Gone Native

If you think it looks nice, you should smell how incredible it smells!

The Tahitian women wear the most wonderful flowers about their head and around their necks.  This beauty was $5.00 at the market and way better then any perfume. The market's are always the best on Sunday morning but you have to get there early and I mean early; 5AM, as the whole thing is over by 7AM.

View from my galley porthole, which inspires my cooking

Marina on Raiatea, our home for 1 week.

From Moorea we sailed to the island of Huahine, a feminine name, as the island resembles a pregnant women laying on her back. We anchored on a lovely bay across from a white sand beach and took a day off to tour the island by dingy. Each island has it's own beauty, with dramatic mountains and sandy beaches, but for sure each islands gets progressively more beautiful! After 3 days on Huahine, we sailed 22 miles to the islands of Raiatea and Tahaa. The crossing took nearly 3 hours and was very rough, with waves at 10-15 feet. I was only a bit sea sick this time which I attribute to to many drinks the night before. I really think I am getting over being seasick. We are in a lovely little marina on Raiatea and can see Tahaa just across the lagoon. Both islands are inside the lagoon, so you can take the dingy over to Tahaa, which is more primitive, having no rental cars or such. We will explore Tahaa next week. Today we are off to rent a car and tour Raiatea as a group. Also, rumor has it that there is

disco dancing in the town tonight, which has us all excited, as we all want to kick up our heals. Typically, these islands are quiet, having no night life except Tahitian dancing.     

Ah, this is the life

There are plenty of sandy beaches to tie your hammock up to a couple of palms.

We found this little resort in the middle of nowhere when we took the day trip with our dingy. They had only two huts to offer guests and the place was awesome! Wonder how you find such exotic places to vacation?

Sooz, looking very tropical

The marina is very much a community of people. There are French families that live on their boats and the kids come out to play together around 5PM each evening. There are bikes, cats and lot's of dogs. They do not believe in spay and neuter of their animals and remarkably,  the dogs are very sweet and docile. 

Sean did the driving around Raiatea and it was grand to have a day off for the crew from all their hard work.

The road around Raiatea

The backside of Sooz, Macin, and Aga

WOW

Crew Update: we are 6, as Christian decided not to come along because she wanted to return to Holland to see her father. I also corrected the information on post Something old, something new, concerning Laura Dekker, the 15 year old girl sailing solo around the world. I also included her website and the site for the film, "Maidentrip". 

The crew is currently working on the decks, sanding and finishing them. Sean has a list of projects to improve the boat and once the decks are done we are off to Bora Bora, which is the icing on the cake. Can't wait to see the island, after all, that was the ad I answered for the chef position: "Come on adventure to Bora Bora". What a long strange trip it's been but finally, Bora Bora!  The food has been amazing but the only draw back is we all forget to take photos. I am planning a post soon, of only the food along with recipes, after all, this is supposed to be a food blog as well as adventure blog.

Oh My My Moorea

Palms against the morning sky

Road in back of the Mobile Station

I can understand why Ron has always wanted to return to these Islands. This is what I imagined; water so clear you can see 40 feet to the sandy bottom, palm tree forests, white sand beaches and fruit that falls to the ground.It just keeps getting better and better.

The hotel across from our anchorage. There is a show tonight at 6PM and we are going to check it out

We spent several day's in Cooks Bay; still unspoiled and beautiful. We had enough of the city and longed to be back in nature.Everyone has worked so hard to get the boat ready. The engine is running like a top again, the water maker works and Sean saved Ron a bundle by repairing the Dingy; which by the way looks great. Remember the dingy went missing in the Marquesas and sustained some damage. We needed to kick back and enjoy a snorkel and a beer.

Sooz and her X-tra large beer

We feasted on Tofu Burgers for lunch with a red cabbage and sour apple salad

Slow Dance in Cooks Bay

Impressive peak

 Wish I could upload some video, cause wow, this place is beautiful. We are surrounded by lush green mountains and palm jungle.                

Chef Salad

Nervous about swimming with the sharks. Sean has an underwater camera, oh boy (Pix from Sooz)

Me with the Tahitian dancer's. The little guy was quite something.

Aga, me and Sooz, with the band

Ohpunho Bay

Beach across from our anchorage. Ron and I walked Trinidad each morning and the crew had a beach party and bond fire. Very cool.

Resort on Moorea

Pray to the mermaids to protect us (Pix by Sooz)

 We went over to check out the hotel by our anchorage and got invited to a Tahitian dance show. Most of us ended up in the show!

Ron got picked first and did a good job of moving his knees the Tahitian way.





 Sooz got the hang of it after watching the other girls.

Ron resorted to watching from the epicenter of activity.

I flailed about (How do they move their hips like that?)

The next day we headed out for Ohpunhu Bay just 2 miles away; a beautiful place as you can see. Getting into the lagoon of these beautiful islands, is not as easy as it may seem. Not being a seaman or should I say, sea woman, I am learning about such things as getting through the pass, how to read the markers to avoid running up on the shallow coral reef. The reef is sticking up out of the water in places and yet, you are passing in water at 90 feet. The currents are strong and we had 30-35 knots of wind at times coming in through the pass. The tides and time of day factor into the right time to enter.

                                                                                                                                                                                                       

I get by with a little help from my friends, I get high with a little help from my friends, I am gonna try with a little help from my friends

Right in the mist of all the boat repairs and changes with crew, my friends, Teri and Bill came for a quick visit. I get by with a little help from my friends. Teri and Bill brought wonderful red wines for Ron; I get high with a little help from my friends. Teri and Bill are from Virgina Beach, vacationing on Bora Bora and took the ferry from Morea to Tahiti and joined us on the boat overnight. We had a lovely visit, and managed to get a day of snorkeling in at the reef. Later we made dinner on the boat.

We posed on the Tiki boat.

Teri and me......oh my god, we're in Tahiti! Susan, we wish you were here.

Banana's from the tree

It's great to see familiar faces from home.

Some foods come right from the source. Bananas are hanging everywhere for the picking. We take our machete and cut the whole bunch.

Most times we hitchhiked from the marina into town. Everyone hear seems to have a really nice car. The French government must subsidize cars for the islanders. It's easy to get a lift and some folks even speak English. As for health care, well a few of us have had to go to the infirmary and I can tell you the French have great health-care. French doctors and Dentist that come to live and work in French Polynesia make double pay! The care is free but you must pay for the prescriptions. I filled two of my prescriptions and they were 1/2 the cost of Mexico and near nothing compared to the USA.

We stopped off at a local hotel for a cold one after our swim.

Bill liked the Desperado beer. It has Tequila in it.

Sunset at Marina Tania with Morea in the distance.

Something old, Something new, Something borrowed, Something blue

How do you spell Reeflief....The Reef outside Marina Tina

Certain ports of call, such as Tahiti, are hub's for crew changes. Owners part with crew and crew depart from owners, for many reasons. And so it was for Slow Dance, with Sherri departing 10 days ago; last seen on a boat headed to Morea. Louise also departed for her home in Canada. So, something old and now, the something new part!

We have a new captain from South Africa, Sean Powell who hails from 3 generations of sailors and pirates and military men. Sean is an experienced marine engineer and well credentialed with a 200 ton captains license.  Sean also fire dances, as evidenced by last nights performance at our dock party. The dock party was a smashing success and the food  (patting my back now) will be talked about for some time. Sailors are fine folk and we met some awesome people. Take a look:

Fire Dancer, Sean.

Krista, from Holland. Newest crew-member

Krista joins the boat in Morea, after she finishes up work on a boat here in Tahiti. Krista is a seasoned traveler, likes Astrology, and is into the healing arts; so we will have much to talk about. The boat has totally new, young energy, a true breath of fresh air. Ron is more relaxed, but anxious to move on to the other islands.This has been an expensive stop, but the boat has had some fine repairs, including a new refrigeration  system.

That's me in the galley making the party goods.

Party fare for the dock party consisted of: grilled Tuna with mango BBQ, Swordfish grilled with garlic, Potato Salad, Grilled Island vegetables in Balsamic, Sausages with peppers and onions, tropical fruit salsa with jalapeno peppers and lime juice, and Brie Toasts for appetizers.

Brie Toast; recipe posted at the end of this blog.

Ron had a good laugh at the sour sop fruit, which looks like an ass, but taste delicious and sweet. Makes great sorbet

Krista liked the grilled Asparagus

David, super cool guy from the Nina,  a beautiful wooden sail boat. David is brilliant, home schooled, and great at the BBQ! Way to go David.

Ariel, feeds Ron the local sausages. Yes, real meat and all the rage at the BBQ. Ariel is French and lives also in Australia; Ari has backpacked around the world, much like Krista and is also trying to get onto a boat going to Fiji. Ari has been to Thailand, Indonesia, and japan.

The party went on until 2AM. There were really nice Kiwi people; one couple sailing with their two adorable daughters.

Marcin with Francis (hat and sunglasses) . Francis is a local sailor who lived in the US for 5 years. Really super cool guy.

The local veggies were grilled to perfection.

Me and Marcin.

This is Vitaya, a lovely French fellow who lives on his boat in the marina.

Marcin manned the BBQ most of the evening and did a great job. Ron was the official greeter and really enjoyed the party. There were so many nice interesting people; owners, captains and crew from the super yachts, families sailing around the world, and Lara, the 16 year old Dutch lass, single-handing around the world. Lara came to dinner with Julian, the film maker who is making a film on Lara's journey. (see the pictures below)



Having a lovely lucky mermaid as crew helped to attract a lot of good people to the boat. Thanks Sooz for helping attract the right crew for Ron.

Ron with Laura Dekker, from Holland, who is 15 and sailing around the world by herself! Lara is amazing; she left from the Netherlands when she was 14 or 15 after the courts ruled she could make the trip. Google Lara for her interesting story. Lara is traveling the same route as Slow Dance for awhile, so see ya Laura down the road in Cooks bay, Paradise.

Marcin and Aga, new crew on Slow Dance

Aga is a physicist and Marcin worked on the team that brought digital TV to London. Both attended university in London,and have lived and worked in England for the past 5 years. Marcin and Aga are from Poland. Aga speaks flawless French, which comes in quite handy. These guys are traveling the world by hitching rides on boats in exchange for work. They love Slow Dance, are interesting folk, and hard workers.We are lucky to have them aboard.

Martin, Aga, Ron and I rented a car and toured Tahiti Island. This was a great hike to a waterfall.

Wooded Idol that looked like a fork at Tahitian sacred ground.

Water Water, hear the water flow, dancing, prancing, see the water go

Ron on hike to waterfall

Ron with giant leaf

Jungle path to the waterfall

On the bridge to the waterfall. Pix from Marcin

Roadside fruit and hat stand. Pix from Marcin

Dinner on Slow Dance with Laura and Julian on the right end. I made chicken curry, lentil Dal, potatoes and pea curry, basmatti rice, and chapattis.

After being here for 2 weeks and not seeing  much but the market and the town, it was great to rent the car and take a look around the island. The waterfall and ancient burial ground were as I imagined Tahiti; exotic, tropical, passionate....the rest was a disappointment; poor housing, graffiti everywhere you look, bad food, few cafes along the way, and NO beaches.Ron say's Tahiti is not how he remembers it from 30 years ago. I am anxious to see Morea and Bora Bora.

Susan was quite taken with Laura, but then, we all were!


The Island people love Bob Marley and Sooz causes quite a stir of positive energy with her long flowing Dred Locks; everywhere we go the locals give us rides, carry our groceries, and pick us up when we hitchhike.



You can follow Laura Dekker on her website: http://www.lauradekker.nl/English/Home.html
  Laura's journey is being filmed by Julian and is titled; Maidentrip, check it out at: http://Maidentrip.com/