Raiatea and Taha'a Islands

Well, I don’t even know where to begin.
We've been having so much fun we haven't had any time to blog!

Since the last post, we left Fare, Huahine with Tony and Steve on Knot Tide Down (KTD) at 0800 or so. We had a bit of trouble lifting the anchor as once again… it was wedged under a rock. Luckily, Steve from KTD who just happens to be a fireman/rescue diver or something superman-ish like that, dove on the anchor the day before so we knew what to expect and which angle to approach and lift from. So up it came and through the pass we went! We left first on the 25 nm passage (towing our dingy), but KTD passed us en route (not towing their dingy) and made it through the Teavarua pass in Raiatea/Tahaa with us close on their stern. So I suppose they won. They’re looooonger than us… that’s all I have to say… I’m not a sore looser or anything.

Arriving at Raiatea

Knot Tide Down ahead of us

We've taken to calling Tony and Steve "the girls". They are completely manly men - lots of lumpy bumpy muscles and totally capable, so the nickname is a bit of an oxymoron since nothing is 'girly' about them in the slightest. But best of all, they're some of the nicest guys we've met in a long time.

 

That's enough about the girls. We headed to Apooiti Marina on the north end of Raiatea to rendezvous with Andy and Betty on Discovery. Don’t know if you recall that we met them in Cooks Bay, Moorea. We all hung on mooring balls as more bad weather was on its way. It’s no wonder its so green here – it rains and blows all the time! The six of us made lots of noise and had boat loads of fun for the next 5 days – eating and drinking our way around various bays and islets. That’s why we haven’t been posting – we’ve been too busy having FUN!

From left; Bill, Steve, Tony, Betty and Andy aboard Knot Tide Down

Local kids learning to sail on Optimists

After swimming with 'the girls' on Knot Tide Down

We stayed moored at Apooiti Marina and Le Carenage for a few days as the weather was packing it in. It didn't stop us though, we still managed to enjoy lots of dinner party's and happy hours. We dingyed to a little islet to do some snorkeling and Steve went spear fishing. He didn't catch anything but Carolyn managed to get 'speared' by a sea urchin in the knee. Ouch. Luckily, nurse Betty was around to dig the spears out of the knee using a needle. Yuck!

Nurse Betty digging out the urchin spines from my knee

When the weather finally came right we were all ready for a change of scenery. We had another fun race from Raiatea to Tahaa's Tapu'amu Bay. Actually it was a regatta seeing as we were 3 boats. There was a lot of competitive maneuvers as Discovery tried to hold the lead, but when it comes to boats size does matter and once again.... the girls on Knot Tide Down came in 1st!  Bill and I just watched the stern of their boats all afternoon!

Discovery holding the lead with Knot Tide Down looking to pass...and they did!

"Wait for us !!!"

We anchored at Tapu'amu bay where the fun continued.

 

Betty and Andy arriving at Kailani

The Girls - Toni and Steve boarding Kailani

 

From left, Steve, Carolyn, Tony, Andy and Betty on Kailani

The parties seem to go well into the night and there's never a shortage of laughter

 At night, the locals trained for a native dance competition which Andy was very keen to see. We all went ashore to watch the dancing and listen to the drums and singing. It was pretty spectacular. We have some video of the practice, but the files are too large to upload on French Polynesian internet, so these pictures will have to do!

The dancers

The musicians

Another day, we all boarded Discovery to sail across to Tautau, a motu (island) with excellent snorkeling and an insanely expensive resort. It is quite unsettling anchoring here so we all went in one boat. We motored over, while Super Steve opted to paddle board.

Andy and Betty helming Discovery

Steve on his paddle board - what a guy!

Carolyn and Betty - I just love that woman!

 

And Betty LOVES her Pompelmousse (grapefruit) !

Sunset with Tautau in the foreground and Bora Bora in the distance

Later KTD left for Bora Bora to pick up and friend flying in from LA, while Discovery and us went to Faaroa Bay to dingy up the longest and only navigable river in French Polynesia. Was pretty beautiful. We were greeted by a local named James who is happy to show his corner of the world to whoever is willing to venture up the river. Here’s a few more pics and then I'll stop rambling :)

James who will tell you everything you want to know about the area

Bill, Andy and Betty heading up river

James cutting up a coconut for us to eat

We walked up from the river to a vanilla plant nursery (on the right under the nets)

Carolyn, James and Bill

James took a fern and slapped it against our skin to create a little fern tattoo - can you see it?

Bill sucking on sugar cane

Despite all the rain, we managed to empty one of our water tanks. It was a bit disconcerting as we have always been so careful with water. I guess no passage making has meant little to no water making since we prefer to use open sea water to make water from. So now we’re laying in wait to depart for Bora Bora and meet up with The Girls while Andy and Betty are setting sail for Seattle via Hawaii. It's so sad :(