Onwards and upwards | October 21, 2012

Position: 17°S, 149°W – Papeete, Tahiti

Eithne in pool mode

One day off boat duty proved to be addictive – we went on holiday last weekend, splashing out to spend two nights in luxury at the Moorea Pearl Resort and Spa (thanks for the tip Amit Luis, it was even better than we imagined!). Every other couple at the resort was on honeymoon so when the staff congratulated us on our recent nuptials with a complimentary bottle of wine, we decided it was better not to confuse them. For two days we sat by the pool, snorkelled on the nearby reef and kayaked around Cook’s Bay, just like your typical honeymooners. We enjoyed every minute of our ‘weekend away’ and are already looking forward to our next stay on land, wherever it may be. 

The calm before the, er, storm

One of the highlights of our hotel stay was the buffet breakfast. We gorged ourselves both days, starting with the cereal and OJ, progressing to the salami, ham and cheese, before finishing with the full range of the cooked section and a few pain au chocolats to round it all off. A few hours after checking out on Monday and 30km down the road on a tandem bike, the shine started to wear off the buffet breakfast as the Skipper started to recognise the familiar signs of food poisoning. Even the bike seemed to figure out what was coming and wasn’t keen on sticking around to watch the main feature. It promptly lost a bearing and broke down so that we could get a lift home and back to the boat just in time for breakfast to come straight back up. Things seemed like they were about to get a lot worse when the head (toilet) packed it in too but thankfully the Skipper recovered before it got really messy.

With both the head and Skipper back to 100% working capacity, we left Moorea on Thursday and returned to Marina Taina to refill fuel, water, gas and do a laundry run. We’re in the anchorage this time which means that we are treated to unobstructed views of  sunsets over Moorea every evening.  Today we spent a very pleasant Sunday afternoon with our yachtie mates Brian and Sue who are moored nearby, swapping stories and getting advice on different sailing destinations over cups of tea. They are flying to New Zealand for two months in mid-November so we had plenty of travelling tips to give in return.  

Cook's Bay - a nice place to call home for a week

From here we are heading north-east to the Marquesas Islands. This is a change to our original route but from what we’ve heard from other sailors here, they are well worth a visit to experience a more authentic French Polynesia than Tahiti and Moorea. Due to prevailing winds and the approaching cyclone season, Bora Bora and the other leeward islands will have to wait until next time (‘There’s going to be a next time?’ shrieks the First Mate).  

And finally, in advance of a few events taking place this week...

Happy 60^th Birthday JJ Sweeney!

Welcome home Kate & Paul!