North Fakarava and Rotoava village photos

The text that describes these photos can be found earlier in this blog. 

Aranui 3 cruise and cargo ship arriving at Rotoava

Banana quarters at start of drying process

Drying banana quarters

Pearl oyster floats found on the beaches - we used these to buoy our chain to avoid coral wraps

At the entrance of the catholic church

Interior of catholic church

Alter for religious procession

Alter for religious procession

Priests and lay preachers at procession

Villagers in the procession - note drums and guitars

At the Dream Pearls farm - preparing 3 year old oysters to be seeded

Opening an oyster to insert the seed.

A pearl oyster shell.

Hirifa photos

The text that describes these photos can be found earlier in this blog. Hirifa is a little settlement on the south east side of Fakarava in the Tuamotus.

Maheata with a coconut palm leaf basket she wove.

Solar panels power each of the homes in Hirifa. The batteries are stored in the plastic boxes below.

The reef on the outside of Hirifa was full of live corals.

Corals on the outside reef

Pencil urchin

Sea snails - they are abundant on the reef

Preparing the snails for lunch. Add enough garlic and butter and they are quite good, if a bit chewy.

Conning for coral - we really need ratlines on both sides because on starboard tack the sail blocks the view.

Fakarava south photos

The text that describes these photos can be found earlier in this blog.

Climbing a small coconut palm. Even this little tree was difficult enough to climb!

Sea urchin found on a reef

Crossing a small pass between motus - shoes are necessary due to very rough corals.

These fish would come immediately if we threw any vegetable or fruit scraps overboard.

Walkway between motus. A small resort with thatched cottages is on the far motu.

Coral church at South Fakarava

Chandelier made of shells

Interior of shell church

This pig was attempting to open a coconut

Boat house and wharf - note the spoked wheels that are used to raise the boat. They probably do this because of the  high currents in the pass and the very shallow water.

Wharf at pass

Coral off wharf in pass. The water was incredibly clear and the photo does not do justice to the colours.

Papeete update

Ladybug is tied to a mooring ball at the Papeete Yacht Club. This is the first time since we have owned her that she has been on a mooring! The yacht club has a few moorings that are sometimes available, if a member is away sailing, for a nominal price. The staff here are friendly and the club has an active children's sailing program and Sunday races just like back in Victoria. We are a little outside town, but the anchorage is quiet and it costs only $1 to take the bus in to Papeete.

On our first day here we walked back toward Point Venus and visited the royal graveyard (the earlier kings get only a small uninscribed rock and a raked patch of gravel to mark their final resting place). Further along we heard someone playing ukulele in a park and stopped to listen. A group of Tahtians - an extended family it turned out - invited us over and handed us a big bottle of Hinano. We chatted with them in French and learned that they come to the park on the weekends or when they are not working and sing and drink and hang out. Everyone was very friendly - and just a bit inebriated. Some were smoking Tahitian tobacco - I think this was marijuana - and they offered us some too.

They told us that we tourists see this island differently and think everything is good, but they feel that things have been getting progressively worse, economically and because of losing their traditional ways (for example obesity in children due to a diet high in processed foods). It would be interesting to get to know these people better, so when we heard that one family was planning to go to Moorea on the weekend, we suggested they come with us. We will be sailing there as part of the Tahiti Moorea Rally on Saturday.

The next day, we were like kids in a candy store during our first visit to a large Carrefour grocery shop. It has been more than 3 months since we have had access to such variety and we found ourselves just standing and staring at shelf upon shelf of chocolates and rows of different juice cartons. The prices here are nowhere near those in the more easterly islands and we stocked up on fresh veggies and fruit, including apples from New Zealand and sweet crunchy local cucumbers. Cheese was especially good value at about $2.50 for a delicious ripe Camenbert.

I have begun work on the roller furler having found replacement bearings at a store in Papeete, which sells only bearings (can you believe that?!) Not only did I find the right bearings, but it turns out that Marc, a live-aboard member of the yacht club, worked in France for Profurl (the maker of our furler) for more than 10 years. He was in charge of testing all the materials and construction of th furlers. Marc has agreed to help me fix the problem. He started by telling me I need to buy replacement rubber seals as the ones I have cannot be re-used. The next step will be to try to remove the old bearing race pieces, which are pressed in place and held with large, hard to reach cir-clips. Marc has also written about how to modify the furler drum to include grease nipples, so that it can be kept filled with grease. This should help prevent the destruction of the bearings that happened to us en route to Fatu Hiva.

We will be in Papeete area until Saturday when we 'race' to Moorea. We plan to return here in a week or two for the Dance festival.

Pictures from Hakaui and Hakatea - Daniels Bay

Some pictures to accompany an earlier post on our visit to Daniel's Bay.

Crossing the stream on the way to Vaipo falls (near Hakaui).

Rani tries her hand at being a fearsome Marquesan with Marquesans, Kua, Teiki, and Teiki whom we met on the road to the Vaipo falls. They were selling fruit and vegetables to cruisers.

Teiki  showing us how his ancestors would prepare for a boar hunt - note the tusks. 

A Marquesan larakeet in a papaya tree. These birds are very hard to see in the woods because their colour perfectly matches the background.

Vaipo Falls - a 900+ foot cascade. 

Crossing the stream - note the hard hat - necessary due to rock falls.

Teiki asked us for a picture and, having no printer, Rani drew this sketch from  the above photo.

We met a carver named Augustin who had practiced his art on the dining room table (part of the table top).

Preparing breadfruit to make `breadfruit chips`

Inside of breadfruit

Pictures from Taiohae, Nuku Hiva

A few pictures from our stay at Taiohae Bay. More description can be found in earlier blog posts.

These wasps visited us often on the boat. They were quite pleasant compared to wasps we had visit us in Mexico and rarely stayed for more than a few minutes.

No-see-um bites - Rani suffered strong reactions to these and suffered for weeks.

Carvings at a waterfront sculpture park.

Polynesian voyaging canoe model in a local museum run by an ex-cruiser.

Church gate

Freshly caught tuna is sold each day in the afternoon at the pier - cost about $5 a kilo.

An odd location for a phone booth. It appeared to be functional!

This cross was supposedly grafted onto an earlier sculpture of an explicit phallic nature. Note the large number of yachts that are anchored in the bay.

Hike To Haatuatua

A few pictures from a hike we made from Anaho Bay in the Marquesas.

Little critter we met on the beach.

Karim's beachfront house - a Swiss Family Robinson place

Dennis from 'Knotty Lady' leads the way to the beach at Haatuatua Bay

Tossing the caber

Another attractive resident of Haatuatua Bay