Ia ora na.

A lot of our time in Bora Bora was spent on board sitting out the windy rainy weather. We did rent a car and circled the island, stopping and chatting and taking all day for a 1 hour circumnavigation. The gallery of Alain et Linda had lovely original artwork and a very lively owner, Linda. She entertained us for over an hour with tales of her life both on and off Bora Bora. A small way up the road was Ben's Snack - Ben and his wife also regaled us with their life histories - Ben having been raised a mile up the road. That evening we finally were successful with the dance performance we've been trying so hard to arrange to see. The Hotel Intercontinental puts on a pretty fabulous seafood buffet and the local dancers, musicians and singers do their thing during dessert. Finally, one more item on the "must do" list checked off.

When we finally got a good wind forecast from the grib files, we set sail for Taha'a. What was supposed to be 15 K turned into 25-30 on the nose and we had a pretty uncomfortable 25 mile beat to the pass, arriving just before sunset. With little time before dark we found a shallow patch of 65 feet in an otherwise very deep bay. The morning dawned clear and the wind had abated so it was time to find the perfect anchorage. After an hour of trying to free a very stuck anchor, David pulled out the trusty Super Snorkel; it took 30 minutes at 65-75 feet to clear the chain enough to finally haul in the anchor. We've had two beautiful anchorages in very light blue clear water with views of Bora Bora, a wonderful snorkel through the pass and now we're on a mooring getting sails down and trying to organize Chinook for her haul out. Yesterday, we were so lucky to run into our old friends on "Grace" and had a delightful evening on Chinook swapping stories and thinking about our Kiwi friends who had to leave so suddenly. Grace is another boat we met in Mexico at the first Puddle Jumpers meeting. Due to a terrible pedestrian-motorcycle accident, Sally was not able to do the crossing with her husband so it was great to get back together with the two of them and see them finally having a wonderful cruise together. Full circle!

So here we are, working hard on the boat with what would be very sad chores if we didn't know we have next year to revisit our favorite places and find new ones. French Polynesia has been an incredible experience. There was the Pacific crossing, an adventure that I will never forget and fortunately it's all the good parts that remain in my memory. The Marquesas were wild and wooly with their unique culture undergoing a renaissance. The Tuomotu a study in crystal clear water, beautiful coral and fish and big scary sharks. And I can't forget the black pearls and the farms they come from. And finally, the Society Islands - in a way a combination of the volcanic islands like the Marguesas surrounded by a barrier reef and its lagoon, similar to the Tuomotu. But the Societies are civilized, the stores well stocked and the tourist industry in full swing, except for here in sleepy little Taha'a. We have much to remember in the next months before returning to these beguiling islands.

This may be the last entry until we return but once we're back with internet access, we will be posting all of our photos. So stay tuned.

Parahi

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