No major squalls last night so that is good. The first day out was boisterous and the seas were agitated so it was a bumpy ride. That night was a drag, lots of squalls and a major one kicked us around at 4am. I just hate that number! We're sailing due south to Raroia, a more remote atoll in the Tuamotus. If we were going more westerly we would be having a smoother sail with the swells more from behind instead of right on our side. Right now we've got 87 miles to go and it's 6:15 in the morning. At this rate we expect to be outside the atoll at around 3:30 am tomorrow morning. We'll heave to outside and float around until the morning. Then we'll watch for a slack tide and enter our first coral atoll. We've dreamt of this for years. Can't wait to experience it.
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After two relaxing days we're ready to head to the Tuamotus Archipelago, first stop is Raroia. This trip is around 420 miles and should take four or five days. I'm not really looking forward to the passage but you've got to do it to get to paradise. We're hoping for some glorious weather and easy sailing but you never know what you're going to get until you get out there. We're traveling with 'Island Bound' and 'Blue Rodeo'. This picture is when we arrived at Ua Pou.
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The boys from 'Gato Go', Craig and Bruce made it to Taiohae yesterday and we had a nice party aboard their catamaran last night. Karen and Jim from 'Sockdolager' and Mark and Jenny on 65' 'Condesa' were there too. Also, our buddies on 'Picara', Mike and Marni were there. We wanted to continue buddy boating with 'Picara' but they've had an engine issue and will be waiting for a part to arrive. We hope they catch up to us again soon. It's so great to see old friends again but it's hard to say goodbye so we just say...See you down the road! We've been on the island of Nuka Hiva for over three weeks and now it's time to sail on to the Tuamotus. The Marquesas are mountainous, volcanic and lush green. The Tuamotus are a completely different world...low lying coral atols, with clear water and a snorkelers/divers paradise. We just can't wait to get there and get in the water again. Our first stop we think will be Rarioa. It's about 450 miles from here and almost due south. We're going to the neighboring island of Ua Pou tomorrow and meeting up with Kat and Bill on 'Island Bound'. We haven't seen them since last October in the northern Sea of Cortez. Hopefully we'll sail to the Tuamotus with them. I will be posting remotely (from the boat) along the way - so there won't be any pictures for awhile. See You There!
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Hugs, Tarcha
The casual walks we've taken have allowed us to get to know the town of Taiohae and to also get back to nature.
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This is a very large tiki. I like him alot. I wonder how old he is.
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Up until now we've seen only the stone housing platforms. Here is a re-creation of the type of dwelling they built on the platforms.
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Doesn't this one remind you of Easter Island?
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Before we leave Nuka Hiva we decided to make the trek to the archealogical sight up in the valley above town. It was a long walk but well worth it. Look at this beautiful ceremonial area set between these two gigantic and sacred banyan trees. This is a very well preserved sight with nice tikis all around.
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