We're on our way back to Papeete for a few days, motoring east along the shores of beautiful Moorea. The morning sun is casting deep shadows, the mountains rimmed and capped with wispy smoke, as though a sleeping dragon were gently exhaling.

We've loved our week here, and are rather surprised to note that in 7 days we stepped on land once. Twice for me, counting church on Sunday, which was 3 feet from shore. We just weren't feeling all that terrestrial, and the call of the water in Opunohu was too great. We swam or snorkeled every day, did little things on the boat, got excellent massages from Lushka aboard Furthur. We got lots of sleep, and did lots of socializing, finished a few projects on the boat, made lists, watched movies. We got familiar with the sting rays after 3 dives with them, even to the point of naming a few we could recognize. The snorkeling just off the boat was lovely. Rumor has it a big storm a few years back caused a lot of damage to the reef and the coral, but the fish are still there in profusion, and it's always fun to swim with them.

Now we have a few days of busy in the Big City, in search of the last few things we need to make life comfortable for the next 6 months. We plan to stay in town this time, moored to a dock at the quay if there's room. The city quay is noisy, right in the midst of Papeete, but full of energy and activity. Brian on Furthur loves it because of the sirens, those European sirens that go "DEE-daw-DEE-daw" and then change pitch as they go by. I'll like it because the bead store is just up the way, around the corner from the coffee house and around the other corner from the city market, where all the fresh fruits, veggies, and fish are sold.

Friday is the start of the 3-day Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendezvous, a gathering of the boats who crossed the Pacific Ocean in the last few months. 70 boats are invited to participate in the event. The festivities begin at noon, and Friday evening I understand we will don tropical island wear and head for City Hall, where we'll all receive a Polynesian Skippers Blessing, followed by a cocktail party. Interesting combination ...

Saturday morning we gather at the edge of Papeete Harbor for a rally across the water to Moorea, where we will somehow try to squeeze up to 70 boats into the same anchorage we've spent the last week in with only 10 boats. Festivities continue through Sunday, with beach BBQ's, a Polynesian canoe race, traditional music, and showing off the tatu's everyone received in the Marquesas. Yes, photos forthcoming, I think I'll probably try do a photo gallery of Marquesian tatus, including ours.

At this point we're thinking of leaving Sunday or Monday evening for an overnight sail to the island of Huahine, approximately 90 miles from Moorea. Our trek will continue west and southwest toward Bora Bora, where we will likely be for the upcoming solar eclipse. Our position will be a bit too far north for the total eclipse -- our 90-day French Polynesian visa runs out mid-July, and the best place to observe the total eclipse will be a few hundred miles south of us. The timing is off by a bit, but a partial will be quite fun, as well. From Bora Bora, our plans are still nebulous. We may go south toward Palmerston, Beverage Reef, and Nuie, or we may go north toward Suvarov and Samoa. Weather will largely dictate our choice. August is slated for Tonga, September for Fiji, and from there, a slow slide westward to our end destination, Australia, by early November.

As I finish this blurb, we have just tied up at the downtown quay, squeezed between two boats on a crazy angle with lots of fenders stuffed between us and the guy to our starboard. They say this is nothing compared to the Mediterranean, so we'll consider this an indoctrination for some future cruise through Europe.

And now, off to explore.