Et Voilà : a Lagoon 450 in Marquises

One day we went ashore, to go to town, we mentioned that Theo wanted to get a tattoo. Marie Jo, our driver, stopped the car and pointed off to the side of the main road. She said “My nephew, Renaldo, does tattoos”. We said we would think about it. At lunch, the restaurant owner was covered with tattoos, so we asked him who he recommended on the island. He pointed back to the kitchen and said “My cook does tattoos”. I looked at Theo and he said that he would like someone that does tattoo work for a living… not a cook. I understood. He called someone else that was recommended to him, but he spoke no English and hung up on him. Renaldo it was. Theo has a beautiful tattoo… Merci Renaldo ! On Thursday we did a tour of the Island. It was wild and crazy beautiful. In the past, there were wild horses on the island. If you could capture one you could keep it. Now they are tied to trees like we would tie our dog in front of a store. They go from place to place tied to the back of trucks contently trotting behind to the next location. Goats and pigs are everywhere here… Occasionally, you will see a cow. Poultry is free to anyone that can catch them. We asked our tour guide how they usually catch the chickens and he said “Do you have a 22?” We said no, and he made a motion of firing out the window of the car. Ohhhh… So, if we are on the dock and manage to catch a chicken it is ours for dinner. No one spoke until lunch because we were so mesmerized by the scenery and stories. At lunch we all exchanged our life experiences and future sailing plans. No one asks why you are here, why you chose to do this voyage or what you do for a living. We all understand each other. Nice… As I am writing this, there are Canoe races. Behind the canoes, there is a small boat with a motor and one man and two young girls. I watched and the girls’ only purpose was to use cups to bail water out of the small boat as it followed the canoes… We are not in Catalina anymore….

Wanda, Theo, Marie & Bruno, on board ‘Et Voilà’.

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