 |
| Waiting for the ferry |
Since dropping Mark off in Tahiti last week, life has been
pretty busy. It started on Thursday, when we needed an early start, even though
Mark’s plane didn’t leave until 11pm at night. Some last minute preparations
onboard were followed by a lift to the rainy ferry dock. Our Tahitian friend
Pierrette was so kind to drop us and our heavy load off with plenty of time to
catch the 9am
Terevau to Papeete.
This boat is faster and cheaper than the Aremiti ferries, and it runs on time!
Once in Tahiti, a van from Hertz brought us to the airport, where we hired a
car for the day. Then, we needed to buy a fiscal stamp at the post office (9000
XPF), in order to pay for Mark’s residency card extension, which needed to be
arranged at the Haut-commissariat office in Papeete before 11:30am. All went
well at the Haut-commissariat de la République en Polynésie française and Mark
can now legally enter the country again, if he needs to come back soon.
The reason for our car rental, unlike other times, was
solely for our own conveniences, to store all the luggage and have a little
refuge for the (wet) day. We had seen the sights of Tahiti Nui on several
occasions, so to kill time, we drove out to Tahiti Iti, the southeast peninsula
of the island. We hoped to eat our lunch at the top of a mountain, but when we
missed the unmarked roads to this belvedere, we ate our sandwich in the
frontier village of Tautira instead. Tahiti Iti is much quieter than its bigger
brother and we enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. Mountain cliffs rise close to
the road, and multiple waterfalls plummet along its edges. When we finally
found a road to the summit, rain clouds had enveloped it and the view was
non-existent. The temperature was a lovely 73°F (23°C) up there, so we savored
the cool climate for some well-needed rest. We were not in a hurry.
When happy hour came along, we met our friends Christian (SV
Pitufa) and Valentine and Tor (SV Yum Yum) at Casa Bianca in Marina Taina. It
was great to catch up with them and we had a lovely final evening in the
tropics for Mark. The last ferry to Moorea had long departed, so I spent the
night at anchor on Pitufa. It took a while to get used to the rolling motion of
the monohull and to be “at sea” again. Irie has been in a marina since April
and we spent two months on land in New Zealand, so I have long lost my sea
legs!
 |
| Four Choices in Papeete harbor |
After Mark left to Boston, I have had a few adventures of my
own. I met the owner of our previous boat Four Choices in Papeete, which
brought back memories. He showed me around our old boat and images of nasty
boat projects, comfortable marina life with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge in
San Francisco and our dogs Darwin and Kali sprang to life. We owned the boat in
California for 9 months and lived on it full time for five, before we set off
towards Mexico in September 2005. The dogs hated the heeling in the Pacific, I
was horrendously seasick and the first day out caused a rip in the mainsail and
engine trouble. So, after two days – we had only reached Monterrey – we put the
boat up for sale and a whole other adventure ensued.
The following morning, I got up at 4:30am to catch the 6am
ferry to Tahiti with some gear to sell at the flea market in Marina Taina. It
was another drizzly day and not a lot of people showed up, but it was another
event I could mark off the list. Sunday, the Moorea Rendez-vous party in Cook’s
Bay concluded a series of Puddle Jump 2015 events and I decided to check in and
see what the hype was all about. Mark and I crossed the Pacific Ocean two years
ago, but were never involved with the Puddle Jump crowds. The atmosphere and
attendance was overwhelming! I stood by and watched the activities, while
meeting up with the crew of Four Choices again and hanging out with a Dutch single
hander. The rides there and back while hitchhiking proved to be interesting as
well.
Some errands and a meet-up with an American ex-pat filled my
Monday, and yesterday afternoon and evening, I was invited over to our friends’
Pierrette and Thierry’s house here in Moorea. We had a nice time hanging out,
chatting and eating, and my French received a serious brush-up! After five
continuous hours of it, this language had consumed me and my thoughts! And so
my Moorea days are flying by very fast. My schedule is filling up and there is
still so much to do: people to meet, waterfalls to be discovered, projects to
attend to and preparations to be made…
 |
| Lunch at a park in Tautira on Tahiti Iti |
 |
| One of the steep waterfalls along the road to Tautira |
 |
| Driving through pastures in the hills - yes, this is Tahiti! |
 |
| The "no" viewpoint |
 |
| The road back down from the summit |
 |
| Happy hour with SV Yum Yum |
 |
| Sharing a 1/2 meter pizza with Christian - the right amount for 3 people! |
 |
| Meeting Bob and our old boat Four Choices - she still looks the same! |
 |
| With Darwin and Kali on Four Choices in California (summer 2005) |
 |
| Band at the Puddle Jump Moorea Rendez-vous |
 |
| Dancers at the Rendez-vous party |
 |
| I have never seen this many cruising boats and dinghies in pretty Cook's Bay! |
 |
| Pierrette showing one of her quilts - they require heaps of work! Every little colorful piece of fabric is hand-sewn to the other ones. |
 |
| A yummy Polynesian dinner with taro, sweet bananas, poisson cru, fried fish, rice and baguette |
 |
| ... and Chinese cabbage (bokchoy) |
 |
| Enjoying good food and good company with Thierry and Pierrette |
 |
| It is a beautiful day in Vaiare today - the first one in a long time! |
 |
| Irie in Vaiare Marina with Tahiti in the background |
 |
| Vaiare Marina is very well protected by the surrounding mountains |
 |
| Tahiti across the channel today: no cloud in the sky on this crisp, sunny day! |
Since dropping Mark off in Tahiti last week, life has been
pretty busy. It started on Thursday, when we needed an early start, even though
Mark’s plane didn’t leave until 11pm at night. Some last minute preparations
onboard were followed by a lift to the rainy ferry dock. Our Tahitian friend
Pierrette was so kind to drop us and our heavy load off with plenty of time to
catch the 9am Terevau to Papeete.
This boat is faster and cheaper than the Aremiti ferries, and it runs on time!
Once in Tahiti, a van from Hertz brought us to the airport, where we hired a
car for the day. Then, we needed to buy a fiscal stamp at the post office (9000
XPF), in order to pay for Mark’s residency card extension, which needed to be
arranged at the Haut-commissariat office in Papeete before 11:30am. All went
well at the Haut-commissariat de la République en Polynésie française and Mark
can now legally enter the country again, if he needs to come back soon.
The reason for our car rental, unlike other times, was
solely for our own conveniences, to store all the luggage and have a little
refuge for the (wet) day. We had seen the sights of Tahiti Nui on several
occasions, so to kill time, we drove out to Tahiti Iti, the southeast peninsula
of the island. We hoped to eat our lunch at the top of a mountain, but when we
missed the unmarked roads to this belvedere, we ate our sandwich in the
frontier village of Tautira instead. Tahiti Iti is much quieter than its bigger
brother and we enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. Mountain cliffs rise close to
the road, and multiple waterfalls plummet along its edges. When we finally
found a road to the summit, rain clouds had enveloped it and the view was
non-existent. The temperature was a lovely 73°F (23°C) up there, so we savored
the cool climate for some well-needed rest. We were not in a hurry.
When happy hour came along, we met our friends Christian (SV
Pitufa) and Valentine and Tor (SV Yum Yum) at Casa Bianca in Marina Taina. It
was great to catch up with them and we had a lovely final evening in the
tropics for Mark. The last ferry to Moorea had long departed, so I spent the
night at anchor on Pitufa. It took a while to get used to the rolling motion of
the monohull and to be “at sea” again. Irie has been in a marina since April
and we spent two months on land in New Zealand, so I have long lost my sea
legs!
The following morning, I got up at 4:30am to catch the 6am
ferry to Tahiti with some gear to sell at the flea market in Marina Taina. It
was another drizzly day and not a lot of people showed up, but it was another
event I could mark off the list. Sunday, the Moorea Rendez-vous party in Cook’s
Bay concluded a series of Puddle Jump 2015 events and I decided to check in and
see what the hype was all about. Mark and I crossed the Pacific Ocean two years
ago, but were never involved with the Puddle Jump crowds. The atmosphere and
attendance was overwhelming! I stood by and watched the activities, while
meeting up with the crew of Four Choices again and hanging out with a Dutch single
hander. The rides there and back while hitchhiking proved to be interesting as
well.
Some errands and a meet-up with an American ex-pat filled my
Monday, and yesterday afternoon and evening, I was invited over to our friends’
Pierrette and Thierry’s house here in Moorea. We had a nice time hanging out,
chatting and eating, and my French received a serious brush-up! After five
continuous hours of it, this language had consumed me and my thoughts! And so
my Moorea days are flying by very fast. My schedule is filling up and there is
still so much to do: people to meet, waterfalls to be discovered, projects to
attend to and preparations to be made…
