The Liebster Award is an unofficial award given by cruisers
to cruisers to bring awareness to their blogs and to promote stories and blog
posts about the cruising lifestyle. Although I have yet to see the Liebster Award
actually being awarded, it all seems to start with nominations. When you are
nominated for the Liebster Award by a person who enjoys reading your
blog, you are to send thanks to your “awarder” by posting a link to his/her
blog site, answer ten questions posed to you (and to 5-10 other blog
writers they nominated), and nominate up to ten blogs you like or think that
stand out by asking those writers ten new questions. These nominations can be
accepted, declined or ignored, and although this method seems to present a
modern form of chain letters (or an innocent “pyramid scheme” according to Mark :-)), the whole exercise
is good-humored, harmless, relaxed and a fun thing to do. This tradition will
get the word out about blogs that are worthwhile and will hopefully provide the
readers with an amusing and interesting insight in the cruising life.
So, I will start off by thanking my super friend and long term
cruiser Rosie of SV Wandering Star and
Phil and Aimee of SV Terrapin, who are itching to set out on their own cruising
adventure with their two kids, for nominating our blog “It’s Irie” for the Liebster Award. This
nomination has been going around for a while, hence we received two nominations back to back. To avoid this from happening a third time, I cannot wait
any longer and have to write this blog post now! :-)
Because of the double nomination, we received two lists of
ten questions. Here is what Rosie wanted to know:
1.
Where are you and your boat right now?
Moorea, French Polynesia, South Pacific
2.
What do you like best about cruising?
The wildlife encounters, the peacefulness, the adventure, the gift
of time, being one with nature, the different cultures, islands and sights we
get to experience and see – something that might be impossible otherwise
because of their location and prohibitive cost to visit.
3.
What three items can you not live without on your boat?
My husband, our dinghy, our fridge, propane, rainwater,
electricity (solar panels, wind generator, batteries), camera, computer – hmmm,
I guess these are more than three items, but all needed to function on our
boat. :-)
4.
What is the best piece of equipment you have bought for your boat
in the last year?
New jib and new anchor chain; again both needed. We only buy
things for the boat that are really required.
5.
Do you jump into the water head first or feet first?
Tippy toes first! Feet first when it has to go quick; head first
when naked (otherwise I lose my bikini).
6.
What is your favourite sun downer tipple?
Rum and coke in the Caribbean; a glass of red wine for me and a
glass of beer for Mark since being in French Polynesia
7.
What makes an ideal anchorage for you?
A quiet, comfortable anchorage in 10 feet of clear water over a
sandy bottom with healthy reefs within swimming distance
8.
Where is your favourite anchorage?
If I would tell anyone, it wouldn’t be quiet anymore! :-)
9.
What hobbies or pastimes do you have when not doing boat
maintenance?
Writing, reading, snorkeling, hiking – free activities to make up
for all the money spent on boat maintenance…
10.
What is your favourite knot?
If you don’t know how
to tie a knot, tie a lot! But, the bowline remains my favorite!
And these are the questions from SV Terrapin:
1.
What
was the defining moment when you knew that you had to set sail?
Buying Irie in Annapolis in 2007,
discovering that our dogs Kali and Darwin liked the catamaran, receiving my
Greencard (which we only needed for me to stay long enough until Irie was ready
to go, but we were ready before the Greencard arrived) and sensing new adventures.
2.
What's
the one comfort you wish you had while cruising?
A pressurized shower with warm water… and
ice cream
3.
How
long do you plan to be out? Is it until the money runs out or are your
plans finite?
Until we are ready to do something
different, but not less exciting.
4.
What
is the most awesome place you have visited so far?
Galapagos Islands – runner up: San Blas
Islands in Panama
5.
What
is the least awesome place you have visited so far?
Curaçao – runner up: mainland Panama (not so
much for the countries themselves, but for the negative experiences we had
there)
6.
What
advice would you give our family as we're about to set out?
Don’t go overboard preparing and equipping
your boat if it means postponing your departure – you will figure things out
along the way and prioritize by experience which items are required for your
life aboard. Also: don’t rush anywhere, try to avoid being on a schedule, and
take the weather into consideration – always!
7.
What
is the one place that you can't wait to visit?
There are just too many (only some of them boat-related)… But,
let’s just say Tonga for now.
8.
Wine?
Beer? Margaritas? Feel free say all of the above
All of the above amongst both of us.
9.
Do
you ever get sick of your crew? What do you do for personal space on a
boat?
This is a toughie… :-)
No, we don’t get sick of each other. When I need personal space, I go down into
one of the hulls or go for a swim; when Mark needs personal space, he just
(mentally) blocks me out and focusses on what’s on hand.
10.
What
is the one non-essential item on your boat that you would not want to live
without?
The dinghy (based on Rosie’s similar question higher up, I should
probably answer “my husband” here…)
Although we don’t have the internet sources to
follow a lot of blogs, I do enjoy reading the stories of friends we met along
the way. These are the blogs that I nominate for the Liebster Award, to keep
the momentum, recognition and interest going:
I understand the internet limitations of most
cruisers and I respect everyone’s choice as to participate in the Liebster
Award or not. For those blogger friends of us who are interested to continue
the Liebster Award tradition, here are my questions to you:
1)
What prompted you to start cruising?
2)
What is your ultimate goal with this adventure (reaching a certain
destination, circumnavigation, personal achievement …)?
3)
Name five things you do every day on your boat that you wouldn’t
do if you were to have a different lifestyle.
4)
How do you make your relationship work onboard?
5)
What makes you smile?
6)
What is the boat chore you dread most? Feel free to mention more
than one!
7)
What do you love about your floating home?
8)
What would you change about your boat if money is not an issue?
9)
Which anchorage do you prefer: a snorkeler’s dream or a hiker’s
paradise?
10) What has been
your personal highlight since living aboard? And your personal nightmare?
Thanks for reading and participating!
The Belvedere is one of the highlights for tourists visiting
this popular and beautiful island. A road gently slopes towards and impressive
viewpoint, where people gather to take pictures of the surroundings. A bench is
strategically placed in the shade; it should be reserved for the ones huffing
it up by foot. :-) Mark
and I started out walking on the sunny road, but once we reached the marae
(archeological site), we picked up a trail leading to the Belvedere. We could
chose: road, sun, traffic - fumes, noise and being “pushed” to the side – or
path, shade and mosquitoes. We picked the second option, applied bug repellent,
and had a nice walk up.
From the Belvedere, two trails start in different
directions, branching off to more points along the way. None of these trails
have signs (they want tourists to hire a guide), so you take a bit of a risk
not knowing where you will end up. We started west, thinking we would reach
another bench and then somehow end up back down in Opunohu valley. We found the
bench with a nice view, but after completing somewhat of a circular route, ended
up back at the Belvedere. Huh? Looking
for an alternative way to descend, we backtracked the trail we had arrived on
and took a split, away from the main route. It was a lovely hike through the
forests, with an unexpected and impressive open view once we reached a
pineapple plantation in the valley. Since the trail seemed to have vanished, we
followed the dirt access road which ended up on the “Route de Ananas”. Not
knowing where to pick up another track to the bay from there, we were “forced”
to walk back on the steaming hot asphalt road back to the dinghy. We have more
exploring to do in regards to trailheads!
Two days later, we set out again from Opunohu Bay. This
time, we managed to hitchhike half way up to the Belvedere. A short climb
brought us back to the marae, from where we followed a trail marked “trois pins”
(one of the few signs around!). Shady and well-maintained, these paths are
great! As long as you – kind of – know where you are going. After an hour of
climbing, we reached the viewpoint of the “three pines” (yes, there are
actually three pine trees and a shady log to sit on), from where we beheld the
two northern bays, some of the reefs and a few impressive peaks. The idea was
to follow a “ridge trail” down to Cook’s Bay, where we hoped to arrive an hour
later, do some grocery shopping (there are no stores nor baguettes at the head
of Opunohu Bay), and order a sandwich for lunch…
We could see a steep trail leading down on the other side of
“trois pins”, but according to our Moorea map in Lonely Planet, the path we
were looking for, went the other way; a split from the trail we arrived on. So,
we headed in that direction, and started hiking, up and down, along the
mountain range. Before long, Cook’s Bay was a body of water in the distance,
only getting smaller with every step we took. Not willing to believe that we
hooked up with a well-kept, but non-existing trail according to all the maps,
we kept on walking, our feet slanted on the narrow side of the mountains. The path would have to bend back and down
soon, for sure! Nope… More and more it started to dawn on us that we were
headed for the pass overlooking Vaiare, the top of a mountain we had climbed up
and over a few weeks ago. It was located on the east side of Moorea. At least
we knew how to get back to Cook’s Bay from there!
A couple of hours later – hungry and thirsty (we weren’t
prepared for a day hike) – we reached the Vaiare viewpoint. This time,
unobscured by rain and mist, we could see the surrounding peaks and Vaiare Bay.
Who would have thought we’d ever make it back up here? A very steep descend
followed, while we were holding on to tree trunks and roots. The last part of
the walk was easy and flat, but the rain had returned! 
