Hot News

June 16, 2001 ~ June 30, 2001

June 30, 2001

We were up at 6am and motored over to the airport. David and Jason stayed aboard *Peace and Aloha* (since we didn't want to anchor this time!) while Eric and I went in to meet the plane at 8:40am to pick up David's Aunt Bernice and Uncle David, arriving from Sun Valley, Idaho (they had been traveling for almost 24 hours. (We just found out that Julie did not arrive home in Boulder until Friday afternoon!!! She had to spend the night in a hotel in Los Angeles, take the shuttle to San Francisco and FINALLY got a seat to Denver!!! She said that she was lucky to get that one....all the Fourth of July traffic...days ahead of time! I am sure that she is exhausted!)

They were only a little late, but Aunt Bernice had left all her hotel vouchers at home! So she was rather upset...as one would expect her to be!!! Eric and I took her into Moorings (where we had chartered) and Bruno (the manager) was most helpful, saying that it was NOT the end of the world and we should return on Monday, if we were still in the area, and he would call then, since no one would be at Tahiti Tours on the weekend. We walked to the market, picked up eggs and baquettes (some for *Silver Heels* too) and dinghied back to *Peace and Aloha*. We motored back out to the motu on Tahaa, where we had a nice lunch. While they were getting settled, relaxing and enjoying the beautiful scenery, we all went for a snorkel at the pass again for over an hour and saw the HUGE moray eels again plus the largest octopus we have ever seen. *Bow Bells* and *Silver Heels* were also commenting on the size of the eels!

We shared some of our delicious ono/wahoo for dinner....we were all in bed early!

June 29, 2001

A busy busy day! Washing, cleaning, cooking (blueberry banana muffins and whole wheat bread), haircut for David! We went snorkeling out in the pass by the fish trap for over an hour and saw at least 20 HUGE moray eels...the biggest eels we have ever seen!

We watched "Charlie's Angels"....quite an enjoyable movie....for us old folks, it was a little hard to adjust to the 00's look for the Angels! We were used to Kate Jackson and Farrah Fawcett...and I can't remember the other one....Help me!!!??? We do recommend that you see it and we hope that they make a sequel.

June 28, 2001

When we awoke, we were concerned about being on this mooring....then David saw someone going from one boat to another and he was getting VERY worried!!! It turned out to the bakery/fruit/fish/chicken delivery boat! We bought some absolutely delicious croissants and pan au raisin from him!! He should be in every bay every morning and also have baquettes! We left about 8:30am, before someone REALLY did arrive to charge us for the mooring (the moorings are put out by the local restaurants and are free IF you fraternize their restaurant for dinner! at least that is what we were told when we were chartering here!). We stopped by *Anna Maria* to thank them for their assistance with the mooring last night and met Gutta.

We motored by Uturoa and anchored by a motu (Ile Taoru) by Passe Teavapiti or Teavarua on the east coast of Raiatea. It was a VERY calm day so we dinghied all the way back to the town of Uturoa where we purchased baquettes, fruit, veggies, etc. in preparation for the arrival of Aunt Bernice and Uncle David. We had lunch at the motu and had planned to stay there until we picked them up on Saturday morning, but the snorkeling wasn't terrific, so we motored back up to our special motu by Tahaa. David and I went snorkeling and stopped by *Silver Heels* to meet Joan and Andy from South Africa in person....we have been talking on the SSB radio for months!!!

We had a beautiful evening with a delicious dinner of sphagetti and baquettes!

June 27, 2001

Yesterday we did not sail to Raiatea, because *Lady Meg* from Vancouver came over to visit and informed us that there was no problem anchoring near the airport. So we snorkeled for about an hour and a half, took pictures for our Christmas card photo on two cameras (we hope that we got one!!!) and worked more on changing addresses. We enjoyed parrot fish (which Eric had speared in the Tuamotus) for dinner.

Today we snorkeled one last time, took more pictures at this beautiful spot on the motu off Tahaa, and then motored across the Grand Bank Central to anchor near the airport at Raiatea. We dinghied into the airport and then to Moorings and we walked to a market to purchase fresh baquettes for lunch. We were disappointed by the prices in the little boutique next to Moorings, where we had purchased many items when we were here before! Pareos costing 400-500CFP are now 1450CFP!!!!!! Sorry....we didn't buy anything! The lady remembered us and we talked with her for a while in our fractured french!

We left *Peace and Aloha* to dinghy about five minutes to the airport and were told by a fellow from the Raiatea Yacht Club that we should not anchor there!!!! Julie's plane was late leaving, so as soon as she was on the plane at 5:45pm (just as the sun was setting), we raced out to the boat and quickly motored back across the Grand Bank Central to anchor in Apu Bay, Tahaa, where we had been many times before. We arrived just about dark (remember our days are very short here now!), and found all the boats were on moorings and the depth was 125+ feet. *Anna Maria,* a German boat, yelled at us to take a mooring since they were free!!! We had a huge mooring, which was really reserved for a charter catamaran, but thankfully, they did not return that night!

We had a quick dinner of scrambled eggs and baquettes and went to bed early!!!! Missing Julie LOTS....she just wasn't here long enough! She had REALLY wanted to return to Bora Bora, but we ran out of time! Everything takes sooooo long aboard a boat! She had tickets to fly to Papeete and then to Honolulu arriving about 5:30am Thursday. From Honolulu, she was flying standby back to Denver....we hope that she makes all her connections and arrives in Denver about 7pm tomorrow night. She and Chris are then driving to a family reunion (his mother's family) in Minnesota and then on to Virginia to see more of Chris's relatives. She is hoping to stop in Cincinnati to visit her Grandpa Brooks (my Dad) on the way and introduce Chris!

June 26, 2001

I was up early to work on this website before we snorkel and sail over to Raiatea to check out the airport for Julie's departure tomorrow afternoon! :( So, I need to finish so that Eric can add pictures and burn a cd for her to take!

We hope that you are all well and I will be answering all of your emails, which have sat in our mail box, while I have been working on this website. Please make a note of the website address: peaceandaloha.com and our snail mail address: 6175 Habitat Drive #1068, Boulder, CO 80301.

We are also picking up Aunt Bernice and Uncle David in Raiatea on Saturday, June 30 for their five day visit with us. They are really amazing....at 80 years of age! We are looking forward to showing them French Polynesia and the cruising life! We wish that more of you could be visiting us....maybe in Tonga or New Zealand! We love you all...and miss you lots! Keep the emails coming! God bless you all and Keep you Safe!

June 25, 2001

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DENNY!!! Have a wonderful day!

We went into town early to shop at the supermarket (bread and fruits/vegs) and purchase gifts for Julie to take home. We tried to recomfirm her Air Tahiti tickets, but the computer was down! We left Huahine about 10:30am and were anchored off Ile Mahaea after arriving through Passe Toahotu on Tahaa by 3pm after a very rolly passage!!! The winds were gusting to 31 knots and the seas were quite steep! Thank heavens we were going downwind! Julie and I didn't feel too well especially since she had to make lunch! We had snorkeled here both times when we were here before. David, Julie and I went for a wonderful snorkel in crystal clear shallow water out to the reef! We saw flounders, live shells and an abandoned fish trap. After dinner, we helped Julie pack....she is taking back many of our souvenirs that we won't be able to take into New Zealand. We also gave her pearls and molas, etc. etc.!

June 24, 2001

Today was another work day!! I spent all day working on administration and address changes, since Julie had brought our mail. Rain continued off and on...while David worked on the radio schedule. Everyone went snorkeling during the afternoon but me!!!

Another concern around here is ciguatera fish poisoning which *Queen Jane* just encountered by eating a peacock grouper in Tahanea,Tuamotus. We were informed that we should NOT eat that fish, so we are questioning why they would eat it!

June 23, 2001

With no surf early in the morning (Eric and Julie were up and all ready to go!) they went into town to get bread! A fishing boat caused a wake which made one of Eric's boards fall on the floor making four dings!!! Everyone was VERY upset! We made lunch and took a huge hike (about 15 km) to Maeva and Matairea Hill to see the marae. Many of them have been restored. Quite a beautiful complex! We didn't have much luck with the hike up the hill because of the mosquitos! There also quite a complex of fish ponds. We only snorkeled for about 10 minutes when we returned, since we were soooooo tired!

June 22, 2001

We arrived and were anchored in Fare, Huahine off the Bali Hai Hotel by 9am. We put the boat back, cooked Herman bread and sticky buns, and went for a 45 minute snorkel on the reef, seeing three eels, a spotted ray under our boat (he came up to check us out!) and a lion fish. We went to bed early after a nice dinner of clam chowder and slept well even though it rained off and on all night (just like when we were here in 1997!)!

June 21, 2001

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LYNN!!! We hope you had a nice day!

We made Herman bread and rolls and clam chowder for our passage, made the boat ready, while the kids dinghied into the gas station for fresh bread and bananas! We snorkeled for about an hour, said goodbye to the boats in the anchorage and set sail about 4pm. Remember: this is the SHORTEST day of the year here in the Southern Hemisphere! We followed our normal watch schedule and Julie joined Jason on his watch from 12-2am. So, Julie has officially done an overnighter! She was very very impressed by the stars. They were definitely impressive! We did see many many boats and had to change course several times for cruise ships just bidding their time between ports (similiar to our approach into Charlotte Amalie Harbor in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands).

June 20, 2001

I started making bread/cinnamon rolls with Herman (sour dough starter) before we went into the little town, where we located Hono Iti Boutique where we had purchased Eric's ukele and pareos when we were here in 1996. Maevra was still there, but we didn't find anything to purchase... everything is sooooo expensive now! We did purchase Moorea pineapple (small and deliciously sweet!), bananas and fresh bread at the gas station where we parked the dinghy.

We snorkeled out on the reef for an hour and a half, finding lots of pretty shells! We had tacos for dinner before we watched "102 Dalamations" which we loved!!! We especially enjoyed the ferocious rottweiler!!

We also found out on our morning SSB net that two more cruisers: Joy on *Fair Hippolyta* and Julius on *Argonauta* have dengue fever. The other cruisers were Claire, Jonathan, and William, all aboard *Attitude.* All of them were on Makemo in the Tuamotus. We just hoped that we do NOT get it! It seems to be a real problem here in Tahiti and Bora Bora!

June 19, 2001

We made the boat ready very early and then David and I took le truc into Papeete at 8am and cleared out with the Port Captain, purchased fruits and vegetables at the market, checked out Manihi's sons shops with no luck and were back at the boat by 10am! We also met Christoff at the bus stop in Papeete....he was the pearl farmer who directed us around his buoys in Fakarava! This is a small world after all!!!

The kids had gone to Continent and purchased bread, vegs and fruits also...so we were all set for a few days! Then we had to say aloha to Kelly and Tamera on *Saiorse*....we were very very sad to leave them!!! They will be catching up to us after Gavin returns in August, but Kelly might be leaving the boat to head to Australia to study for a master's degree in marine biology! We feel certain that our paths will cross once again...sometime! This is the WORST part of our cruising life... parting with very dear friends whom we meet along our journey!

We made lunch, stowed everything, left Maeva Beach (clearing out with Port Control on VHF to clear both ends of the runway and out the Harbor of Papeete) and arrived in Cook's Bay on Moorea about 13 miles from Papeete at 4pm. There were about nine boats anchored out on the reef, including *Bow Bells,* *Silver Heels,* and *Lady Kathyrn.*

June 18, 2001

We took le truc into town and spent most of the morning at the internet trying to update this website....NO LUCK so Julie will take a burned cd back to Boulder and Chris will do it. REMEMBER to change your address book to peace and aloha.com for us! Also we are changing our snail mail address to: 6175 Habitat Drive #1068 Boulder, Colorado 80301! Please update all your address books!!!

We had lunch (panache sandwiches from the market) sitting on the town wharf with another cruise ship docked behind us! We tried to locate Manihi's son, the tatoo artist, but he was not in his shop! So, I am out of luck for getting a tatoo! We saw a dermatologist who spoke English at the clinic and he burned off the questionable spot on my leg, indicating that it was simply a kerotosis and nothing to be concerned about! He said that I could still swim!!! We then went to check out, but the port captain was NOT there so we could not complete the entire process of Immigration, Customs and Port Captain check-out! We then went to Continent to shop for food and bread having decided not to purchase any in Papeete....Continent was closed all day for inventory!!! No fresh bread or food!

June 17, 2001

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE FATHERS OF THE WORLD!!! Especially to our Dads in Cincinnati, Ohio and Bonita Springs, Florida! We wish that we could be there to celebrate your special day with you! David was lucky since he had all three of his kids here to celebrate! We purchased him a Tahitian music tape and Julie had brought a classical piano cd from Colorado for him! Then Kelly and Tamera brought him some ABSOLUTELY delicious French pastries from Continent! Kelly and Tamera joined us for movie night ...we watched "Meet the Parents" and enjoyed ice cream and pastries! What a wonderful party with delightful company! The movie is definitely a must-see!!! VERY funny! What a wonderful Father's Day! (Even though it rained all night!)

I worked on the website and more administration, while the kids worked on jerry-jugging diesel and gas to completely fill up our tanks. We decided that was easier than taking the Mother Ship into the very small fuel dock. We were able to get duty free diesel but it was still about $5/gallon.

June 16, 2001

Saturday was a work day - David worked on TAXES!!! And then it rained hard all afternoon, but we decided to go to the supermarket Continent with Kelly and Tamera to purchase bread! Not a very nice day for Julie's visit, but we did finish all the taxes!