07/15/2008, Bora Bora, French Polynesia
After spending a lovely week on Tahaa we decided it was time to visit our last island in French Polynesia: the spectacular Bora Bora.
Bora Bora is a gorgeously lush (yawn) volcanic island with crystal clear turquoise (yawn) lagoons. I'm afraid we've become a little spoiled during our time in French Polynesia. Everywhere you look there's a spectacular "postcard" view, so it's hard to maintain that feeling of "Wow!" In fact during our sail across from Tahaa, John had to remind me to pull my head out of my Sudoku puzzle and check out The View. (Yeah, I know: boo-hoo for us.)
Anyway Bora Bora seems to offer something for everyone: luxury hotels with over-the-water bungalows, secluded anchorages tucked behind motus, jet skis, pearl farms, the Bora Bora Yacht Club and the famous Bloody Mary's restaurant, complete with a marked grave inside the dining area.
Bora Bora is also the most common jumping off point for yachts continuing west. And unlike the first part of the "Coconut Milk Run" there will be some divergence here as some yachts opt to head to the northern Cook Islands (Surarrow, Penrhyn) while others choose the southern route (Rarotonga, Aitutaki). Others still decide to forget the Cooks altogether and had straight for Tonga, possibly by way of Niue. Of course there are numerous variations on these routes but you basically choose one or the other, as you make your way toward Tonga.
Our friends on Blue Plains Drifter, Elusive, and Scarlett O'Hara chose the northern route, and in fact left today. We still have several days left on our visas and are considering the southern route to Rarotonga, then Niue to Tonga. It was a bit surreal seeing everyone head out today (they left with about 4 other boats). It's very easy to just move along with the "herd", particularly when you enjoy the company so much. But we have to remember that at the end of the day this is an individual (or family) pursuit and achievement. Whichever way you go most everyone winds up in Tonga if their ultimate destination for hurricane season is New Zealand so we'll catch up with everyone there, if not sooner. On a happier note, Tin Soldier is still here so we've got plenty of good company.
Our indecisiveness is owed to the fact that there doesn't seem to be a "must see" island for us in the Cooks. In addition, unlike the last three archipelagos we've visited (Marquesas, Tuamotus and Societies) which all had loads of anchorages and easily accessible passes, the islands in the Cooks have much more limited anchorages and passes. Also, speaking for myself, I had dreamed of visiting the legendary islands of French Polynesia... I never gave much thought to the next island groups. But I feel certain that whichever landfall we make will be wonderful. After all, it's the South Pacific. How can you go wrong?
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07/04/2008, Tahaa, French Polynesia
Happy 4th of July to all.
While you might not be reading this until the 5th (certainly you're checking the blog at least every OTHER day), I would like to proudly proclaim my affinity for the Good Ol' USA. Being temporarily removed from our own country, and living on the transient surface of so many others, I have an even greater appreciation of what makes America "America". Kind of sappy, I know. Just wait til I hit the sauce later tonight if you want the total syrupy version.
Seriously, though, seeing how so many people, and so many lands, go about their daily business, with whatever they might have grossly calling attention to everything they don't have, really drives home how rich the fabric of our country has become. The amount of good, hard work that has created our culture is truly astounding. Considering that these things don't happen naturally nor easily, it's easy to be a Proud American.
Sophie's social studies course yesterday (we started the new school year a few days ago) focused on Francis Scott Key's poem, "The Star Spangled Banner", which was later set to a melody to become our national anthem. Reading the history of the battle for Fort McHenry, and understanding the drama and emotion that inspired Key to write his famous words, I will never take this national symbolism, nor any other, lightly again. Too much is at stake, both then and now.
Happy Birthday, America.
The land of the Free, the home of the Brave.
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06/29/2008, Huahine
While still on Moorea (we have since moved on to Huahine. More on this later), we decided to tour the island with our friends on BPD. We rented 2 scooters and a small car, and set off for our first "circumnavigation".
Jim and I had first-turns on the scoots, and we led the girly-car up to a phenomenal look-out point called Belvedere. From here, we could see both Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay in their entireties, including a post- card quality view of the Maltese Falcon at anchor. For those who aren't familiar, Maltese is probably the most famous and unique mega-sailboat currently afloat. Owned by a Bay-area venture capitalist, she is 300 feet long, has 3 masts, and charters for huge amounts of money (think 10's of thousands of dollars per week). Better hurry with your reservations, though, because she's for sale for just under $200,000,000. No typos here.
After enjoying the lookout, Nancy and Tiffany did their best Hell's Angels interpretations and roared off on the mopeds. Perhaps "roared" is a bit too dramatic, but they had a ton of fun nevertheless.
Our tour continued, and we enjoyed a great lunch and a few cold ones at various venues around the island. Because Moorea only has the one road that circles its perimeter, with no cross-roads or other routes, we made good time and had the vehicles safely back in time for happy hour. Another successful day. Our overnight-passage to Huahine didn't quite fare as well as our motorized excursion around Moorea. We knew there would be large swells from the SW, and light winds at our backs as we sailed to the NW. Unfortunately, these two phenomena conspired to create a most unfriendly ride, probably the worst we have encountered yet. Quick snap-rolls, with a sphincter-clenching "corkscrew" motion thrown in, and the constant slatting and popping of sails ensured that neither Nancy nor I slept that night. Though the motion was very tough on the gear, we fared better than either BPD or Elusive, who both lost battens from their mainsails.
We are currently at the southern end of Huahine, in a very nice anchorage. We joined back up with Scarlett O'Hara, whom we hadn't seen since Fakarava, and the 4 of us (Scarlett, BPD, Elusive and Meridian) have been hanging out in the pensions and on the beach. In fact, yesterday afternoon, we all had a little beach party to celebrate Sophie's 7th birthday (which is actually on Monday the 30th, but in true Sophie fashion, she doesn't so much have a birthday but rather a birthmonth). Gifts, laughs and chocolate cake ensued, and the occasion was enjoyed by all. All except me, however, as to my horror I saw the recorder (flute) that BPD gave to Sophie. Similar to giving crack to an addict, she hasn't put the dang thing down yet, and has mastered exactly one key (E, as in Excruciating). Looks like the sleepless nights will continue for awhile.
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