Scootering Along
Monday, October 5th – With the prevailing wind from the SE, it is seldom that we have been able to sail out to Isle des Pins. The best that can usually be hoped for is light winds into which one must motor. With a 5-hour trek ahead of us, the anchor is raised at 0630, as the winds tend to be lighter in the morning. Motoring out from the Baie de Prony, we turn south, going around the Bonne Anse light that we saw on our hike yesterday.
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Just before noon, we drop anchor in Baie Kuto on the Isle des Pins. There are several other anchorages on the island, but we have never visited them either because they are too shallow or the winds have been blowing in the wrong direction. This time, before leaving Nouméa, we had been warned to only anchor in Baie Kuto. We were told that the locals around some of the other bays no longer welcome cruisers. We mark this as another sign of growing discord among the Kanak tribes and have no intention to trespass. Isle des Pins, however, is a popular tourist destination, and it is to Baie Kuto that local tourist boats from Nouméa and the humungous cruise ships touring the Pacific come for a day to disgorge their passengers on the white sand beach. The locals set up small stands along the beach selling trinkets, beach ware, handmade bead jewelry, small carvings and locally made food such as cakes, breads and even lobsters! It is quite festive out there on the beach when all those tourists arrive. Us yachties usually stay quietly on our boats until they and their ships depart in the late afternoon!
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Wednesday, October 9th – Much of what there is to do on Isle des Pins we have done several times on prior visits. There are the ruins of the old prison to visit, a hike up Pic N’ga and, of course, trips out to the Boulangerie for the day’s fresh baguettes. Just walking down the road lined with the tall column pines, for which the island is named, is a treat.
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On the eastern side of the island, there is the Meridien Hotel which is supposed to have an excellent restaurant. We have wanted to anchor off the beach there to visit, but the wind must be dependably blowing in the right direction to make this shallow anchorage tenable. We have never been able to make it there by boat, but we hear from a neighboring cruiser that scooters are available to rent. The roads are good and well-marked. It only takes a few hours to tour around the island, and there are several sites worth seeing. We decide to go find this scooter rental, and though The First Mate has never been on a scooter, she’s game to give it a try.
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Find it we do tucked in the hinterlands at a campground off a bumpy, rutted sand track. The paved road is nowhere near. Strange location, but they do have a lot of scooters. Forms are filled out. Helmets fitted, and basic directions on how to start, stop and lock the scooter are explained. We’re off!
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We scoot down the sandy track half walking the thing through the soft sand, but once on the road, we are fine. “We” is not really the operative word at the moment, for The First Mate has to get the hang of being seated on the tail-end of a scooter where one is totally unable to see ahead or has no control over anything. A bike she can ride, but a scooter, a motorcycle of any kind, is another animal to her. Talk about faith! She just hopes The Captain really knows what he’s doing and that this thing doesn’t decide to stop short for some reason of its own.
After several twists and turns of her shoulders and back, she finally figures out how to place the helmet, bobbling around on her head, in such a way that she can somewhat see ahead without it vibrating against The Captain’s helmet irritating both of us. Scared to lean too far to one side to get a better view for fear of unbalancing the thing, she contents herself with a one-eyed view of the road ahead. “This is fun,” she mutters, but he can’t hear her over the sound of motor and wind. In less than 5 minutes, she decides this adventure is definitely a one-off event! It’s a good way to get around for one day for a few hours. That’s it unless The Captain would allow her to rent her own scooter, but he maintains that she’d probably hurt herself on the thing. He obviously has less faith in her than she in him!
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Scootering along, for the max speed of this thing is only 30 mph, we finally reach the bridge which crosses over to The Meridien Hotel. By now, The First Mate’s whole back side is numb, and her knees and ankles ache from trying to hold them facing forward rather than at a more comfortable and ungainly angle outward. Cautiously, she dismounts, but that’s a struggle, too, because her short legs will not clear the seat of the scooter. “Lean the thing over so I can get off!” she demands. Straining to not drop the overly heavy thing sideways on the ground, The Captain complies. He thinks this is all hilarious. She does not.
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We enjoy a nice lunch in The Meridien’s restaurant overlooking the beach and beautiful blue water. How civilized! We walk along the beach for a while. It’s warm. How nice it would be to stay here and dapple in the water, but there’s more road ahead and island to discover. Onward to the Scooter!
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We scooter up hill and down, around bends and along straight stretches. We had motored through the one town, Vao, hours ago, but now only shrub and more shrub greet the eye with an occasional homestead stuck well off the road. We had one moment of angst when not realizing how much of a hill lay ahead of us and not giving the thing enough of a running start, we stalled out and nearly fell over near the top of the hill. Only a bicycle rider saw this embarrassing spectacle and waved cheerily as he peddled past us while we pushed the scooter to the top. They do rent bikes on this island, but looking at the state of the bikes, she thinks we’re smarter on the scooter.
We see 3 dogs running out from a driveway. A moment of panic ensues, but thankfully, they ignore us. What a good thing these people don’t have scooter-chasing guard dogs! No dogs, no people, few cars on the road, if her body did not feel so other worldly, this might even qualify as a pleasant drive in the country.
A side road leading down to Baie de Crabbes proves to be a very nice residential area with small local homes nestled back off the road. Clothes are out on lines drying, gardens have been planted and an occasional child can be seen. The First Mate even risks freeing a hand to wave and gets a friendly wave in return. That’s a good sign. The road ends at the beach, and if The Captain had not stopped the thing for a vista, she would have requested he do so to get her numb body back into working order.
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As The Captain turns the scooter around to face the long road back out to the main road ……
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…. she, gazing at the thing as she stretches to ease the stiffness, decides that it looks more like a child’s toy than an adult mode of transportation. Thinking that he is having the time of his life, she is relieved to hear him complain about his cramped position scrunched at the forward end of the seat, the vibrations of the handle bars, and the stinging bits of rock that keep hitting his hands and arms. Riding up front has negatives, too. With a sigh, she swings her leg up and over to settle back down on the minimally cushioned seat.
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Scootering through the little town of Vao on our way back, we explore more of the area and are pleasantly surprised at what a clean and well-ordered place it is. Somewhere along the water, there is supposed to be an area where the locals keep their handmade dugout sailing boats. Can we find it? We do. Painted brightly and bobbing on the water, they are a pretty sight.
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We stop at the one and only gas station on the island to refill the tank for a mere $2.00. At least the thing isn’t a gas hog. Returning the way we came, we motor back toward the scooter rental agency. Fortunately, there is a small resort at the bottom of the sand track leading to the scooter yard. Not eager to take on that stretch again, The First Mate is dropped off while The Captain makes the return. The walk back to our bay feels ever so good as we stretch out cramped muscles and limbs. We are glad we took on this adventure. It was fun to explore the island, but would either of us do it again? …. NO.