Getting Fuel

Hi There,

Thursday afternoon the fuel supply ship came in and Gail and I joined the thundering herd at the quay for our meager portion of diesel. The best I can describe the scene is organized chaos.

When the ship arrives the quay starts filling up with vehicles, some with small trailers in tow containing a 55 gallon drum or two, and some without; all jockeying for position to get their share of diesel, gas or even propane, or other assorted supplies that might be on this ship. Then there are other islanders and cruisers like us setting up our jerry jugs near the guy in control of the fuel hose. The poor guy dispensing the fuel starts pumping diesel first into the tank of one vehicle, then fills a 55 gallon drum, and maybe a jerry jug or two. While he's filling some 55 gallon drum that's been deposited next to him, other supplies such as lumber and pipe were being off loaded as well. And, other vehicles and fork lifts start working their way through the throng. One car, just fueled up shuffles it's way out of the line, shifting back and forth to gain a route free while another vehicle, maybe this time a truck, somehow shuffles into the exact spot left by the car as the two dodge people and other cars waiting their turn at the pump as it were.

Then you happen to notice that a table is set up off to the side. A guy (the captain as it turns out) with a cash box, a rubber stamp, a calculator, and some sort of receipt book is responding to a throng of people gathered about the table, and who, like the vehicles shuffling around, are jockeying for a position to speak to the man. To some the captain gives a kiss on each cheek, others get a warm hand shake. While transacting business with one person, he somehow acknowledges each person approaching the table long before he has a chance to take their cash, give them a receipt for fuel or whatever, and address the needs of the next person. Like everyone jockeying for fuel, there is no line, it is a throng! But somehow it all works, everyone gets taken care of, no shouting cursing, or anything remotely like that. The non fuel supplies disappear toward the main road. The fork lifts having gathered their goods on pallets move off, and one by one the vehicles needing fuel begin to thin out.

I join the throng at the table while Gail keeps an eye on our jerry jugs. When I finally got to speak to the captain, he corrected my 30 gallons (113 liters according to an application on my I-Phone) to 111 liters, then proceeded to tell me that it will be something like 17,534 Polynesian Franks). As I start pulling out money to pay him, Gail materializes at my side and starts reorganizing the cash I'm sorting out so we can pay the captain the exact amount. Some extra falls on the table and the captain quickly scoops it up and says enough, enough, but doesn't hand back any change. We don't know how much we've just lost but figure it's probably just a few buck US and move off with our receipt to show the guy dispensing the diesel that we've paid. He then promptly fills our jugs - not just to the "full" line but to the fill opening. We definitely get more than 30 gallons. The captain's happy - he got over paid, we're happy to have our jugs over filled, and the guy dispensing the diesel is happy to be rid of yet another person in line. It all works out!

We got back to Music just before dark, but the scene at the quay goes on for perhaps another three hours. Finally, with no more apparent customers, the supply ship shoves off for it's next destination, another island here in the Tuamotu's. Tomorrow, the whole scene will be repeated on another island, at another port, until the supplies are gone. Then the ship will return to Papeete for another load of supplies and start making the rounds again.

Hi Everyone - Gail here. John does such a great job giving you updates that I haven't had much need to write, but felt that I could add a few things here. We just finished having appetizers of brie, pate, and baguette. Even here in the remote Toamotus we get baguette and pate with no problem. The brie we picked up in the Marquesas and just finished it off. We can get food here, but the selection is limited especially with vegetables and fruits. Just after the fuel supply ship left, the other supply ship came in and the stores are more well stocked. I managed to pick up some lettuce and tomatoes from the veggie stand which I consider quite a score. We have certainly come to appreciate the grocery stores of the US and Mexico for availability and variety. But the availability of fresh tuna here can't be beat. While John was waiting for the diesel, I picked up some fresh tuna right off the boat. It seems that Tatui, the husband of the woman who runs the local restaurant goes out fishing for her a couple times a week and he shared some of his catch with me. One kilo, around 2 lbs, for 1,000 French Polynesia Francs - roughly about $12 US. We had a great sashimi dinner and more tuna left for another meal.

This local restaurant, Snack Tevara, is run by Yvonne who is from the Marquesas. Her husband is born and raised here in Fakarava. The term restaurant doesn't seem quite right - we'd probably call it a cafe by the beach. Yvonne's is open Fri - Sun for dinner only. She serves poisson cru (raw fish marinated in lime juice with coconut milk), a great chicken chow mein, and steak with frittes (french fries). Her restaurant is the only one in town so it's been fun to go for dinner and interact with the locals. It's bring your own wine and music. People bring their boom boxes and listen to Polynesian music while they eat dinner. We've gotten to know Yvonne and Tatui a bit. They go to Anchorage Alaska in July to visit with friends and fish up there. They've been doing this for many years. Their friend has a vineyard in Oregon, but my mind fails me as I can't remember the name. It really is a small world in some respects. Here we are in what we consider a remote area of the world, and one of the locals has a friend who owns a vineyard in Oregon.

That's it for now. Time to make dinner, whose highlight will be a salad with lettuce and tomato! We haven't had a salad in almost 2 weeks and are craving the crunch. Bon soir mes amis!