Landsick - Marquesas, French Polynesia
Stepping on to terra firma after 29 days at sea was quite the sensation. Sea legs on land - it’s a thing. Concrete dock under foot, yet the ground is moving to and fro. We all felt it, but perhaps Kicki the most. She even felt nauseous; you might call it “landsick”. Ironic since she did not experience any seasickness during the month on the big blue - in fact, none of us did.
We made landfall on the island of Tahuata by Hiva Oa. Land appeared as a faint shadow in the early morning. As the day progressed, the outline of Hiva Oa grew before our eyes. It’s dark and foreboding with jagged steep cliff faces, but was a welcome sight to us. Once on the leeward side of the island, we were greeted by a lush landscape in all imaginable shades of green. A sight for eyes used to nothing but sky and sea. We also experienced the distinct smell of land. Rich and earthy.
We celebrated anchor down with champagne on deck, then set off for our first walk on land and a meal off the boat. We got the first, but have yet to find the latter. Hiva Oa is rich in natural beauty and friendly people, but eateries not so much.
The next day, we found a lovely bay to anchor in. The boat was filthy after a month in the elements, so the first priority was to clean up both inside and out. Then the reward was a long lazy sundowner on the beach. Sitting in the warm sand halfway across the Pacific Ocean on a beach lined with coconut trees and with the sun setting in the gorgeous water in front of us - we felt pretty darn good.
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