From Atoll to Archipelago but not without some Challanges

Setting sun on route to Tahiti

The bay in Tahiti's main port

Well, we made it to Papeete, Tahiti, the first of the Society Islands, but not without some drama. 45 miles from Tahiti we lost the fresh water pump that cools the engine. Lucky this did not happen hundreds of miles from Tahiti, because the Tug that towed us less then 1/2 mile cost $500.00! Imagine the cost if this happened in Rangiroa. UGH! We managed to sail the boat the last 45 miles into the main harbor, thanks to all the girls. Sherri increased our speed by trimming the sails constantly, while Sooz and Lou worked in the engine room with Ron. We had to harness the wind to get the boat to the Tahiti harbor before the sun went down and we just made it by 5:00PM.  The only draw back was being placed  on a public dock where we were on display 24/7 and vulnerable to all the homeless folk. We had to post watch as there were a few instances of people coming onto the boat uninvited. The super yacht dock was just next to us and we could have gone there for a mere $800.00 per day and an additional $600.00 for the security guard.  This is one of the most expensive ports but we found some things to be reasonable, such as cloths and local produce. As for wine and beer, fuel, and milk...out of the ballpark!Tofu in Mexico was $5.00 for a 3-pack; here 1 pack cost's $6.00. But...can't complain to much as we had not seen any fresh produce for day's on the Atoll Rangiroa so by the time we went to the Sunday Market in downtown Tahiti I was salivating. The supermarket was very nice and very expensive, as opposed to the Sunday market, where the local growers bring their wares. We saved a bundle and it will be well worth it to take the bus to the Sunday Market each week from Marina Tina, where we have moved the boat.

Sunday Market, downtown Tahiti

The herb main

 Their are quite a few Asians here and this fine fellow sold me fresh herbs.

Sunday Market

Lichee nuts fresh from the vine

Tomatoes by the score

It is difficult to capture how many vendors there were. The town goes dead on Saturday at 2:00PM and then by 7:00PM, party party time. Sunday is Market day starting at 5:00AM. I got there by 8:30AM and bargained for fish and produce. The Market runs from 5AM-9AM, so the vendors want to sell out of their wares. I got some great bargains on melon, pineapple, and potatoes.The Market is so expansive I could not capture it all in a photo.

                                                                               There was a fish called duck fish, as it's head resembled that of a duck. What do you think? I have a close up later on.

     

Fish that looks like a duck

Watermelon, pineapple, garlic, fresh cilantro, basil, and mint

Peppers, eggplant, red onion, and tomato

I love to decorate the salon and galley with the fresh fruits and herbs. Now that we are in a slip, flowers would be nice.





The green and red peppers were very small, but I was glad to find them. We joked that the Minihuines of Hawaii grew them for the Tahiti Market. The Minihunies are the little folk of Hawaii, much like the Leprechauns of Ireland.






I found fresh swordfish at the market and rubbed it with a mixture of herbs, lime juice, topped with cilantro.

The result of my shopping was swordfish, fresh green beans, and baked potato. I also made a great salad.

Richard towing us to marina Tina with our Tender

Can you believe this rope pulled us 4 miles!

Ron opted for an agency in French Polynesia to complete all the necessary paperwork for our passage. The agency is CMA, and the agent assigned to us is a very lovely, savvy, and attractive woman, named Cindy.  Cindy's is competent and married to Richard who is equally competent in his field of boats and how to maneuver them through the water. Ron and Richard worked out a plan for Richard to tow the boat with our tender to Marina Tina today. Where there's a will there's a way. So, Slow Dance is in a much better place and Ron is scheduling the repairs she needs. The new pump is on it's way from Australia and once Ron inventories the other parts needed, he will most likely return to LA and bring back the parts. The French workman here are wonderful! Patrick is the engine expert and reworked our electric cord so we could plug in to power here at the marina. It is so nice to have hot water again and laundry. Living the beachcomber life is wondrous but creature comforts are appreciated once we get them back.

Commercial Tug that pulled us into port of Tahiti and docked us on the public dock.

Marina at Tina-our new home for 30 days or so.

The Marina is very nice with 3 restaurants, pool, dive center, restrooms with showers and laundry facility.

Slow Dance at the Tina dock.

Tahitian money-$10,000 CPF (Franks) that's $120.00 US

This is about $5.00 US

CPF stands for Central Pacific Franks. (In case you were wondering) The money is beautiful and when you hold it up to the light the round circle on each bill shows a two faced woman with flowers between the faces.

The sailing Siren's relaxing on route to Tahiti.

Ron in Mexico taken by Louise

Ron's Angels taken from Lou's camera

Island flowers by Lou

Lou and the Island Flowers (I took this one with her camera)

Trini

Pirate antic's by Sooz, captured by Louise while crossing the pacific.

Girls just awana have fun fun oh girls just a awana have fun. That's all we really really want....and we tried to have fun crossing the ocean in spite of the unmentionable guys that mutinied.

Lou got a pix of me after a swim

Sherri trimmed the sails

Sooz gives the victory sign, as we sail on. Pix  by  Lou Lou.

Lou Lou is playing in the rain puddles at Nuka Hiva and Sooz snapped this shot with Lou's camera. One thing that was very funny happened to me and Lou when we went ashore at Nuka Hiva to buy some fresh produce. We took the kayak into shore and when trying to beach it we got tossed in the water by an unexpected wave. The pier was full of people who laughed hysterically as we looked like drown rats trudging out of the surf. We had to call the Aussie sailors to come rescue us and take us back to the boat. We did not have the tender as that is a story in itself, that I will briefly touch on as we do not want you all to be concerned. The Tender went missing one night after we had a yachts party on the boat. We still can not figure how it got loose. Ron has a rule that the tender gets put up on the boat every night, but this night, it was left tied to the boat on just the painter line and no stern line. The tender had washed up on some rocks in a cove, thank goodness, as it could have easily washed out to sea from the bay and we would have never seen it again. The local men helped Ron get it off the rocks but not without some damage. The tender is being repaired now, and actually, did not sustain any great damage.

You put the lime in the coconut and mix it all up. Another great pix from Lou.

Coconuts are a lovely thing, but it takes some practice to open them correctly. Sooz got a first hand lesson on Ahe from the local expert (see photo below) and is now the official Slow Dance cocnutter.

The flowers are unreal and grow in abundance, from trees a plenty. We girls have taken up the Island tradition of wearing them in our hair. Also, we all bought Lie's and the boat smelled like heaven for weeks!

Ron, Sooz and I get a lesson in opening the coconut. This young man could get it open in seconds!

Ron and I walking on Ahe.