The Return to the Ailuk Villages

Of course we did not spent our whole two months playing with our kites.  We also did maintenance on the boat ...  Oh, and spent time with visiting the two villages in Ailuk Atoll: the larger Ailuk village in the south and the smaller Enejelar village in the north.  Ailuk has a population of approximately 300 while there are about seven families in Enejelar.  Not a lot of yachts visit Ailuk.  We were apparently the second since October and we were the only yacht there for much of visit again.

We spent six weeks in Ailuk Atoll in 2017 so it was great to come back and meet our friends again.  One of the perks of cruising is all the new adventures but sometimes it is nice to go were you know your way around and are welcomed with open arms.

The first stop was to Ailuk village to clear into the atoll and to visit with Anious and Emily.  They are great hosts to the yachts that come visit.  Anious, call sign Pumpkin, also is active on the local SSB net.

Anious grating up some coconut for us.

Liz and Emily cooking dinner.

We were in the atoll of in time for Anious's birthday again so we returned to the anchorage in front of his house for the party.

Always a large following on the beach.  Benjamin is not a big fan of the attention.

At the head table for Anious's birthday (again)

Emily and the ladies hard at work

Benjamin and his friend Emila.

We saw this little piggy getting loaded onto the sailing canoe from the other village in anticipation of the dinner Anious and Emily put on for the two yachts (Fluenta and Free Spirit) in the lagoon.

Hard to grow much fruit or vegetables in Ailuk but thankfully Benjamin like the pandanus that grows here.

and, of course, the coconuts are always popular.

Off to the church where Anious is the minister.

In the north of the atoll is Enenjelar where we actually have spent more time than the main village.  There are only about seven families there so it is much smaller.  They have limited access to fresh supplies so we try to bring material for trading that will be useful to them. When we were there this March the supply ship had not been to the atoll since Christmas and there was no scheduled return visit.

Heading ashore with trading goods and gifts.

The old clothing that we have collected over time was popular.

and then trading for handicrafts - one of their few cash crops.  There will be a separate blog post on handicrafts so more to follow.

The transport in Ailuk is almost exclusively by sailing canoe which is awesome.  We wrote about it last time here:  http://sv-fluenta.blogspot.com/2017/04/ailuk-traditional-sailing-canoes.html  In this case however the clever folks adapted a Necky sea kayak that drifted to the atoll with outriggers.  Unfortunately it had some holes in the bottom so I was asked if I could fix it.

Johnathan and I fixing the canoe.   We filled in the holes with JB Plastic Weld and then put on a patch with 3M 5200. 

Johnathan adding a bottom layer with tape so the Plastic Weld had a smooth bottom.

Back to the school.  Talking about our trip and Canada with the globe.

Liz reading to the class some of the books we left with the school.  Fluenta is a bit lighter now.

Meanwhile Victoria kept working on her knitting much to the amusement of the ladies.

School time: Liz reading and Benjamin doing puzzles with his friends.

Some of the posters can't really resonant here:  Not a lot of trains, electric stoves or even bicycles here.

Lots of games in the school yard.  The kids were really good with Benjamin

Baseball !

The volleyball was a popular gift.

Ladies busy making handicrafts.  Handicrafts are one of the main "cash crops" here.

One of the kitchens in Enejelar.

Lunch provided while I worked on the canoe:  chicken and dried fish.  We declined the giant clam this time.

The ladies in the village.

Our old baby carrier finds a new home.

The other cash crop: copra.

Liz and Darlene.  Darlene is one of the two teachers and has always acted as our host.

The sailing canoe still floating and with a new sail from SV Sweet Dreams.

The beach at low tide.