We’ve made the somewhat painful transition from Portland, Oregon to French Polynesia and will be in Tahiti for a bit as a stop over before we get to the boat. Right now, the waves are so huge out on the reef, that much of their energy is left to create waves that crash on the beach near us. For those of you who are surfers, Teahupoo has some great surf today! We are sitting in front of our little cottage in Punaauia enjoying the sounds of the pounding surf while the girl sleeps in the little loft, and the geckos are hunting for insects around the light over our head.

It has been a little more busy than normal because the next cottage over was rented by some folks from the the Tahiti Tattoo Association to celebrate the celebrate the end of their convention. They spent the day here playing music and Pitonke (Pee-tonk-eh), which is like boules or bocci. Seeing their tattoos and chatting with them, I am inspired to get a tattoo! I have never had any interest, yet here, each tattoo tells a story of the person’s life. Not one bit of it is casual and every swirl and micro design has meaning. Many of the designs are generations old, and tradition indicates that it is done in black ink.

I asked one guy, if I were interested, how would I choose an artist… His response was incredible. He said, “you have to go around and talk with each one, have a beer or a cup of coffee and see if you have a connection. They will be the illustrator of your story, so you must have a connection of the heart.” All of this was in french, so I was not sure I understood… yet I had. “Take a day, walk around town, go into each shop and have a chat with them. You will know which one is right for you.” “Right”, I said, “but although I speak a little french, a conversation like that is not easy.” He said, “The conversation is one of the heart, and there is where you want to have fluency.”