We have been a week at the town dock in Uturoa the main town here on Raiatea and it has been pretty nice. It is the first dock we have been to since leaving Mexico back in early April and probably the last until NZ. It is one of the best arrangements we have ever had. There is in fact a Shell station 50 meters away with duty free fuel for foreign yachts in transit, (sounds better than transient yachts) and you can stay at the dock, real luxury for us although there is no power or water, but who cares. That grocery store is 50 meters away, you can sit in the cockpit and see folks inside the store or almost yell back to the boat and ask if there is anything else you want from the store. There is basically zero tide here so we step off the deck right level with the plaza and we are "downtown" ! It is just way too cool. We thought it was free but learned it was our responsibility to go to the town office and pay for our time at the dock. Cost was .60 FP / meter. Ahh, ok, we can afford that, may have to stay a month or two at that rate. We were quoted about five times that for a crappy Med Moor type arrangement on the other side of the island. The lady who manages the town wharf is Hinano, which means little girl and she is, but it is also the name of the main or only French Polynesian beer so hard to forget her name. Once we found her office and it was apparent we were there to pay and happy to do so, she opened up, gave us one night free and was generally really nice but down on the dock she was all business and a bit like a pit bull, now we see why. Of course like everywhere else, some folks pretend it is free, use the space up and dodge out if anyone asks or suggests they pay and they think they are being pretty smart about it. We will not be hanging out with idiots like that. We know who they are and will let them know how we feel about that sort of crap. Seems they are the same group doing the same type of thing everywhere we have been. So what, we are all trying to keep costs down but that is just wrong. Next thing you know it will be prohibited for foreign yachts to dock here. And no wonder white folk have such a problem the world over,,,well never mind, no need to go into a rant here.

Main sail is back on and looking pretty good to get us to NZ although Regine, the sail maker said it had at least two more years in it, we will see how that goes. She dropped by to see we were pleased and gice our recepit for payment. About 1500 cdn. Gwen had a real run around trying to obtain the cash locally but persevered and cleaned out a couple bank machines. We brought the old green sail cover just in case so it is doing UV protection service for now, does not match but who cares out here anyway. I was up the mast to conduct an inspection yesterday and all was good so a relief there but the offending fastener had stripped, so it did not go back in yet, I will have to heli coil it next calm anchorge. There are 129 others holding the mast together so no issue. Basically all our chores are done and we actually had some regular tourist type time. We have met several local folks and will move over to a bay 13 miles away soon to visit with a guy who stopped by the boat to say hello when he saw our big CDN flag. His father relocated from here long ago to Powell River and he has spent time there so he invited us over to "his Bay" to experience some local fair and no doubt load us up with fresh fruits etc... These people are very giving when you treat them properly and get to know them. Some treat them like restaurant staff and get the same in return which causes white folk a bad name although it usually involves a different flag than ours. In any event we have only great things to say about French Polynesians and have made many friends that will no doubt come to visit us back in Canada and that will be our chance to return the kindness, we are looking forward to it. Loads of wind and rain in the current weather pattern and we have refined catching rain water. It is ten times faster than the water maker and uses no electricity, cant beat that. The boat is set up for it and it is really efficient, right now I can hear it trickling in and it is only light rain. When it really rains and let me tell you it really rains here, the water runs in like a hose at the dock so we can be flagrant with it and no worries. Humidity and temps are rising as spring rolls into summer 90%RH now and 30 C, found mould on the shower curtain a sure sign it is a bit damp. Good thing we are forced to move South and West as I would sweat until I was a raisin. There are many differences living in very humid conditions like fans on full, letting sun in to dry stuff, watching and managing the moisture when it is raining since you can't open the hatches etc. drinking enough water to replace that which runs down your back all day and soaks your shorts like being out in the rain (thats real RH) is a serious issue and you need to pay attention and force enough in during the day or suffer dehydration effects. I have not taken in enough water on several days and suffered bad leg cramps in the middle of the night along with head aches, painful and avoidable think I will have some now. Ahh rainwater soft, great for laundry and showers too. Locally, there are Roulettes, vans converted to food service trucks like the chuck wagons we called them back home. They set up grills and bbqs and tables and chairs under trees or right in the street. So far we have seen 5 or 6 and they all have a specialty and regular dishes of Mahi. Mahi, steak frit ( thin stek bbq and french fries). Yes they are French here, hint hint. Best fries we have had in years, right on the street 80 meters away. Some do chow mein with various additions and they all serve huge portions and are pretty cheap considering where we are. Also these are self employed motivated people with very upbeat attitudes and love dealing with the public, super fun to visit with them. We hiked up the volcano yesterday which is what makes up the island (in fact most all of the South Pacific Islands) although it has receded and rounded off over time. The view was awesome even with squally conditions and low cloud the fringing reef colours were outstanding. We gained a sense for what the reefs look like from elevation and it will help now as we eyeball navigate around and through them. While standing on top, a local lady offered to take our photo which was nice. We chatted a little and learned many people do this hike daily, her included, and why not it is pretty cool, then she offered that we stop by her house and pick up bananas as she has lots and wanted to give us some knowing we were aboard our boat, how nice is that. Photos do not reveal the actual colours as we would have hoped but ces lavi. The next island over is Taha and the fringing reef goes right around both Raiatea and Taha so you can almost circumnavigate both while remaining inside the reef. No swells or big waves, mostly calm multi blue water and smooth sailing. Don't really want to go back "out there" in the big stuff after so long on "the inside. " Sort of sounds like a prison comment but it is completely opposite, we are in the comfortable zone here. Huahine and Raiatea have turned out to be the nicest islands so far although I cant describe what constitutes better than the others it must just be the views and the sense of being accepted by the local peoples. Wow, the Sun is out for a moment, I had better go and adjust the umbrella in my drink in order to shade the ice from melting so fast. Or maybe I should just drink faster !