FROM RAPA NUI TO PERU

RAPA NUI (EASTER ISLAND):   Polynesians settled Easter Island around 600 A.D.  They developed a sophisticated culture and prospered.  Around 800 A.D. they started carving Moai (statues).  Each extended family (tribe) went to a communal quarry and carved ever larger Moai.  The largest, which was never finished, was 21 meters tall and weighed 270 tons.   

Once carved the Moai were somehow transported to a tribe’s area and erected on platforms over grave sites.  It is believed that this was form of ancestor worship, and that the Moai were used to placate the gods, who would then give Mana (power) to the tribe.   At the peak 12,000 inhabitants lived on Easter Island. 

However, the culture had a collapse about 50 years before the arrival of the first Europeans.  Work on Moai ceased and the tribes descended into warfare and eventually cannibalism.  The Moai were knocked over.  One theory of the cause of the collapse is the depletion of natural resources.  For example, the island had become completely deforested.  There is probably a lesson for us in this overuse of resources. 

The arrival of Europeans only made matters worse as they brought not only Christianity, but disease and slave raiders. 

A visit to Easter Island was to be a highlight of this cruise for most passengers.  However, entrance to the small harbour is very narrow and just wide enough for the tender boats.  When we arrived, huge breakers were crashing at this entrance and the Harbour Master closed the port.  We waited for several hours before giving up.  Our captain, however, slowly circled the island so we could see the Moai, at least at a distance. 

DAYS AT SEA:   It is a four-day sail from Easter Island to Peru.  We encountered high winds and moderately rough seas.  We spent our time not only eating and drinking and attending the live shows but going to cooking demonstrations (mostly Betty did this), going to movies (my favorite was the academy award winning Green Book), and attending various lectures.

One particularly interesting lecture was by Dr. David Spence, Director of Stroke Prevention at the Robarts Research Institute of The University of Western Ontario.  Dr. Roberts’ lecture covered some familiar ground (don’t smoke, exercise regularly, eat a Mediterranean diet) but also some surprises.  He was critical of the medical profession noting that there are three distinct types of hypertension and many doctors prescribe the wrong medications.  He was most critical of American doctors who do unnecessary surgery for asymptomatic carotid stenosis. 

He spent a serious amount of time reviewing research on egg yolks and strokes, arguing vehemently that egg yolks are bad and that the research saying they are not is seriously flawed.  He claimed that eating one egg yolk is as bad as eating three quarter-pound hamburgers. 

CREW ON BOARD:  We are on a back-to-back cruise, the first part from Tahiti to Peru and the next continuing on to New York.  There are only 870 passengers on the first segment but still 800 crew.  While interacting with other passengers is fun, interacting with crew members is just as interesting.  We learned that there are 15 who work in the laundry, 3 who tend the ship’s incinerator, and 2 full-time upholsterers.   

One young sommelier we met is a single mother (one-year old daughter).  The father is not in the picture and the little girl lives with her grandparents.  The sommelier supports her, and perhaps the grandparents by working on the ship.  She interacts with her daughter each night on Skype. 

A perhaps nicer story came from talking to a young waiter from Serbia. He told us that in his village a worker’s wage is 350 Euros per month.  He earns 10 times that and in addition his wife is also a crew member.  He told us that when they go back home they are considered to be wealthy. 

LA RESERVE:  There are 7 restaurants on board, none that require supplement payments but four that require reservations.  There is an 8th restaurant that is only open some evenings and only seats 24.  On our last cruise we used some onboard credits to try a meal.  It was so good that we did it again this trip.  Different meals are served on different nights but there is no choice of what you eat.  Each meal is 8 courses, each course carefully matched with a superb wine (this doesn’t include the Champagne served on deck before being seated.)




We sat at a table for five, along with Francois, originally from Paris, his wife Karen, from South Carolina and their 21 year-old son.  Francois was a Chef in Paris before moving to the U.S.  Before retiring he owned three restaurants in New York City and a cooking school in South Carolina.  We also had lunch with them the next day. 

I enjoyed discussing food and wine with Francois who was very positive about the food on our ship.  He claimed that the bread (particularly the croissants) was better than anything in France.  I can’t vouch for that but do know it is better than what’s available in Antigonish. 

FINAL THOUGHT:  “Having a meal without wine is like having sex without a partner.” 

FAKARAVA TO PITCAIRN ISLAND 

FAKARAVA ATOLL:   On Mar. 7 we anchored off Rotoava, the only village on Fakarava, the most easterly atoll in the Society Islands.  As it had been raining Betty was nervous about walking where it might be slippery, thus she decided to stay on the ship.  I took the tender ashore and did some walking before I discovered that I could rent a bike.  There were paved bike trails and I pedaled past some very attractive beaches.   

The population of Fakarava is 817 and there is a church and two small general stores.  The next place is Toau, Pakuria, which is 14 kilometers away and has a population of 18.  It is 430 kms to Tahiti, which would be the closest place with any services.  After visiting here I will no longer refer to living in Antigonish as being at the end of the Earth.  On the other hand, Fakarava does appear to have considerably better weather and nicer beaches. 

PITCAIRN ISLAND:  After Bligh and some loyalists were cast adrift the Bounty returned to Tahiti with some of the loyalists.  These loyalists, and some of the mutineers. stayed on Tahiti (the mutineers were eventually captured and hanged by the English).   Bligh somehow made it back to England.  Incidentally, when he was given command of the Bounty he was not promoted to Captain nor was he given any marines to help keep order.  Perhaps that contributed to the mutiny. 

Fletcher Christain and 8 other mutineers, along with the 11 Tahitian women and 6 Tahitian men, searched for several weeks for a place to hide.  Eventually they discovered Pitcairn, which is a 1 mile by 2 miles island with no harbour.  It had once been inhabited by Polyensians, but in 1790 was empty.  The mutineers divided up the island and burned the ship.   

Meanwhile life on Pitcairn was not without its problems.  The Polynesian men were not treated well by the Mutineers and after 3 years the Polynesian men decided to murder the Mutineers.  Christian and three others were killed, but then the women banded together and killed all the Polynesian men. 

Eighteen years after the mutiny an American whaling ship happened upon Pitcairn.  By that time only one of the mutineers remained alive, but 23 of the mutineers' children and some of the women were still there.  At this moment there are only 38 inhabitants, all but two are descendants of the mutineers and their Tahitian partners.  However, there are 5 others who are off the island at the moment, but they will return later this month. 

There is no airfield or helipad on Pitcairn, thus the only way to leave is by boat.  A supply ship visits every three months and about 12 cruise ships stop each year.  Oddly when we stopped on March 10 there were two ships, ours (the Marina) and a French cruise ship (Le Soleal). 

Because of there being no harbour neither the cruise ship nor its tenders can land.  Instead the people from the Island put a long boat in the water and visit the ships.  Two chose to visit Le Soleal and the rest came out to the Marina.  Once on board, one man presented a lecture on life on Pitcairn and the rest set up a market and sold honey and crafts.  This gave the passengers not only an opportunity to shop, but a chance to chat with these very interesting people, who are very articulate.  For us their visit to the ship was probably the highlight of our entire cruise. 

DINNER WITH DOMINIQUE:  On Saturday we were invited to dinner by Dominique Nicolle, the ship’s general manager.  We know him a bit from other cruises.  He and another senior officer (who is from Montenegro) hosted the meal in an opulent dining room (called Privee) tucked away at the back of Deck 14.  The dinner party included two American couples and a couple from Switzerland. 

The elegance of the event perhaps was indicated by the three different kinds of salt that were on the table.  We were given some choice in the food and I had all seafood starting with raw swordfish, then lobster bisque laced with Armagnac, then calamari, then Dover Sole, and finally dessert.  Although Dominique is from Brittany all the wines he chose were from Piedmont. 

The meal took three hours and my glass was never allowed to be empty.  Betty refused to wear her leg brace to this event so at the end of the evening a waiter was assigned to assist her to the elevator.  If truth were told I probably could have used some assistance myself.