The last two days feel a bit of a blur. The pace of life in a city is somewhat different and in a lot of ways we’re ready to head out of dodge.
On Thursday Helen and I dinghied off on a failed attempt to find a marina to the east to fill our gas tanks. Helen came along as there was supposed to be a Carrefour supermarket near the marina. Having not found the marina and hence not the supermarket we went back to the nearby Champion supermarket for our second provisioning trip.
In the afternoon we went for a walk over to the hardware and marine stores, unsurprisingly bumping into other cruisers along the way and in the stores. We spent the evening aboard Callisto chewing the cud over cartons of wine.
Yesterday morning I set off again for the marina to the east. One the way, while daydreaming, I ran the dinghy up onto a reef. It was ok but it took me a while to get it off. Later, while trying to find a shortcut, I got lost in a maze of channels in another reef. Very frustrating time. I eventually found my way to the Tahiti Yacht Club 4nm away just before running out of fuel. To fill three 5gal tanks cost me $80 which is the highest I’ve had to pay so far – but not as much as Europe, I know.
I found my way back ok as this time there were no short cuts and I had my full attention going.
We ate lunch out at the nearby MacDonalds – our first in over a year – before heading over to the Puddle Jump Registration booth set up near the visitors center. That didn’t take too long so we headed back to the boat to rest for the afternoon. I went for a walkabout to stretch my legs and looked at a fishing tackle shop. I’d been trying to order parts on the internet but had got frustrated when it came to ordering hooks as I had no idea of the sizes.
In the evening was the formal inauguration for the puddle jump rendezvous. We were greeted Tahitian style with rings of flowers around our necks. After a great Tahitian dance demonstration and speeches we had free drinks and a buffet. All a lot of fun. John hung back with friends last night and didn’t return until 2:30. We know there was a party on a nearby boat but we left this to the younger ones.
This morning we have the rally over the Moorea for more activites there. I’m sure it will be fun but it will be nice to get away from the pack sometime soon.
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