From the Tuamotus we headed for Tahiti..."The Cartier of holiday destinations" according to one of our tour guides. He coined this phrase in his explanation for the fact that many of the 5 star hotel resorts on the island have gone out of business in the face of the current economic crisis.
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Troubled Paradise.
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Crisis or no crisis, the Society Islands are true gems. We spent 3 weeks in the area, enjoying one marvellous anchorage after the next in the company of our friends Keith and Lindy...who had braved the mammoth journey from Cape Town via New Zealand to taste this tropical treasure.
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Lindy shopping for Grass skirts in Papeete Market.
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Our boom had been admirably repaired by Eddie, the Oyster Doctor, as soon as we arrived in Tahiti so Legend IV is now in ship shape and, fingers crossed, will remain so all the way back to Antigua!
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| Cook Bay, Moorea...Legend back in business. |
For good measure, Oyster arranged to have the skippers of the fleet blessed by a Tahitian priest..just to cover all the bases and to keep the wind Gods smiling gently and sweetly on us all!
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| Feeling a little self conscious Skip? |
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The Big Kahuna busy anointing.
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Continuing my geography lesson of the previous blog, the Society Islands are middle aged in geological terms. They consist of volcanic inner islands surrounded by coral reefs..the best of both worlds...much the same as a middle aged man?
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| Middle aged man in search of surf spots! |
I could go on for hours about the Society Isles..we are in Bora Bora at the moment. "The Pearl of the Pacific" according to Captain Cook.
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| Sailing into Bora Bora..Keith checking to see if surf's up. |
We toured the island on a motorbike...ate at Bloody Mary's (twice). ..AND.... Al bought me a fabulous pair of black pearl earrings...embellished with diamonds! So it was worth the wait and all is forgiven....Thanks Skip!
Love the beautiful pearls, Jean - how fabulous! Your trip continues to sound idyllic (well mostly)...we miss you in CT! When is Nic joining you? x Brenda
ReplyDeleteIt was the most idyllic holiday destination, for me who's not a sailor, it was more than five star accommodation, Jean you were the best hostess ever, and Alan you weren't bad either!
ReplyDeleteHope your kids have arrived safely and that Nicole got all the goodies you needed. Safe journey for the rest of your adventure, see u in Cape Town in November! Love Lindy and Keith
Hi Jean,
ReplyDeleteI finally found you. The link I had did not work, so Carey gave me this one. I can hardly wait to start reading from the beginning...
Comish and I had an adventure of our own as we 4x4'd in the S-N-O-W in the Matroosberg. He tried out his skis, boots, bindings, knees, and hips...they all worked, so we are planning to ski at Tiffindell later this year.
Much love, many blessings and myiad more adventures,
Vonna
Hi Jean!
ReplyDeleteThis is Joanne & Travis aboard Calico Jack. Of course, you haven't heard from me since Panama but I have checked the site a couple of times to see your whereabouts. Love your blogs, by the way!
We arrived in Tahiti a couple of days ago. We've been loving French Polynesia and are finding it a suitable reward for our 29-day Pacific crossing! I understand you had some trouble with your boom? We blew our transmission 12 hours out of Galapagos but kept on trucking anyway. It's a testament to the fact that big or small, any boat will take a beating on that crossing and we fared pretty well considering how some other boats limped in.
Anyway, just wanted to touch base and thank you again for your help at Shelter Bay. The gum, I found out, has the same active ingredient as our Dramamine, which makes me tired and dopey; however, well-timed, it was fast-acting and did the trick (remember my insomnia thing!). I've since leveled out with the whole seasickness thing. The first few days are moderately lousy -but nothing like it was- and then I'm fine. Good thing. We have a lot of planet left to go!
Blue skies,
Joanne