I will moderate my eating onboard but everything looks too delicious that I am not able to resist.
Starting around 3 pm they played the movie, “The Mutiny on the Bounty” in the lounge. It was packed with almost everyone on the boat as it was in English with French subtitles to cater to 95% of the passengers on the ship. Being that we were all going to be on Pitcairn Island tomorrow, it was a fitting movie to celebrate the occasion.
There were also plenty of questions as we had out 6 pm Pitcairn orientation meeting. I think the French group after us was getting impatient as our meeting didn’t end until 6:45 and they were supposed to be in the same room after us at 6:30 pm. That’s OK, however. We all made it to our three-course dinners at 7:30 and 8 pm. For those with a bit more energy than me, they participated in the 9 to 11:30 pm dance with local music in the lounge. I was much too tired for that and retired early for the night.
