Our friend Mu has the heartiest laugh ever. He made Hiva Oa home for us. For our last night in the island he prepared a feast: “chevre à la broche”, which is wild goat on the BBQ marinated with secret sauces. Dinner was also served with the usual feast of poisson cru and other Marquesan dishes.

Hunting for wild goat and pig is part of Marquesan daily life. There is a bountiful supply of both on every island. Since Mu loves both fishing and hunting, he has a special technique for catching goats: he finds goats that are perched precipitously on a cliff over the ocean, shoots them with a rifle from his rolling dinghy, in such a way that they fall into the water. Then he scoops them up like fish.

This is a very tough shot and not many people can make it. But if you can, it sure is easier than trekking up the steep mountainous valley of Marquesas. Mu tells us this story and then laughs even more heartily.

Photo: Sabrina and Celine (a fellow cruiser) with Mu. Our crew was also at the goat roast, their first evening with us (Matt, Judy, and Adam’s family).