I'm the kind of person that views much of the world in terms of investments and returns. I would consider myself a goal-oriented hard worker, and I enjoy being productive. I also value my time very highly.
To be completely honest, there are parts of our twenty day crossing that were difficult for me. There were times that I felt stagnant, unproductive, and full of useless energy. Twenty days was quite a price to pay.
However, the crossing was more than anything, an investment... with an uncertain return. Twenty days of anybody's time is worth quite a lot - and it is this cost that keeps many people from sailing across the Pacific. I wondered what our payoff would be. I had heard stories about the Marquesas ... but would it all be worth it? How many islands would I have to visit, how many sights would I have to see, how many days-weeks-months would it take... for it all to be worth it?
On May 1st, 2010, one minute after our anchor was set... it was all worth it. The payoff was immediate. We arrived at sunset. It was soon too dark to appreciate it clearly, but you could see that we were anchored in a tiny cove surrounded by towering cliffs. I could barely sleep that night.
The next morning I awoke before sunrise. I sat alone on the deck in total awe of the sight before me. Rocks shot out of the ocean, palm trees, grass, and forest barely clinging to their slopes.
And the smell.
Just as we had travelled over 3,000 nm, so does every bit of air and moisture in the Marquesas. Foreign particles fall out many miles earlier, and all that is left is the same unadulterated, moist wind that carried us from San Cristobal. This air suddenly crashes into a mountain half a mile high and gives birth to one of the purest rain forests in the works.
We were anchored on the lee side of the island, so we experienced the brunt of the most magnificent, lush, and pure forest air I have ever breathed.
Still in my pajamas, I caught a ride to shore with a French man on his way to fill up water.
Maybe it was only the foreign sensation of land, but stepping ashore at Fatu Hiva made the prior twenty days absolutely, and unequivocally... worth it.