May 5th Fatu Hiva and Onward!
Our time in Fatu Hiva was short, only 3 days but with two trips to the awesome waterfall and a 20 mile hike on the second day I definitely felt like I had spent my time to the fullest. We decided to move on to Hiva Oa yesterday and sailed through the night arriving at sunrise. We had another full day today and will sleep very well tonight. Tomorrow we will head to another anchorage where we were promised there is fruit just falling off the trees! I am really looking forward to some delicious fruits.
In other news, multiple sources (other cruisers) have reported that they have been able to connect to stations using their radios to Winlink stations and so I have concluded that our ground plane needs some work. What that means is that I will be taking up some floor boards on the boat and adding some copper foil to our antenna to improve the signal strength. Hopefully that will restore our connection ability and the daily updates will come through once more.
It has been difficult dealing with the remoteness of the islands here. Internet is all but nonexistent, phones are difficult to use and SIM cards for my cell phone are unavailable. But HEY that’s what we’re here for right? Sometimes the remote places are the least travelled and thus more unique adventures can be found. Everyday here is an adventure and I wake up every morning what the day will bring.
-Alan