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We departed Moorea for Huahine just after dark.  Why did we wait until just AFTER dark, you wonder.  Well, True Blue V showed up just as we were getting ready to go, and before I knew it, I was sitting in Lady Carolina’s cockpit having a drink and catching up.  We were still determined to leave, so we pulled away at the last possible minute and let our GPS track guide us safely outside the reef.  In truth, it was about as easy as any night departure could be.  We had a nice, overnight, mostly downwind sail to get to Huahine.  I had a little excitement on my watch in that we were sandwiched between two large cargo ships going in opposite directions.  They each passed within 2-2.5 miles of us, so I was really enjoying the AIS receiver right about then.

We arrived at Fare, Huahine just after noon the following day.  The town of Fare is nice and clean with a lot of choices for cheap food along the main road as well as a large grocery store with excellent provisioning.  In fact, between Moorea and Huahine there was excellent provisioning and if I had known that I wouldn’t have been so hard pressed to load up in Papeete.  For future cruisers, unless you have a real reason to go to Papeete, like you have a guest arriving or you need to order a part, I would skip Papeete altogether.  You do not need to go there for provisioning and there’s so much to see in the Society Islands it’s not worth getting bogged down in Papeete.

Anyway, back to Huahine.  We had an absolutely great family day renting bikes and peddling around the island.  We had a bit of a rocky start, though, when Alex and I were racing along at the front of the pack and realized the other two were no longer behind us.  So, we pulled over to the side and waited.  We had a little bit of water to drink and waited some more.  We started half joking about what could have happened to them, and all of our scenarios centered on Brenden doing something crazy, of course.  We finally decided to go back and find them, which we did pretty easily.  They were stopped by the side of the road because Brenden had totally overheated and couldn’t keep going.  After he refreshed he was good to go for the rest of the day, although he just doesn’t have Alex’s inherent stamina.  That kid is a machine.  I remember when we went to Hawaii when they were 4 and 5, and Alex would walk everywhere without a peep while Brenden would start complaining and usually get Andrew to carry him on his shoulders after about 5 steps. 

We stopped at some Polynesian ruins and a museum, but the crew mostly wasn’t interested in any of that and wanted to keep going.  We made it as far as the opposite side of Huahine Nui (the larger north island) to a small town called Faie.  Faie’s claim to fame is the sacred blue-eyed eels.  Every guidebook we have mentions them, so we thought they would be plenty easy to find without much prior research.  We were wrong.  We sat by the mouth of a stream and ate our lunch and then walked up the stream a bit, but we didn’t find any eels, blue eyed or otherwise.  So, we started to head back but then we decided to check up a road that seemed to lead further into town.  Here, we were beckoned by some kids who pretty much knew what we were looking for.  I guess every white person visiting their village is looking for the same thing.  So, they took us to a concrete bridge over a stream, and the girls, who were probably 12 years old or so, walked down into the stream and started grabbing the eels for us to see.  Pretty cool, but a little anti-climactic.  The best part about this encounter with the kids was a small boy, probably 4 years old, with a small pole-spear who was spearing shrimp.  He had quite a pile, maybe enough to feed his family that night.  He didn’t act like he wanted us to see what he was doing or as if he were showing off at all (unlike the girls grabbing the eels).  He was just quietly going about his shrimping business.

On our way back to Fare we took a detour across and out to the tip of Motu Oavarai.  The view of the water and reef on the east side of this motu was spectacular, and it made another nice place to stop and rest.  We took the long way back around past the airport this time, and it was the absolute worst part of the ride.  The first part was along a dirt road with lots of potholes and then once we got a paved road again it was when we were going past the airport with absolutely no shade, so it was sweltering.  And if we stopped, we got swarmed by mosquitoes.  So, we pressed on.  Back in Fare, we treated ourselves to ice cream bars and relaxed on the wharf.  We also had a bit of time left on the bike rental, so the Lady Carolina crew took the bikes for a spin too.

After a few days in Fare, we navigated inside the reef down to an anchorage on the southern tip of the island near a town called Avea.  The channel was well marked and very easy to navigate, even if long and narrow.  This was a picture perfect spot, and I never wanted to leave.  There were a some catamarans anchored in crazy shallow water.  It was about 5.3 ft to the surface, which for us would mean about 1.3 ft of water under our keels.  I get that this wasn’t really that big of a deal.  It’s totally protected by the reef from any sort of fetch and the weather forecast was benign.  But I just wasn’t brave enough for this.  Yet (stay tuned for the write up for Bora Bora).  Here at this location there was excellent running along a scarcely traveled road, and the paddle boarding was great as well.  There was a small resort with bungalows and a restaurant, and we met up with Lady Carolina, True Blue V, and Eleutheria for a happy hour that wasn’t so happy.  Well, we were happy enough to be hanging out together, but the “happy hour” prices were a bit steep.  Some of the gang gave the waitress a bit of a hard time, but in the end we drank our beers and enjoyed the evening. 

We returned to Fare for one final night to provision up and meet again with the same crew at a happy hour.  I tried to convince everyone that we should stay in Huahine and simply skip Bora Bora, but that fell on deaf ears, and we left in the evening for an overnight passage to the exclusive resort island.

June 13, 16, 2014

Near the Intercontinental Hotel in Moorea is a spot where they have fed the sting rays (and sharks) so much they have become “tame.”  I put tame in quotes, because they really aren’t tame, but rather conditioned that people bring you food, so they aren’t afraid of people, and they aren’t much interested in stinging their food bearers.  The first time we went was when Andrew was with us, and since we weren’t entirely sure what the deal was, we didn’t bring any chum or anything.  When we pulled up and anchored the dinghy there were already a couple of tour boats there, but that was OK, because there seemed to be enough sting rays to go around.  I think Alex was the first one in the water, and wow, are those sting rays “trained.”  They were on him in about 2 seconds, blanketing him and waiting for some tasty treats.  They swarmed him for a while before they got bored, and one by one the boys got in to get their turn getting swarmed.  I opted out of this because it is my preference to experience nature as an observer, not as a participant.  I most certainly did not want to be blanketed by sting rays.  If they would just swim around me ignoring me that would be great.  It’s exactly like I don’t want dogs jumping on me.  Anyway, everyone had a great time swimming with the rays and also the sharks who have learned to get into the action while the rays are getting fed.  Tim, Alex, and Brenden enjoyed it so much that they did it a second time with Lady Carolina a few days later (Andrew had already gone home).   However, this time they were more prepared, and Tim speared some small fish on the way in order to have something to feed the rays and keep them more interested. 

A few months later we were talking to a friend who had also swam with the sting rays in Moorea, and he shared an amusing tidbit that there were some tourists there talking and one of the girls asserted that the sting rays had their stingers removed.  What!?  Where did she think she was.  No, the stingers are perfectly intact.  This isn’t the land of regulation and litigation.  This isn’t the land of mommy government taking care of you.  Here you can swim with sting rays if you want to, but you have to respect the fact that they are still wild animals that *can* be dangerous at times and you have to take responsibility for your actions and whatever happens to you.

As previously alluded to, Andrew joined us in Papeete.  He had a direct flight from LAX and he was arriving in the early morning, so I texted him (via inReach) to catch a taxi at the airport to the marina, and I would meet him at the marina and pay for the cab (so he didn’t have to worry about getting any local currency).  Does this seem rude?  When I told a friend that Andrew is taking a taxi from the airport he laughed at me, like how could I possibly NOT be going to the airport to meet my son whom I haven’t seen in 8 months.  I don’t know, it never occurred to me.  Taking a taxi was the most efficient thing to do, and Andrew is so independent and self-sufficient, and he’s like all grown up and stuff it just made sense to me.  And Andrew never complained.  The night before Andrew arrived the boys and I mused about what they remember about Andrew.  Brenden mentioned how Andrew would go to the store for ice cream if we ran out, but only if Brenden asked, not anyone else.  Yeah, Andrew always had a soft spot for Brenden.  I remember how Andrew practically carried Brenden around Hawaii, because Tim and I would just tell Brenden to suck it up when he got tired and whiny, but not Andrew.  Alex told me how he used to do the dishes for Andrew and in return Andrew let him play warcraft.  Too funny, I didn’t know about that one.  I guess when I used to rail at Andrew for not getting the dishes clean enough it was really Alex?  It was probably still Andrew too.

Our day in Papeete was a pleasant one, and Andrew’s first (and only) objective was to get a gift for his girlfriend.  We walked around the shops upstairs at the Gran Marche mostly looking at jewelry, and more specifically, mostly looking at black pearls.  I was in the market for a sarong myself, as they are so versatile.  Is it a wrap, a skirt, a dress?  Why yes, all three.  I picked one out, and right away Andrew said he really liked it and he wanted to get one for Jamie.  Of course it was the only one of the style, and he gave me puppy dog eyes (like Brenden gives him) and I relented.  Fine.  Give it to Jamie.  She better like it.  🙂  We also found some nice black pearl earrings for her, but I’m afraid I’m not much of a haggler, so I’m not sure we got the best deal.  With gifts purchased, it was time to find the beer.

On Exodus, Andrew spent a lot of time on the foredeck with shirt off soaking up the sun.  Like a mom, I kept reminding him to put sunscreen on, remembering the time at Coronado Island when he got so sunburned, he actually got nauseous.  Eventually, I let it go, since, like I said, he’s all grown up and stuff.  As luck would have it, Andrew’s visit was timed right smack dab in the middle of the Stanley Cup finals, and, of course, the Kings were in it.  Our first night in Moorea, we decided to visit the Hilton, which was nearby where we were anchored, to see if we could find the game on TV.  We knew it was a long shot, but it couldn’t hurt to try.  So, we semi-successfully “navigated” our way through the coral mine field in the dinghy over to the Hilton, and they had a TV, but no luck finding the game.  So, we just had a few drinks and enjoyed free, fast internet for a while.  They also had a pool table, which kept the boys entertained.

Our search for the Kings on TV did not end there.  The next day we went to the Intercontinental Hotel hoping to hijack a TV, but then we learned that the World Cup games were starting.  I guess we had been living under a rock.  Or just without internet.  Anyway, being in French Polynesia where hocky isn’t exactly a popular sport and there are tourists from all over the world, we stood basically zero chance of finding anything but World Cup on TV.  But we didn’t give up.  We trekked about a mile to a small shopping center with a few restaurants, and we found an empty cafe that appeared to have the setup to stream sporting events from the internet.  Since we were the only ones there, they obliged us and found the Kings game for us.  Yes!  We were in business.  If the Kings won, that would be it, they would win the Stanley cup.  And of course, it went into overtime, and the clock was ticking away for us because we couldn’t stay past dusk.  We had a dinghy ride back through the coral to think about and doing that in the dark wouldn’t be fun.  So, of course, we couldn’t stay for the end of the game.  Luckily, when we got back to the boat the internet actually worked for once, and we were able to listen to the audio feed live.  I think the entire anchorage must have heard us screaming when Martinez scored!  KINGS WIN!  It was so fun to be with Andrew for that, since he’s such a huge King’s fan.

We did more than watch (or listen) to the Kings games while Andrew was with us.  As I mentioned earlier, we played on shore, went snorkeling and hiking (ok, walking), and we even rented a car and drove around the island.  We snorkeled around some coral heads inside the reef near the anchorage at the mouth of Opunohu.  It was some of the worst snorkeling we have done.  Visibility was poor, coral was mostly dead, and the fish were few and tiny.  Funny thing is that Andrew didn’t care or know the difference, and he told us to stop complaining about it.  He was such a good sport about the walk and the car ride, and his presence made those activities so much more fun.  The boys enjoyed Andrew’s company, but in different ways.  Brenden likes Andrew, but Alex wants to be like him.  Brenden likes to be around Andrew, but Alex looks up to him (even if he’d never admit it.)  They had fun playing together, and I had fun watching them play.  One of my favorite moments was when they were all three out there playing on our two standup paddle boards.  There was sheer joy and Alex and Brenden’s faces having Andrew out there messing around with them.  They missed him when he left.

It turns out there is a ferry that goes back and forth between Moorea and Tahiti, so very early in the morning the day of his flight, we said good-bye to him at the ferry terminal.  He took the ferry back to Papeete and then a taxi from the ferry terminal to the airport.  Again, is that rude?  Well, whatever, I don’t think Andrew thinks so.

For just a few days, the void in our life was filled and our family was complete again.  Andrew has his own life with work and school, but we are really hoping he visits us again in New Zealand.

Moorea is a small, heart-shaped island that is very close to Tahiti, just to the West.  There is a lot of tourism there also, which is understandable since it is very easily accessed by air or by ferry from Tahiti.  It was the most picturesque of all the Society Islands we visited, but the shoreline is dotted with all of the over water bungalow hotels, and there’s quite a bit of traffic on the road along the water that circles the island.  We had a four-hour motor sail from Papeete to Baie d’Opunohu on the north side of Moorea. This is a stunning location.  The first place we anchored was just inside the fringing reef, but outside the mouth of the bay, and we were there with probably 20 other boats.  The water was a gorgeous blue, and seemed crystal clear from the surface, but compared to the Tuamotus, the snorkeling was crappy.  Poor visibility.  Dead coral.  Not many fish.  Fortunately, there was a very nice public beach with a large grassy area right near where we were anchored, so we spent some time there hanging out and playing football and soccer.  Well, the four boys played.  I mostly walked around looking for stores and doing general recon.  From here was also a very easy dinghy ride across the mouth of the bay to the other side to the site where you can swim with sting rays and reef sharks.  The intercontinental hotel is also right near there, and they didn’t care that we tied our dinghy up to their dock, walked around, and hung out by their pool.  Drinks and snacks were ridiculously expensive there, but it was just about a mile walk from there up the main road to a small shopping center and a few restaurants.  

For a change of scenery, we moved anchor locations to deep inside Baie d’Opunohu to a spot referred to as Robinson’s cove.  Here, the holding was not great as it is deep soft mud, and while setting the anchor we actually dragged a bit before digging in.  But we held firm as a front blew over with strong winds and pouring rain.  There was so much rain in such a short period of time that the deep water in the bay went from its usual dark blue color to a gross brown from the land runoff.

From this location we had easy shore access to a “trail head” to go up the hill to The Belvedere (which I think means lookout or view in French).  Trail head is in quotes, because it wasn’t a trail but a road, and it wasn’t so much a hike as an uphill walk.  But the five of us were together as a family, and we had a great day.  Along the way there is an agricultural school that has a little outdoor cafe where they sell juices and sorbet, and we all enjoyed a snack and a rest from our grueling hike.  Once we got all the way to the top, we realized why all the guidebooks say you must do this, because the view was absolutely stunning.  It overlooked both Opunohu Bay and Cooks bay to the East.  We enjoyed some peanut butter crackers, chased some wild chickens around (OK, that was only Brenden), and got wet in the rain before heading back down the hill.   

Moorea is a small island, so we decided to rent a car for the day to drive around and see the sights.  We picked it up at the Intercontinental Hotel, and there was either no notice or no concern that my CA driver’s license is expired.  So, we circumnavigated the island on four wheels, and to be honest there wasn’t a whole lot to see.  I think overall we made just three stops: 1) A mock traditional Tahitian village where they do dinners and shows for tourists.  There was no activity while we were there, so we just wandered around, snapped a few photos, and made fun of ourselves for stopping at such a tourist trap.  2) The Champion grocery store.  Since we had the car and all I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get some heavy provisions like UHT milk.  3) A lookout point facing East with a view of Tahiti.  OK, this was worth it.  There were amazing views of the Moorea reef as well as of Tahiti and the ocean beyond.  This almost made the cost of the rental car worth it.  When we got back to the boat there was still a lot of daylight, but we really couldn’t think of any other use for the car.  We offered it to Lady Carolina, but they didn’t need it either, so Tim ended up using the time to go to the gas station to fill some jerry cans with gasoline.  I’m pretty sure Steve went with him, you know, because errands like that need moral support.  And maybe they stopped for a beer.  Maybe.