Wow.... it's been six weeks since my last post. I guess this strange lifestyle starts to normalize after a while and it feels like there is not much to say. It's actually been a pretty chaotic time as we continued the 'shall we stay or shall we go?' spiral. We spent most of October poking around the small atolls to the north of Fakarava with our friends on Pitufa which was very enjoyable. When we finally popped our heads up we discovered that a number of boats had, to our surprise, been given permission to enter NZ. At that point CV was starting to get out of control here so we made a late call to try and get permission to go. I won't drag you through all the administrative foul ups but suffice to say, our late call was too late.

Anyway, here we be until probably next June. Kudos to the French Polynesian authorities for extending their welcome for yet another year with the minimum of fuss and bureaucracy. As part of the process we ended up sailing back to Tahiti and we are still here, at the downtown marina. The city is infection central so we keep ourselves to ourselves but we are quite enjoying the change. It is easy to stay isolated on the boat and our trips into town are highly controlled. We cross the street if there is someone without a mask and we spend minimal time inside shops. There are a couple of restaurants nearby with large open patios where we feel comfortable having the occasional meal. There Is a lovely waterfront park with plenty of space where we walk and exercise. We cannot swim here but heaven knows we have done a LOT of swimming this year.... My edited collection of fish pics is at well over a thousand now so a break is not a bad thing. Here is a link if you need a screen saver.....

We are getting a few things done on the boat now that we know we have another year 'in the wilds'. The new anchor chain is installed so no more rust showers. Tomorrow I will haul the dinghy out onto the dock and see if I can find a couple of annoying leaks. We have friends in nearby islands who we would love to see but, to be honest, we are inclined to loiter here for a bit, without the need for anchor alarms or bumpy rides in dinghies. I guess we will get bored at some point and head out to sea but time is in plentiful supply at the moment.

I'll probably pop out a few technical posts while we have this cruising hiatus. We know everyone is experiencing some degree of trauma and disruption at the moment so our thoughts are with you. It will end.