L'Shana Tova for all.
I returned to the US to receive my visa which took over three months, yes over three months! Then rescheduling a flight was no easy task using frequent flier miles – limited seating availability. I finally arrived back in Nouméa after four months. It is so nice to be back, Philippe and I are happy to be reunited.
What have we been doing in the time? Well, we have both been working, Philippe in Nouméa and myslf in New Jersey. There was some trepidation on my part in regards to my return. Why you ask, well, I returned to Tontouta airport (local international airport) with a great deal of luggage. My concerns were twofold: customs would decide I had an inordinate amount of luggage and decide to search and then tax me on everything and the bags would not all fit in the car. Went through quarantine and all they asked was if I had any food, which honestly I did not, and amazingly all items fit in our little Twingo. Small, relatively, remote French islands have a considerable importation tax rendering most goods considerably more than they are in US. With that in mind I had done some serious shopping in the US. Almost all items made it through, of course the one item which will be the most expensive to ship from the US or replace here was damaged beyond repair in transit. I am waiting to hear from my credit card if they will reimburse me. American Airlines lays responsibility on the international carrier and Quantas says they are only responsible for the exterior of a bag. So we shall see how responsive Citicards is to their customers needs…I shall keep you informed.
Other news the picture below is of my Carte de Sejur. This is really more important than the Visa, as this allows me to work, and live in New Caledonia. After so many months of waiting it was surreal to walk into the Bureau des les affairs des Entragers and simply fill out a form, hand over the appropriate documents (while they made their own copies!), and be told to return in a week.
The other issue we have (more Philippe) been dealing with is importing the boat. Philippe is French, so he has no problem. Like me the boat is American. Unlike me ZAYA and all other foreign boats receive a one year stay upon their arrival. Though it is far easier to change a flag rather than a passport (don’t worry I am not giving up my American citizenship). The biggest challenge is that no one seemed to know what was required of us. People tend to air on the dramatic, and were telling us everything from the idea that we had only 6 months to import the boat, and would have to pay 30% of what they deem the value of the boat to be. A scary proposition as the market here seems to bear considerably higher than US market prices. One example of the confusion happened to our friends, who are French with a French boat. They were told they would have to pay tax on the shipping of their boat from France. When they informed the official that they sailed from France, the confused government representative merely repeated the information they had in front of them. They eventually worked everything out and did not pay tax on a container ship which was never used. As for Zaya, our situation, after speaking with the head of customs, Philippe seems to have worked everything out. Now we will have an American flagged boat, which resides in Nouméa (similar to my situation – foreign resident).
Why not get a French flag for the boat. This was an issue Philippe dealt with in the US. The Zaya is an American built boat and is not CE certified (a standard for all goods in Europe). In order for the boat to get a French or European flag it would need to pass a CE certification. To get the boat accessed in the US was going to cost $10,000! This was just for the assessment of all the things which would then need to be fixed/or replaced to meet standards from 1998. That idea was economically ridiculous. Why $10,000 for a survey, well that survey would then allow all boats of the same make or model to be sold or imported to Europe. 10K is not much for an American boat builder to pay to be able to import a whole line of boats. The coast may easily be shared over hundred of boats. For us it was just not practical. Below you have the beginning of our documentation!
The next item on the to do list is to a job, and then everything will be well on Zaya.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Sydney Family
I have to apologize, as this post is very overdue. I am a country behind. I, Sara am now in America and have been for almost two weeks. JP is in Noumea. My route from Noumea to America took me through Australia. This allowed me to meet my Australian family or rather my family in Australia. Yes, I do have family in Australia, and no they have not just recently arrived. My family first arrived from England in 1949.
It was wonderful to meet them, and I had a great time. They definitely proved that Australians have a great sense of humor, enjoy life, and are a little less stressed than Americans (it must be the amazing weather). There was much discussion as to how I am related to everybody, second cousin twice removed or three times removed. The general consensus, was that we are family and to leave it at that.
Upon my arrival I was whisked off to Bondi Beach, the CBD, and see the Opera House as well as other sites. I was given my own private walking tour of beautiful spots minutes from downtown Sydney, which shall remain secret unless you inquire with my cousin Gerald.
I have to give Anne and Gerald a big thank you for being wonderful hosts. They made the visit very special, and provided me a warm welcome to Australia. It is wonderful to arrive in a New Country and meet more family.
The following are some pictures from my brief visit.
Family
Coffee, Cake, with Family at Bondi Beach…What could be better?
My cousin Anne and I overlooking Sydney habour.
It was wonderful to meet them, and I had a great time. They definitely proved that Australians have a great sense of humor, enjoy life, and are a little less stressed than Americans (it must be the amazing weather). There was much discussion as to how I am related to everybody, second cousin twice removed or three times removed. The general consensus, was that we are family and to leave it at that.
Upon my arrival I was whisked off to Bondi Beach, the CBD, and see the Opera House as well as other sites. I was given my own private walking tour of beautiful spots minutes from downtown Sydney, which shall remain secret unless you inquire with my cousin Gerald.
I have to give Anne and Gerald a big thank you for being wonderful hosts. They made the visit very special, and provided me a warm welcome to Australia. It is wonderful to arrive in a New Country and meet more family.
The following are some pictures from my brief visit.
Family
Coffee, Cake, with Family at Bondi Beach…What could be better?
My cousin Anne and I overlooking Sydney habour.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
L’Omelette géante
This weekend was full of festivities. Noumea hosted its own carnival. It entailed a long parade with a variety of dancing and some very subdued observers. It was really nothing to write home about, so I shall move.
The more interesting event was the Omelette Géante hosted by the local town of Dumbea. It is about a 20 minute drive from Noumea. Where literally they crack over 7,000 eggs, cut up enormous loaves of bread, and make giant scrambled eggs in a frying pan made to size. The whole thing was a bit ridiculous, and the French people I have asked have not been able to give a history of where in France this comes from. I do know that this tradition was brought to Dumbea thanks to Bernard Beilles in 1983. The proportions of the ingredients are so large they use drills to beat the eggs, the spatulas were over 10 feet long, and the pan itself must have been 5 meters in diameter and necessitated a crane to move it. One has to love the hats and the attire of the cooking staff. The French take their gastronomie very seriously, and even outdoor antics require the proper attire.
Here are a few pictures from the festivities.
Aside the from the giant omelet the carnival hosted all the usual carnival aspects of bumper cars, cotton candy, games for kids, and music. We got to see some nice Polynesian dancing (the best since we left Polynesia). This is because New Caledonia is very diverse and has a large representation from populations throughout the Pacific and the world. This was followed by a torturous unending representation of how mediocre music can be. It was a Polynesian female singer with a keyboardist who didn’t so much play but destroy the prefabricated sounds from the synthesizer. I don’t know if it was to serve as a foil for the final act or make her feel important. The best part was magic System. They are a group from Ivory Coast. They had a top 10 hit in France in 2002. It was a wonderful performance (something sorely lacking here). The show was a pleasant change to see everyone singing and dancing along. The final song had kids come up on stage and dance with them. They made sure to have black, white, and pacific islanders all represented and it was great to see all the kids dance as they had been taught from there own cultures.
The more interesting event was the Omelette Géante hosted by the local town of Dumbea. It is about a 20 minute drive from Noumea. Where literally they crack over 7,000 eggs, cut up enormous loaves of bread, and make giant scrambled eggs in a frying pan made to size. The whole thing was a bit ridiculous, and the French people I have asked have not been able to give a history of where in France this comes from. I do know that this tradition was brought to Dumbea thanks to Bernard Beilles in 1983. The proportions of the ingredients are so large they use drills to beat the eggs, the spatulas were over 10 feet long, and the pan itself must have been 5 meters in diameter and necessitated a crane to move it. One has to love the hats and the attire of the cooking staff. The French take their gastronomie very seriously, and even outdoor antics require the proper attire.
Here are a few pictures from the festivities.
Aside the from the giant omelet the carnival hosted all the usual carnival aspects of bumper cars, cotton candy, games for kids, and music. We got to see some nice Polynesian dancing (the best since we left Polynesia). This is because New Caledonia is very diverse and has a large representation from populations throughout the Pacific and the world. This was followed by a torturous unending representation of how mediocre music can be. It was a Polynesian female singer with a keyboardist who didn’t so much play but destroy the prefabricated sounds from the synthesizer. I don’t know if it was to serve as a foil for the final act or make her feel important. The best part was magic System. They are a group from Ivory Coast. They had a top 10 hit in France in 2002. It was a wonderful performance (something sorely lacking here). The show was a pleasant change to see everyone singing and dancing along. The final song had kids come up on stage and dance with them. They made sure to have black, white, and pacific islanders all represented and it was great to see all the kids dance as they had been taught from there own cultures.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Cote est
Easter in New Caledonia provides a three day weekend, so we took advantage of it and went exploring with the car. Seeing as we finally have a car, and a super fuel efficient one at that…why not?
Looking out onto the water rather than looking onto land. Seeing a coast from the other side is a nice change... eh?
We crossed the island from west to east… only about 30 kilometer wide is fairly quick even with the narrow roads and hills. We arrived in Thio (pronounced Tio), where we found a small village with architecture from the late 19th and early 20th centuries: small homes, bright colors, metal roves, and little gardens.
We headed south and hiked down to the beach, where we met a mother and her children searching for crabs, muscles, and clams to have for dinner.
I found lots of lovely shells. The highlight of beach and probably the afternoon for me was the discovery of a BLUE STARFISH. Check this guy out, so beautiful and so blue!
Cote Est - East Coast
We then hiked back to the car, and JP wanted to continued south to see how far our little car would get us before the road would necessitate a 4X4. Then the plan was to head north again to find a place to camp.
On the way we picked up a local hitchhiking. OK, OK this is normally a bad idea, but as this is fairly sparsely populated area, public transit is non-existent, so hitching a ride is pretty normal. This man looked quite respectable and older. He works in Noumea and was heading home for the holiday weekend. When we picked him up he had walked all the way from the nearest town (15 kilometers) of very hilly winding roads and had another 20 to go. Needless to say he was happy for the ride. We mentioned we were looking for a place to camp. He told us the campground we were thinking about is almost always full and recommended another campground just past where we would drop him off.
The directions we were given were to look for a board with a camping sign, turn and you will end up near the beach. We continued until the road literally ended at the beach. A lovely spot to camp, but as this is all tribal land, one cannot just camp without permission. So we backtracked and confirmed that the only board in view was declaring independence. This did not bode well for camping, as in “Hi, how are you?, Oh, you want to kick the French out. Oh, that’s nice. Can we stay on your land?” We didn’t think that would go over well either, so as we still had some twilight left asked the first person we saw for some clarification on the aforementioned directions. That worked out, and we found the spot. It turns out the camping sign is literally right in front of the beach after you have driven though a small hamlet, community meeting grounds, and beyond some houses. We were greeted by a terribly friendly and rather drunk gentleman who made some sense in his explanation of where he wanted us to camp. He was happy to accommodate us and the car. It was quite a site to see JP trying to follow is directions of where to put the car in relation to where we would put the tent. Twingo’s are small, but palm trees, rocks can still make parking a challenge make for an interesting obstacle course. We crashed out early and realized in the middle of the night we were missing the local party we discovered through the music which played all night. So maybe the proprietor’s lugubrious mood made a little more sense.
The next morning we went north towards Canala. This necessitates passing through a 13 kilometer stretch of road which is only one way. If you want to go north you go on odd hours and south on even hours. We timed it just right making it through the pass just as the clock struck noon only to discover no one was waiting on the other side.
Canala was our first to the northern province of New Caledonia. It is mostly tribal land with little development or industry. The majority of the inhabitants are Kanak who live in a traditional manner of subsistence farming within a tight knit family and tribal community. 20 years ago there was a great deal of political turmoil for independence. At the moment things are quite and people are very friendly. To visit tribes requires a visit to the chief and the presentation of a gift.
We took out time exploring some waterfalls, and then headed up to the hot springs north of town. They were developed several years ago by the local Marie (Mayor), but because of tribal disputes over whose land it is they have fallen into disrepair. Not the prettiest place, but it did have the old façade left from when it was a “hospital” using the thermal for there healing properties. The enjoyed the warm sulpher springs even if it wasn’t as inviting as it has once been.
Canala has the regional high school and a very large grounds for the Marie which boats many beautiful carvings as you can see.
Looking out onto the water rather than looking onto land. Seeing a coast from the other side is a nice change... eh?
We crossed the island from west to east… only about 30 kilometer wide is fairly quick even with the narrow roads and hills. We arrived in Thio (pronounced Tio), where we found a small village with architecture from the late 19th and early 20th centuries: small homes, bright colors, metal roves, and little gardens.
We headed south and hiked down to the beach, where we met a mother and her children searching for crabs, muscles, and clams to have for dinner.
I found lots of lovely shells. The highlight of beach and probably the afternoon for me was the discovery of a BLUE STARFISH. Check this guy out, so beautiful and so blue!
Cote Est - East Coast
We then hiked back to the car, and JP wanted to continued south to see how far our little car would get us before the road would necessitate a 4X4. Then the plan was to head north again to find a place to camp.
On the way we picked up a local hitchhiking. OK, OK this is normally a bad idea, but as this is fairly sparsely populated area, public transit is non-existent, so hitching a ride is pretty normal. This man looked quite respectable and older. He works in Noumea and was heading home for the holiday weekend. When we picked him up he had walked all the way from the nearest town (15 kilometers) of very hilly winding roads and had another 20 to go. Needless to say he was happy for the ride. We mentioned we were looking for a place to camp. He told us the campground we were thinking about is almost always full and recommended another campground just past where we would drop him off.
The directions we were given were to look for a board with a camping sign, turn and you will end up near the beach. We continued until the road literally ended at the beach. A lovely spot to camp, but as this is all tribal land, one cannot just camp without permission. So we backtracked and confirmed that the only board in view was declaring independence. This did not bode well for camping, as in “Hi, how are you?, Oh, you want to kick the French out. Oh, that’s nice. Can we stay on your land?” We didn’t think that would go over well either, so as we still had some twilight left asked the first person we saw for some clarification on the aforementioned directions. That worked out, and we found the spot. It turns out the camping sign is literally right in front of the beach after you have driven though a small hamlet, community meeting grounds, and beyond some houses. We were greeted by a terribly friendly and rather drunk gentleman who made some sense in his explanation of where he wanted us to camp. He was happy to accommodate us and the car. It was quite a site to see JP trying to follow is directions of where to put the car in relation to where we would put the tent. Twingo’s are small, but palm trees, rocks can still make parking a challenge make for an interesting obstacle course. We crashed out early and realized in the middle of the night we were missing the local party we discovered through the music which played all night. So maybe the proprietor’s lugubrious mood made a little more sense.
The next morning we went north towards Canala. This necessitates passing through a 13 kilometer stretch of road which is only one way. If you want to go north you go on odd hours and south on even hours. We timed it just right making it through the pass just as the clock struck noon only to discover no one was waiting on the other side.
Canala was our first to the northern province of New Caledonia. It is mostly tribal land with little development or industry. The majority of the inhabitants are Kanak who live in a traditional manner of subsistence farming within a tight knit family and tribal community. 20 years ago there was a great deal of political turmoil for independence. At the moment things are quite and people are very friendly. To visit tribes requires a visit to the chief and the presentation of a gift.
We took out time exploring some waterfalls, and then headed up to the hot springs north of town. They were developed several years ago by the local Marie (Mayor), but because of tribal disputes over whose land it is they have fallen into disrepair. Not the prettiest place, but it did have the old façade left from when it was a “hospital” using the thermal for there healing properties. The enjoyed the warm sulpher springs even if it wasn’t as inviting as it has once been.
Canala has the regional high school and a very large grounds for the Marie which boats many beautiful carvings as you can see.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
It's getting exciting...
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS… OH BECKY
Last week as a little exciting as we had our third cyclone warning of the season and the second since we have been here. Though technically it never actually deepened into a cyclone, but stayed a Strong Tropical Depression. It was named Becky and it was the closet of the three so far.
The marina has a very structured alert system, beginning with a green flag for the “pre-alert” and red for the final stages when everything needs to be ready. What that entails is moving the boats away from the pontoon and setting up the hurricane lines which run off the stern and are attached to a chain laid on the bottom of the water.
The hurricane lines were set at the technical beginning of the cyclone season. Although this year has been unusual as the first cyclone occurred in October and the season should begin in December. If you want to see more about Becky and other cyclones in the Southwestern Pacific and Southeastern Indian Ocean check out this site:
http://www.australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/
I went a little over the top and decided to take everything off the deck. This means: water jugs, fuel jugs, unnecessary lines, the sails, the canvas, and the cushions. This has made for a very cramped boat. I did this 36 to 40 hours before we would have been hit by at that time 80 knots of wind. Nothing too bad, but certainly more than we have ever encountered with the boat. Though JP being from Reunion has experienced more than twice that. Taking everything off the deck was a bit premature, but my thinking was that is often begins to rain before a storm and then it would meaning taking everything inside when it was wet (not something I was looking forward to), so I took some preemptive measures. It hasn’t been all for naught as I discovered that the deck was in dire need to a really good scrubbing, something which can not be done thoroughly with everything we normally keep on it. Now we have a cleaner boat on the outside, but a very cramped cabin. Tomorrow I will remedy this putting the main and the Mizzen back. The Genoa really is a two person job, so I will have to wait for JP on that one.
Last week as a little exciting as we had our third cyclone warning of the season and the second since we have been here. Though technically it never actually deepened into a cyclone, but stayed a Strong Tropical Depression. It was named Becky and it was the closet of the three so far.
The marina has a very structured alert system, beginning with a green flag for the “pre-alert” and red for the final stages when everything needs to be ready. What that entails is moving the boats away from the pontoon and setting up the hurricane lines which run off the stern and are attached to a chain laid on the bottom of the water.
The hurricane lines were set at the technical beginning of the cyclone season. Although this year has been unusual as the first cyclone occurred in October and the season should begin in December. If you want to see more about Becky and other cyclones in the Southwestern Pacific and Southeastern Indian Ocean check out this site:
http://www.australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/
I went a little over the top and decided to take everything off the deck. This means: water jugs, fuel jugs, unnecessary lines, the sails, the canvas, and the cushions. This has made for a very cramped boat. I did this 36 to 40 hours before we would have been hit by at that time 80 knots of wind. Nothing too bad, but certainly more than we have ever encountered with the boat. Though JP being from Reunion has experienced more than twice that. Taking everything off the deck was a bit premature, but my thinking was that is often begins to rain before a storm and then it would meaning taking everything inside when it was wet (not something I was looking forward to), so I took some preemptive measures. It hasn’t been all for naught as I discovered that the deck was in dire need to a really good scrubbing, something which can not be done thoroughly with everything we normally keep on it. Now we have a cleaner boat on the outside, but a very cramped cabin. Tomorrow I will remedy this putting the main and the Mizzen back. The Genoa really is a two person job, so I will have to wait for JP on that one.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Things I like...
I like the phone...
I like not paying ridiculous phone bills...
I like being able to chat with people on the other side of the world...
I like VOIPBUSTER!
We have been using skype for over a year now to make international calls. It started out so so cheap, but recently there have been many new costs creeping into the bill.
A friend mentioned Voipbuster. Don't ask me to say it three times fast. I believe it is a Swiss company. They have super cheap prices and a special running at the moment where you can call the US and Europe (mobile or land) for free!
This makes me very happy!
Check out:http://www.voipbuster.com
Now if I could get a better connection and not get the funny delay I would be set.
Happy chatting!
I like not paying ridiculous phone bills...
I like being able to chat with people on the other side of the world...
I like VOIPBUSTER!
We have been using skype for over a year now to make international calls. It started out so so cheap, but recently there have been many new costs creeping into the bill.
A friend mentioned Voipbuster. Don't ask me to say it three times fast. I believe it is a Swiss company. They have super cheap prices and a special running at the moment where you can call the US and Europe (mobile or land) for free!
This makes me very happy!
Check out:http://www.voipbuster.com
Now if I could get a better connection and not get the funny delay I would be set.
Happy chatting!
Monday, March 19, 2007
OK, BUT NOW WHAT?
So I bought a local tuber at the market thinking we could expand our palate and support local growers. It was purplish on the outside with a rough skin pictured below and appeared to be much denser than the western potatoes or yucca for that matter. It was totally overpriced roughly 3 times what an imported potato costs. I definitely got the tourist price on this one. I thought I could bake it or make French fries with it (we have a deep fryer, but that’s another story) or possible bake it.
I began by peeling it, and discovered it was pink and bright purple on the inside. It would have been my dream plant had my color palate from when I was six remained. I then set about to cut it into French fries only to discover that was not possible as it was just too dense.. Instead of slicing it vertically I cut it into round slices. I also soon discovered that it, like many other tropical plants secretes a white milky liquid which proves to be quite stick and hard to get off hands and cutting implements. The slices revealed further the tubers intricate structure (the picture below). The colors are amazing, but leaves me to ponder… OK, BUT NOW
Saturday, March 17, 2007
TIJABAOU
TIJABAOU the local cultural center had it's opening the other weekend with performances and new exhibits. It was a lot of fun and we ran into almost everyone we know (I guess it is a small island).
It is a gorgeous center designed by Renzo Piano, whose more famous works can be seen in Paris. Here is the link to the center and below are some photos from the day.
http://www.adck.nc/
It is a gorgeous center designed by Renzo Piano, whose more famous works can be seen in Paris. Here is the link to the center and below are some photos from the day.
http://www.adck.nc/
COMING HOME
It has been a while, and we are settling into Noumea. Still looking for a car, but we are just being incredibly picky.
It is official!.. I will be heading back to America to visit family and friends, while JP will remain in Noumea to work (sorry JP if I could work I would, but the visa says no). I leave April 30, one day before my visa ends, with a two day layover in Sydney. I had no choice (sure you say), as I am using my frequent flier miles. I am feeling very lucky to have been able to fly at all using my miles as this was all done within less than 90 days from departure (something I haven’t done in a while).
AMERICAN EXPRESS VS. AMERICAN AIRLINES
WHO WILL BE THE WINNER?
DEALING WITH FREQUENT FLIER COMPANIES
I think I should first thank Skype for being able to call American 800 numbers for free and to Valerie Morrison the lovely American Advantage representative who spent an hour on the phone with me allowing me to get back to the US.
The Plan
Fly from Noumea to New York using frequent flier miles. Could it be done?
The plan originally was to use my parents American Express points, because they had enough points and save me from having to buy miles from American Airlines. In the end American Airlines won out as they had seats and far less hassle (so much for a surprise ending).
The Saga…
I had stalled in using my frequent flyier miles because I was 27,000 miles short and didn’t want to have to buy that many miles. My parents checked with American Express, and though they were short by about 10,000 points because they are long standing valid customers they were allowed to have a points deficit. Thus allowing me to fly from Noumea to New York for free!
Great!...BUT, the first challenge was to transfer points. I have an AmEx card, but not one with a points plan, so that had to be dealt with.
The second challenge is to determine which airline will fly the route I want to go while allowing me to use American Express points. American Express boasts so many options, maybe you can fly with any company in the world, yet the routes these airlines allow you to fly using American Express points is very limited. I thought Quantas would be no problem, but they only allow you to fly from the US to Melbourne or Sydney. My trip begins in New Caledonia and ends in America squashing all chances of that being an option. I then called Air France thinking they certainly fly from New Caledonia to many places. I then learned that in order to use American Express points you must transfer them to the airline company. Once you transfer the points or miles cannot be transferred back and are valid for I believe up to three years. I had to first determine if there were seats available. There are many seats still available, but not using normal point allowances, there were seats for using double points! YIKES! Double points actually cost more than the seat itself. Would my parents be in points debt forever? I believe the better question is, are my parents aren’t valued enough to have a points deficit of 170,000?... apparently not (I learned this fact later). I asked when the next available normal point allowance seat would be available? When the answer finally came I was floored…. September! Super yikes! My visa ends in May and none of this was looking like an option. I just took a deep breath thanked the person on the phone and hung up.
American Express was out!
OK, hello American Airlines. I called them knowing it was possible to fly from Noumea to New York and the number of miles 75,000. The first person I spoke with said this wasn’t possible, but with some perseverance it all worked out.
The next question and the question of the moment, is there a seat available for me to fly out not too much before, but not after May 1. At first things seemed fine, but then she took a better look and the flight would have me fly out May 3 – NOT POSSIBLE. Then I had no problem getting from Noumea to Sydney, but there were no flights from Sydney to New York. There was one moment where the representative said “There is no way for me to get you to the US at all during April or May. I have tried you flying through Sydney and Aukland.” My heart hit my stomach. Again another deep breath and I meekly responded… OK, but can you get me anywhere in the US and I will work from there. Her response was how about Hawaii? Imagine my heart sinking even deeper into my stomach. Hawaii is still in the middle of the Pacific and so far from New York. As far as I was concerned I might as well sail back at that point. I kept her talk and then we starting talking about LA and Japan. Japan was out (not allowed), but LA was proving to me an option.
Finally after 1 hour on the phone (THANK YOU SKYPE) we had things worked out. I had a flight reservation, good until March 17 midnight. All I had to do was by the remaining 20,000 points. I had received 7,000 points from my credit card just for mentioning I might cancel it, and they said, “How about 7,000 points and why don’t you think about it”, so I said “sure, I think about it.” The 7,000 points saved me $200!
It’s official paid for the miles, tax, and have the Australia visa (booked online)!
It is official!.. I will be heading back to America to visit family and friends, while JP will remain in Noumea to work (sorry JP if I could work I would, but the visa says no). I leave April 30, one day before my visa ends, with a two day layover in Sydney. I had no choice (sure you say), as I am using my frequent flier miles. I am feeling very lucky to have been able to fly at all using my miles as this was all done within less than 90 days from departure (something I haven’t done in a while).
AMERICAN EXPRESS VS. AMERICAN AIRLINES
WHO WILL BE THE WINNER?
DEALING WITH FREQUENT FLIER COMPANIES
I think I should first thank Skype for being able to call American 800 numbers for free and to Valerie Morrison the lovely American Advantage representative who spent an hour on the phone with me allowing me to get back to the US.
The Plan
Fly from Noumea to New York using frequent flier miles. Could it be done?
The plan originally was to use my parents American Express points, because they had enough points and save me from having to buy miles from American Airlines. In the end American Airlines won out as they had seats and far less hassle (so much for a surprise ending).
The Saga…
I had stalled in using my frequent flyier miles because I was 27,000 miles short and didn’t want to have to buy that many miles. My parents checked with American Express, and though they were short by about 10,000 points because they are long standing valid customers they were allowed to have a points deficit. Thus allowing me to fly from Noumea to New York for free!
Great!...BUT, the first challenge was to transfer points. I have an AmEx card, but not one with a points plan, so that had to be dealt with.
The second challenge is to determine which airline will fly the route I want to go while allowing me to use American Express points. American Express boasts so many options, maybe you can fly with any company in the world, yet the routes these airlines allow you to fly using American Express points is very limited. I thought Quantas would be no problem, but they only allow you to fly from the US to Melbourne or Sydney. My trip begins in New Caledonia and ends in America squashing all chances of that being an option. I then called Air France thinking they certainly fly from New Caledonia to many places. I then learned that in order to use American Express points you must transfer them to the airline company. Once you transfer the points or miles cannot be transferred back and are valid for I believe up to three years. I had to first determine if there were seats available. There are many seats still available, but not using normal point allowances, there were seats for using double points! YIKES! Double points actually cost more than the seat itself. Would my parents be in points debt forever? I believe the better question is, are my parents aren’t valued enough to have a points deficit of 170,000?... apparently not (I learned this fact later). I asked when the next available normal point allowance seat would be available? When the answer finally came I was floored…. September! Super yikes! My visa ends in May and none of this was looking like an option. I just took a deep breath thanked the person on the phone and hung up.
American Express was out!
OK, hello American Airlines. I called them knowing it was possible to fly from Noumea to New York and the number of miles 75,000. The first person I spoke with said this wasn’t possible, but with some perseverance it all worked out.
The next question and the question of the moment, is there a seat available for me to fly out not too much before, but not after May 1. At first things seemed fine, but then she took a better look and the flight would have me fly out May 3 – NOT POSSIBLE. Then I had no problem getting from Noumea to Sydney, but there were no flights from Sydney to New York. There was one moment where the representative said “There is no way for me to get you to the US at all during April or May. I have tried you flying through Sydney and Aukland.” My heart hit my stomach. Again another deep breath and I meekly responded… OK, but can you get me anywhere in the US and I will work from there. Her response was how about Hawaii? Imagine my heart sinking even deeper into my stomach. Hawaii is still in the middle of the Pacific and so far from New York. As far as I was concerned I might as well sail back at that point. I kept her talk and then we starting talking about LA and Japan. Japan was out (not allowed), but LA was proving to me an option.
Finally after 1 hour on the phone (THANK YOU SKYPE) we had things worked out. I had a flight reservation, good until March 17 midnight. All I had to do was by the remaining 20,000 points. I had received 7,000 points from my credit card just for mentioning I might cancel it, and they said, “How about 7,000 points and why don’t you think about it”, so I said “sure, I think about it.” The 7,000 points saved me $200!
It’s official paid for the miles, tax, and have the Australia visa (booked online)!
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Noumea
So it's about time I posted some pictures of where we are living. Here are a few pictures of the waterfront taken from a walk on one of our increasingly common cloudier moments. The wet season seems to be coming. We are not too upset about that as it cools things down and gives us some reprieve from the incredibly strong sun. I do think we have much of an ozone here. Even JP has managed to get sunburned. I am discovering all sorts of lovely hats or sun cover combinations. It makes me imagine that women throughout the Middle East must have the most amazing skin as it is completely covered from adolescence on. Should women be covered? I think it is a choice, and I think I would opt to be completely covered here if it didn't block my ability to see. For now I will apply copious amounts of sunblock.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Work & Visas
We have some good news.
JP found work! He will be working at the local chain of Casinos. I guess our gambling days are over. He is not dealing cards, but rather dealing with the machines between the two casinos. His work is on the waterfront, but I don't think he will see much daylight.
Noumea is a funny combination of big city and small island. The casinos bring in millions of dollars a year and most from local people. One would think that money is the only interest, but becuase New Caledonia is small and everyone talks, the casino knows it would be big news if they just started bankrupting families. If they happen to have a regular player who begins to lose money they take him/her aside and recommend they take a break. That is defiantly different than Las Vegas.
I am waiting to hear about jobs I have applied for It took JP two months to sign a contract, so nothing seems to move too quickly. In the meantime I am waiting to see if I will be granted special permission for a visa extension. If not, I will have to fly to Australia and wait there for what could be over a month until I receive a new longer visa. So keep your fingers crossed for me and hopefully the visa gods will be nice.
More pictures on the website. Check out our trip to Yate. It's a small village on the east side of the island.
JP found work! He will be working at the local chain of Casinos. I guess our gambling days are over. He is not dealing cards, but rather dealing with the machines between the two casinos. His work is on the waterfront, but I don't think he will see much daylight.
Noumea is a funny combination of big city and small island. The casinos bring in millions of dollars a year and most from local people. One would think that money is the only interest, but becuase New Caledonia is small and everyone talks, the casino knows it would be big news if they just started bankrupting families. If they happen to have a regular player who begins to lose money they take him/her aside and recommend they take a break. That is defiantly different than Las Vegas.
I am waiting to hear about jobs I have applied for It took JP two months to sign a contract, so nothing seems to move too quickly. In the meantime I am waiting to see if I will be granted special permission for a visa extension. If not, I will have to fly to Australia and wait there for what could be over a month until I receive a new longer visa. So keep your fingers crossed for me and hopefully the visa gods will be nice.
More pictures on the website. Check out our trip to Yate. It's a small village on the east side of the island.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
PHOTOS...FINALLY!
We are doing well and living the quite life looking for work, getting to know Noumea & New Caledonia, and meeting new people (some of whom are not on a boat!).
I am working at posting more pictures, and slowing working through the enormous backlog of photos we acquired while crossing the Pacific. Check them out at:
Click on the albums and you can see the Marquesas, the Society Islands, and Niue!
I am working at posting more pictures, and slowing working through the enormous backlog of photos we acquired while crossing the Pacific. Check them out at:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/sbermanl
Click on the albums and you can see the Marquesas, the Society Islands, and Niue!
Friday, December 29, 2006
Cuisine ~ Culture
Happy Holidays Everyone!
We have been exploring New Caledonia with a bit of camping and looking for work, but as it is the holidays some of the latter has been put on hold. New Caledonia looks a lot like the pictures of New South Wales, Australia with the red earth, hot & dry climate, and flora are very similar. The fauna is the greatest difference. It would be nice to have kangaroos and koala, but we are quite pleased to not have the populations of alligators, snakes, and spiders which Australia boasts.
Beginning on Christmas things are looking a bit more promising on the job front, so hopefully in a few weeks we can post some good news.
We have been exploring New Caledonia with a bit of camping and looking for work, but as it is the holidays some of the latter has been put on hold. New Caledonia looks a lot like the pictures of New South Wales, Australia with the red earth, hot & dry climate, and flora are very similar. The fauna is the greatest difference. It would be nice to have kangaroos and koala, but we are quite pleased to not have the populations of alligators, snakes, and spiders which Australia boasts.
Beginning on Christmas things are looking a bit more promising on the job front, so hopefully in a few weeks we can post some good news.
In the meantime we are getting to know our neighbors who seem to mostly German. Maybe my German will improve more than my French. I invited one couple over for Hanukkah. I think we were both a little surprised about the similarity of cultures foods. I served them latkes, and they said, “oh our grandparents used to make this for us all the time”. I had invited them over for traditional German food from circa WWII. It makes sense as so many Jews lived in
Last night I expanded my culinary horizons by learning how to make bananas flambé, from our neighbor Olivier, who happily declares himself an expert. What I can say for my skills at the moment is, while the carmel was pleasing to the palette, the flambé effect needs further practice in order to achieve the appropriate amount of the “ahh” factor by the dinners.
So I guess I will have to practice and make others "suffer" to help me perfect my flambé skills. Olivier and Carol is his wife are happy to oblige.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Noumea
Greetings everyone, How is everyone. We would love to hear how people are and what everyone is doing, so feel free to drop us a line at zayasail@gmail.com
We arrived in
Upon further exploration we found the beaches and beach front cafes which has a striking resemblance to the French Riviera I am told. We saw part of the world championships in kite surfing the other day which is quite impressive watching people literally fly through the air. We also learned that there is a nude gay beaches in the area. We were just going for a walk to get a better view of the ocean, when we learned we could get a view of “other things”. Well, we saw the nudity, and later learned about its sexual orientation.
We are now officially staying in a marina which is wonderful because we have easy access to town and can move about independently. No more braving the weather or the sea conditions in the dinghy or having to coordinate when we go into town. It also means neighbors which is something we are not used to. We had been spoiled in
Our address is:
Sara Berman or Jean Philippe Chabot
Capitainerie de Port Moselle/Voilier Zaya
B.P. 2960
98846 Nouméa Cedex
Sunday, November 05, 2006
BOTTOM JOB
We have been talking about hauling out and redoing the bottom paint since we passed through South Carolina almost a year ago. Meanwhile every place we have stopped in has been passed over for various reasons. We came close in Jamaica having bought the paint which we have been hauling around with us for thousands of miles. So in Fiji we finally did it! We took the boat out of the water for the first time since JP bought the boat in Feb. 2005. We came out with a plan to paint, do some small repairs and be back in the water in 4 days. When we came out we quickly realized we were in for a lot more than we bargained for. The many layers of bottom paint Zaya had accumulated over the years from various owners had outlived their lifespan and were now in many areas flaking off. We had two options simply put more paint on and do a bigger job later or do the job now. We decided that Fiji would probably be the cheapest place to do this and there was no point putting off the inevitable. We decided to take off all the paint down to the gel coat.
So we hauled out at Vuda Point Marina just a few miles south of Lautoka. The hauled out itself went quite well as the Mo and George who run the travel lift did an excellent job as the dove on the boat to make sure the straps holding the boat did not damage our skeg rudder. They showed considerable attention to detail. This after the Frenchman in Riatea warned us that "every in Fiji are cowboys".
Throughout the entire process we asked advice of many people in the Yard who were working on their boats. One guy thought we should fill the gaps in our ablative paint with epoxy filler. We didn't bother asking him what to do when the rest of the bottom paint where off (as ablative paint is supposed to do). He also thought that bottom paint should be bright yellow so when a boat rolls over the coast guard can spot them easily. Sailboats generally roll back over as they are designed to do. Again this is not a situation we care to think about and obviously not something anyone plans on as such paint does not exist. People also frequently commented on how the bottom "looked good" after being in the water for almost two years. We didn't quite know how to take this comment. When you hauled you generally have the bottom powerwash so all boat bottoms should look clean. I think it is just a nice thing to say to people in order to make conversation.
Even after a few hours of feeble attempts at scraping the paint we thought maybe 6 days at most. We very quickly learned what we had gotten ourselves into. We stripped half the boat using scrapers and chemical stripper (so nasty we had to be fully covered lest the chemical burn ones skin and wear respirators). The local contracting company said they would be happy to do the job plus take off all the gel coat for a mere $3500 Fiji. We decided that one we didn't want them taking off the gel coat and that we didn't feel like handing them over that much money. They seemed to know what they were doing as they had just done a similar job on a Canadian boat (who couldn't stop saying how wonderful and cheap it all was). Our major concern was that every time we asked the owner of the other boat what they had done his story changed slightly and when we asked the contractor what they told us another story. They also seemed to lack an interest in subtly, i.e. they wanted to take off all the gelcoat. I think they like things in terms of all or nothing. It is much simpler for the workers to understand as we learned later.
So we stripped the boat with the help if various local workers. We hired the guy in the yard who is the cheapest and very quickly learned why his price is so low, as you get what you pay for. Needless to say that JP was much better than anyone we hired, but for the sake of his hand we got helpers. This is not to say I didn't help, but JP did excel in paint removal. So for a week we started working at 6 (as it's cooler then) and worked until dark. Finally we realized that we did need the help of the professionals. Our little palm sander was a joke in comparison to the powerful orbital hand sanders. They did in one day what would have taken us a week.
So we hauled out at Vuda Point Marina just a few miles south of Lautoka. The hauled out itself went quite well as the Mo and George who run the travel lift did an excellent job as the dove on the boat to make sure the straps holding the boat did not damage our skeg rudder. They showed considerable attention to detail. This after the Frenchman in Riatea warned us that "every in Fiji are cowboys".
Throughout the entire process we asked advice of many people in the Yard who were working on their boats. One guy thought we should fill the gaps in our ablative paint with epoxy filler. We didn't bother asking him what to do when the rest of the bottom paint where off (as ablative paint is supposed to do). He also thought that bottom paint should be bright yellow so when a boat rolls over the coast guard can spot them easily. Sailboats generally roll back over as they are designed to do. Again this is not a situation we care to think about and obviously not something anyone plans on as such paint does not exist. People also frequently commented on how the bottom "looked good" after being in the water for almost two years. We didn't quite know how to take this comment. When you hauled you generally have the bottom powerwash so all boat bottoms should look clean. I think it is just a nice thing to say to people in order to make conversation.
Even after a few hours of feeble attempts at scraping the paint we thought maybe 6 days at most. We very quickly learned what we had gotten ourselves into. We stripped half the boat using scrapers and chemical stripper (so nasty we had to be fully covered lest the chemical burn ones skin and wear respirators). The local contracting company said they would be happy to do the job plus take off all the gel coat for a mere $3500 Fiji. We decided that one we didn't want them taking off the gel coat and that we didn't feel like handing them over that much money. They seemed to know what they were doing as they had just done a similar job on a Canadian boat (who couldn't stop saying how wonderful and cheap it all was). Our major concern was that every time we asked the owner of the other boat what they had done his story changed slightly and when we asked the contractor what they told us another story. They also seemed to lack an interest in subtly, i.e. they wanted to take off all the gelcoat. I think they like things in terms of all or nothing. It is much simpler for the workers to understand as we learned later.
So we stripped the boat with the help if various local workers. We hired the guy in the yard who is the cheapest and very quickly learned why his price is so low, as you get what you pay for. Needless to say that JP was much better than anyone we hired, but for the sake of his hand we got helpers. This is not to say I didn't help, but JP did excel in paint removal. So for a week we started working at 6 (as it's cooler then) and worked until dark. Finally we realized that we did need the help of the professionals. Our little palm sander was a joke in comparison to the powerful orbital hand sanders. They did in one day what would have taken us a week.
Then we had them spray the barrier coat on. Zaya looked very nice with a white bottom. Then we finally put the paint on which after taking the old paint off seemed like a breeze. We raised the water line so we will not have to do nearly as much scrubbing in the future.
All in all we spent 16 days on the hard. Then one in the marina to clean all the dirt Zaya acquired during her time on land. Then we were finally free of the Marina! We felt a bit stranded there as the bus takes an hour each way and only runs a few times a day. So our dining It is nice to be closer to town. Though the we are anchored near an island with a hotel so we take the hotel ferry to town. This saves us a long dinghy ride, but puts us on a funny schedule.
I PROMISE WHEN WE GET TO NOUMEA TO POST PICTURES. THERE I SHOULD HAVE A BETTER ACCESS TO INTERNET.
Monday, October 09, 2006
NO SOCIAL GRACES
we went to the opening ceremony for the melensian cultural festival. when we arrived 30 minutes early the stadium was already full, as we had been warned. we were told to try and sit on the side, but i went around and tried to sneak in through another entrance. jp, being the ever upstanding citizen was not pleased with me, and refused to try and be discreet behind a rather large pillar and opted to stand in view of the security guard. we had however made our entrance into a seated area near the vip section with a woman and her two children. within a few minutes of our not so stealth entrance she took some seats in the back and motioned for us to do the same. we started talking at it turns out she is from papua new guinea (PNG). she had told the security guard that they were "representatives from png here for the festival". she and her family have been living in fiji for three years as her husband works for an international company. she is very nice and we started talking between various announcements and music. her name is sarea, and she is very funny with great insight into melenesian & fijian culture. i asked a bit about png, her family, and her life. i then complimented her on her purse. it is a multi colored hand tied bag. she said it is from a particular region in pgn known for its beaches. she then promptly emptied the conents of the bag into a plastic grocery bag and gave me the bag i just complimented her on. i was dumbfounded. in western culture women complement each other on personal items as a way to connect not to gain new posses ions. jp was not pleased with my social faux paus, and shook his head. he asked if i had read the section in the guide book stating that it is not unusual when giving someone a complement on something to have them give it to you. needless to say i must have skipped that paragraph. i thanked her profusely and before the festivities were over we had exchanged contact information. i also found out where she worked, so the next day i paid her office a visit where i left a necklace i have made with the receptionist. she sent a fast email response thanking me for the necklace. though i know this was not necessary, i felt better sharing something with her. who knows maybe we will bump into her again.
WHOSE BOAT IS THIS ANYWAY?
another assumption we both have encountered is that we are sailing our parents boat. my mother says she would buy a boat when hell freezes over. jp's response is that hell is where it freezes (the logic of an island boy).
i was talking with an american boat in panama and joking about how young i am to be doing this. a little while later the husband gave me a ride back to zaya. after seeing which one was our boat he asked "is this your p' paren' [pause] is this your boat?" my response was yes this is our boat, and there is no way either of our parents would own a boat. this may be due to the fact that we have what what our friends call a 100 ft boat, or rather our boat looks really good from 100 ft away and then as you get closer you see that we could really use a new paint job (something i would not recommend for any boat about to go cruising). another boat in panama who was anchored about 500 ft away actually asked when we got our boat painted. we just laughed and said they had not come close enough to see the reality. the reality is jp got the boat for a good price because of the aesthetic deficiency of the boat (mechanically it is fine). the previous owners put a few scratches on the hull and did not keep up with the bright work (the teak trim). it took them a long time to sell the boat, as most people in america buy a boat which looks nice in order to show off (just a little). when you go cruising you want a boat which sails well and worry about the aesthetic later. as we have learned you either sail the boat or work on the boat. the really shinny boats don't tend to go anywhere. i can't imagine how stressful it would be to go through the panama canal or sit in certain commercial harbor throughout the world with a new paint job. some boats were quite upset going through the pumice, for us we only hoped it would clean out waterline (which it did a very unsatisfactory job!).
jp also had a woman in the Marquesas assume this was his parents boat. she is 23 and is living at home preparing to get teacher certification. we are roughly her age, and she had not concept that one could own a boat. many people were surprised that we could own a boat at our age, but when asked about the price of their car it was almost three times as much as zaya due to VAT, Polynesian duty, and transport costs of getting a suv to a remote island.
i was talking with an american boat in panama and joking about how young i am to be doing this. a little while later the husband gave me a ride back to zaya. after seeing which one was our boat he asked "is this your p' paren' [pause] is this your boat?" my response was yes this is our boat, and there is no way either of our parents would own a boat. this may be due to the fact that we have what what our friends call a 100 ft boat, or rather our boat looks really good from 100 ft away and then as you get closer you see that we could really use a new paint job (something i would not recommend for any boat about to go cruising). another boat in panama who was anchored about 500 ft away actually asked when we got our boat painted. we just laughed and said they had not come close enough to see the reality. the reality is jp got the boat for a good price because of the aesthetic deficiency of the boat (mechanically it is fine). the previous owners put a few scratches on the hull and did not keep up with the bright work (the teak trim). it took them a long time to sell the boat, as most people in america buy a boat which looks nice in order to show off (just a little). when you go cruising you want a boat which sails well and worry about the aesthetic later. as we have learned you either sail the boat or work on the boat. the really shinny boats don't tend to go anywhere. i can't imagine how stressful it would be to go through the panama canal or sit in certain commercial harbor throughout the world with a new paint job. some boats were quite upset going through the pumice, for us we only hoped it would clean out waterline (which it did a very unsatisfactory job!).
jp also had a woman in the Marquesas assume this was his parents boat. she is 23 and is living at home preparing to get teacher certification. we are roughly her age, and she had not concept that one could own a boat. many people were surprised that we could own a boat at our age, but when asked about the price of their car it was almost three times as much as zaya due to VAT, Polynesian duty, and transport costs of getting a suv to a remote island.
MY LOCAL TOUR GUIDE
if anyone isn't aware of this jp is multiracial (i.e. part indian, chinese, & french). Upon leaving reunion island he has been mistaken for everything from middle eastern, north african, to south american. this trip has been no different. it doesn't help that roughly 99% of people cruising are white, so people do not expect him to be on a yacht combined with the fact that we are about 25 to 30 years younger than the average cruiser, he is truly a minority.
The following are some funny encounters we have had along the way:
JAMAICA
jamaican: where are you from?
jp: africa
jamaican: but you don't sound african (because obviously all africans sound the same) from there a conversation would ensue about how jamaicans are pure africans with jp given quizzical looks as to the verity of his previous statement.
jp would then explain where his island is and they would often feign knowledge.one time we were walking through a little village and this came up to me and started hitting on me in front of jp, and finally we realized that he assumed jp was my tour guide. this is where i began joking jp was my perpetual local guide.
Panama
upon ones arrival in colon every boat checks in with customs at the yacht club. we walked in and the customs official took our passports. she looked at mine without a second glance. she opened jp's and a huge smile crossed her face, and said "francia es mulatto, es bueno!". she told us we had to come back to her when we checked out. we found out later it was just because she wanted to say goodbye.
in order to cross the panama canal every boat must have a captain plus three line handlers. this for many boats means getting three volunteer crew members. we line handled on two boats prior to our transit. it is actually very helpful as it prepares one for ones own transit. every pilot who came on board assumed jp was a hired local or"professional line handler", for they assumed that all yachties are white. most of them understood immediately that jp is mutlti-racial as a few of them are. one even went so far to assume that jp must be part lebanese (as others have done in the past).
jp's ability to blend was definitely a benefit as we never got hassled walking around certain areas of panama. he would just dress well in proper shoes, jeans, and a button down short sleeve shirt, none of the flips flops, shorts, and boat shirts of the other yachties. everyone once and a while i would hear someone speak to the person next to them and ask how that guy got a gringa girlfriend... we would just laugh.
ECUADOR
we did a lot of provisioning in ecuador in preparation for the pacific. this meant MANY trips to the market and various supermarkets in Manta. On one occasion we were walking through the market and JP was carrying a large plastic container filled with various items we had just purchased. someone went up to him and asked him how much he wanted for certain items. he was confused for a minute, and responded with the price we had paid. the guy thought about it for a minute, and said no and walked away. jp was further confused and then realized he had been mistaken for one of the locals who walk through the market trying to sell just a few items at a time. at first we thought this was funny, but then we wondered if we didn't get a good price for the items we had just purchased, if we couldn't sell them on the street.
Marquesas
in hiva oa we went on a tour of the island with another boat. there were seven of us piled into a small landrover defender (our tour guide, his brother, the other couple plus there daughter, and jp and myself). we were having lunch on the far side of the island. sitting having a picinic near the water. some kids from the nearby village wandered by playing various games and one even riding by on a horse. then one child came up and shook hands with our tour guide, jp and i, and finally the brother (in that order). he completely ignored the boat (who happened to be white). we later asked our tour guide and his brother if people would assume jp was a local. their response was a resounding yes, as he must be because he is not white so he can't be a tourist.our first day on the island of ua-pou we were surprised to see so many french, i.e. white people. this was in july when they have celebrations all month with singing, dancing, and a bit of drinking. people sit around the town center playing bachi and hanging out. it's quite nice. the first person to strike up a conversation with us is a frenchman from Marseilles. he started telling jp about how he arrived on the island by dating a local woman and all the trouble that got him into. he then explained he came to the Marquesas for tax evasion due to business problems in france. he then asked how we arrived on the island. jp pointed to zaya, which was in view from the village center. his next question was if we were in the marquisas for tax evasion purposes as well. jp said no, and thanked him for his offer of a drink, but declined as we didn't want the rest of the population to make a similar assumption (guilt by association).
NIUE
Niue has to be the only island we went to were people knew jp was not a local. that has to dependent upon the fact that there are only 1500 people on the island and they all know each other by site (we can only assume). though there are indians from india on the island who work in agriculture doing jobs the locals do not care to do. a few did not seem to be enjoying it as there is no thriving social life and the money was not as good as they had been promised. they asked us where we were from and if we would take them to france (we don't have plans to go to france). we told them it would take months of sailing to get to france, and this was something they were quite shocked by. then they asked us to take them anywhere else. they offered to pay us and sleep on deck (something i would not wish on anybody) and said they would work very hard. we thanked them but declined as this is very illegal and we really don't have the space for two twenty something indian guys whose grasp of the english language seems to end at "my country india" & "you like niue?...really?!".
FIJI
it is not too far fetched for someone to mistake jp for a fijian as a significant percentage of the population is indian. as there are so many indiands there is a thriving economy surrounding around indian goods. we are thoroughly enjoying the clothes, food stuffs, and movies. this is purely an assumption, but the indian business drive creates wonderful competition keeping prices low (something we have not seen since south america). jp has found the hindu language very interesting and decided to but a book in order to teach himself a little hindu. the girl at the counter immediately asked "why don't you know this, aren't you from here?" he has to explain that no he was from another island in a different ocean. if he tells people that he is from mauritus next to reuion, another island with british ties and a significant indian population they know it immediately, but Reunion being french is still a mystery to many. we spoke to a woman from papau new guinea (PNG), who asid jp looked like he could be from fiji, but had lived overseas by the way he carried himself and dressed.
we have met one other non white male who is the second black man to circumnavigate. he had the poor timing to show up in south africa during the fall of apartheid. he was the first black man to ever be served at the durban yacht club bar, where he was honored. when he showed up in capetown the officials thought he had stolen the boat. he has a great sense of humor and seems to have taken it all in stride.
The following are some funny encounters we have had along the way:
JAMAICA
jamaican: where are you from?
jp: africa
jamaican: but you don't sound african (because obviously all africans sound the same) from there a conversation would ensue about how jamaicans are pure africans with jp given quizzical looks as to the verity of his previous statement.
jp would then explain where his island is and they would often feign knowledge.one time we were walking through a little village and this came up to me and started hitting on me in front of jp, and finally we realized that he assumed jp was my tour guide. this is where i began joking jp was my perpetual local guide.
Panama
upon ones arrival in colon every boat checks in with customs at the yacht club. we walked in and the customs official took our passports. she looked at mine without a second glance. she opened jp's and a huge smile crossed her face, and said "francia es mulatto, es bueno!". she told us we had to come back to her when we checked out. we found out later it was just because she wanted to say goodbye.
in order to cross the panama canal every boat must have a captain plus three line handlers. this for many boats means getting three volunteer crew members. we line handled on two boats prior to our transit. it is actually very helpful as it prepares one for ones own transit. every pilot who came on board assumed jp was a hired local or"professional line handler", for they assumed that all yachties are white. most of them understood immediately that jp is mutlti-racial as a few of them are. one even went so far to assume that jp must be part lebanese (as others have done in the past).
jp's ability to blend was definitely a benefit as we never got hassled walking around certain areas of panama. he would just dress well in proper shoes, jeans, and a button down short sleeve shirt, none of the flips flops, shorts, and boat shirts of the other yachties. everyone once and a while i would hear someone speak to the person next to them and ask how that guy got a gringa girlfriend... we would just laugh.
ECUADOR
we did a lot of provisioning in ecuador in preparation for the pacific. this meant MANY trips to the market and various supermarkets in Manta. On one occasion we were walking through the market and JP was carrying a large plastic container filled with various items we had just purchased. someone went up to him and asked him how much he wanted for certain items. he was confused for a minute, and responded with the price we had paid. the guy thought about it for a minute, and said no and walked away. jp was further confused and then realized he had been mistaken for one of the locals who walk through the market trying to sell just a few items at a time. at first we thought this was funny, but then we wondered if we didn't get a good price for the items we had just purchased, if we couldn't sell them on the street.
Marquesas
in hiva oa we went on a tour of the island with another boat. there were seven of us piled into a small landrover defender (our tour guide, his brother, the other couple plus there daughter, and jp and myself). we were having lunch on the far side of the island. sitting having a picinic near the water. some kids from the nearby village wandered by playing various games and one even riding by on a horse. then one child came up and shook hands with our tour guide, jp and i, and finally the brother (in that order). he completely ignored the boat (who happened to be white). we later asked our tour guide and his brother if people would assume jp was a local. their response was a resounding yes, as he must be because he is not white so he can't be a tourist.our first day on the island of ua-pou we were surprised to see so many french, i.e. white people. this was in july when they have celebrations all month with singing, dancing, and a bit of drinking. people sit around the town center playing bachi and hanging out. it's quite nice. the first person to strike up a conversation with us is a frenchman from Marseilles. he started telling jp about how he arrived on the island by dating a local woman and all the trouble that got him into. he then explained he came to the Marquesas for tax evasion due to business problems in france. he then asked how we arrived on the island. jp pointed to zaya, which was in view from the village center. his next question was if we were in the marquisas for tax evasion purposes as well. jp said no, and thanked him for his offer of a drink, but declined as we didn't want the rest of the population to make a similar assumption (guilt by association).
NIUE
Niue has to be the only island we went to were people knew jp was not a local. that has to dependent upon the fact that there are only 1500 people on the island and they all know each other by site (we can only assume). though there are indians from india on the island who work in agriculture doing jobs the locals do not care to do. a few did not seem to be enjoying it as there is no thriving social life and the money was not as good as they had been promised. they asked us where we were from and if we would take them to france (we don't have plans to go to france). we told them it would take months of sailing to get to france, and this was something they were quite shocked by. then they asked us to take them anywhere else. they offered to pay us and sleep on deck (something i would not wish on anybody) and said they would work very hard. we thanked them but declined as this is very illegal and we really don't have the space for two twenty something indian guys whose grasp of the english language seems to end at "my country india" & "you like niue?...really?!".
FIJI
it is not too far fetched for someone to mistake jp for a fijian as a significant percentage of the population is indian. as there are so many indiands there is a thriving economy surrounding around indian goods. we are thoroughly enjoying the clothes, food stuffs, and movies. this is purely an assumption, but the indian business drive creates wonderful competition keeping prices low (something we have not seen since south america). jp has found the hindu language very interesting and decided to but a book in order to teach himself a little hindu. the girl at the counter immediately asked "why don't you know this, aren't you from here?" he has to explain that no he was from another island in a different ocean. if he tells people that he is from mauritus next to reuion, another island with british ties and a significant indian population they know it immediately, but Reunion being french is still a mystery to many. we spoke to a woman from papau new guinea (PNG), who asid jp looked like he could be from fiji, but had lived overseas by the way he carried himself and dressed.
we have met one other non white male who is the second black man to circumnavigate. he had the poor timing to show up in south africa during the fall of apartheid. he was the first black man to ever be served at the durban yacht club bar, where he was honored. when he showed up in capetown the officials thought he had stolen the boat. he has a great sense of humor and seems to have taken it all in stride.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
