We want to live in Penrhyn!

Last time we left you we had arrived in the beautiful atoll of Penrhyn in the Cook Islands., known locally as Tongareva. We had been welcomed with open arms by the people in the village where we were anchored. Well it certainly is paradise, so we thought we would tell you a little more about our time here. We have definitely decided we want to live here. If only that was possible!

I cant say that we have done a lot since we last posted. Its a very simple and laid back life in the atoll. People spend their days fishing, collecting and processing coconuts, maintaining their homes, and doing traditional crafts such as hat and jewellery making.

We had some pretty horrible weather come through for a few days which meant it was difficult to get to shore. Even so, we still got visited by various people and more often than not, we were given freshly caught fish to eat. Its a good job, because our fishing skills are still not very impressive!

When the weather calmed down, Rio and Kura dropped by one morning and invited us to visit their little getaway retreat which they had built on one of the neighbouring motu islands, just near one of the atoll passes. We jumped at the opportunity and had a fantastic day visiting with them.

I wish we had a getaway like this! It was a simple hut on the coral beach with enough space to sleep their extended family and friends. Such an idyllic spot, and they have the whole place to themselves. There are some other deserted buildings on the motu nearby but they are in the process of being reclaimed by the sea. Kura explained that one of those buildings belonged to her father, and that was why shje wanted to build nearby.

We spent the day exploring the motu. I went snorkelling in the pass. Kura cooked us a delicious lunch of fried fish and coconut pancakes. And Rio took us on a short boat trip to go and see the site of an American radio base now overgrown in the jungle. The Americans arrived in mass during the second world war. They built the airstrip in the atoll and part that we visited was a radio tower installation that covered the local pacific. Listening our for the Japanese. All that was left was the concrete plinths of the buildings, but it was interesting to see.

I shot this video of some of the days events:

We had several residents around the boat having been here at anchor for a few weeks. They were always waiting for food scraps from the boat. I guess you call these guys our pets? They never bothered me when I went swimming off the back of the boat.

We have had several meals with Rio and Kura, so we decided to invite them and their family to the boat for tea. I cooked a chicken Thai curry which was an instant hit. I did a pile of rice and potatoes to go with it as well as frying up some fish. Ailsa cooked a chocolate cake for pudding. The whole lot got eaten up. These guys love to eat! It was a real joy to be able to return the favour and we had a really fun evening with then on board Azimuth.

Pretty much every other day we would take a trip to shore and go for a walk as well as chat to the villagers. We found a hut on stilts over the water on the beach a little way from the village that became a favourite hangout. You could sit and watch the fish swim underneath and get out of the hot sun.

Even though the island is small, there is still a nice walk to the end, where there is a pass in the atoll. The current flows incredibly strong through the pass. It really is a magical place.

I plucked up the courage and went snorkelling in the pass, dragging my canoe with me. The bottom was rocky and full of fish, turtles and sharks. Really exhilerating!

We visited Rio and Kuras house when ever we were passing by to say hello. I had another go at fixing their water pump, but with no luck. Still I think it worked better than it had before I started! We would always stop and see the pet nurse sharks too.

Our time was almost up. You are only allowed 31 days stay in the cook islands so we started to look at the weather forecast for the next week to make the 1000 or so mile passage to get to our next destination of Niue.

During this time, another boat turned up in the anchorage. A catamaran called Barbarella with Rolf and Nora on board. Rio and Kura invited them and us to dinner at their house that night. Another great meal was had!

That’s Nora and Ralph holding the yacht guest books which we all signed that night. It is an amazing record of all the boats that have visited in the last 40 years.

The next day we hitched a lift on the village boat to the other side of the Atoll to Omoka where we needed to check out of the cook islands. This time we didn’t want to take Azimuth over there to the anchorage . As you know from the last post, the anchor windlass is truly caput. I didn’t want to raise the anchor by hand on a lee shore again. Barbarella were checking out too, they only stayed for a couple of days. So, after the customs and immigration were sorted we joined them to go and visit the local craft centre in Omoka.

Shortly after that we said our farewells and then we went for a walk around the village and came across the wreck of a plane that we had been told about. Apparently it has been there for 80 years!

We took the village boat back to Azimuth later that afternoon. It was with a heavy heart that we said our goodbyes to everyone and then headed back to the boat.

The next morning we pulled up the anchor by hand . It took about 20 minutes and wasn’t too difficult and then set off on the long sail to Niue. Join us next time then when we tell you about the journey.