The fridge finally got fixed last Sunday night! We drank wine with Msr. Michelle to celebrate and picked his brain some more about Tahitian ways. We set sail for the Island of Moorea on Monday morning. Thank goodness Moorea is only a 2.5 hour sail from Tahiti because the fridge broke again on Tuesday. We hightailed it back to Tahiti early Wednesday morning, got it fixed again and sailed straight back to Moorea in time for dinner! Whew! The good news is that we saw many whales on our round trip venture. They are fascinating and BIG. I hope to be able to update the website with pictures today and you will see some whales.

We are anchored in the Oponohu Bay on Moorea. This is the actual bay where Captain Cook anchored in 1777. Moorea is a mountainous island, lush with green vegetation and crystal clear waters. It is supposed to be one of the most beautiful islands in the world and now we know why. It has an amazing energy as well! We have found the people here to be much friendlier than the rest on French Polynesia. We have been bike riding, snorkeling, and even rented scooters to drive around the 34 mile road of the island. We had dinner in the village this week and were treated to a Polynesian dance show. The local men and women dancers are amazing. You can’t help but be mesmerized by the way they move. (I personally couldn’t even think about keeping on those coconut shells up top, not to mention the way they move their hips…..) Of course there is always that part where they ask for audience participation so Gary and I disgraced ourselves in front of all. Mike refused the beauties that tried to get him out there….he just wanted to get us on film.

Mike and Gary have done a few dives already and are just amazed at the size and amount of sharks with each dive. I’m waiting for a more shallow dive a.k.a. less sharks dive! We are hoping to see more whales and get pictures of them underwater as well. We’ve made more cruiser friends and just having a blast getting to know them.

We were given a tour of an original Tiki Village here as well as the pearl farms. French Polynesia is famous for their black pearls. We watched a local open an oyster from the farm and gave me the raw pearl from inside. It’s amazing to see this.

Since we have been in French Polynesia we have noticed something odd about a disturbingly large portion of the male population. It seems they are very feminine in their demeanor and dress. They actually wear make up and jewelry like the women and walk and somewhat talk like the women. We’ve been thinking perhaps there was something in the water…..but as it turns out the tradition here is that the first born son of each family is the only male that is taken under the wing of the father and taught to hunt, fish…etc. All other sons stay home with Mom and sisters and are taught the more nurturing and domestic chores of the home. So when we see them dress and act more feminine it is simply because they were taught this. Many of them grow to have families of their own….not that I get who teaches their first son to hunt or fish….but this is what we have been told.

We’ve had some high winds kick up last night that are just howling over the mountains still. We are waiting for the weather to calm and we will set sail to Huahine (whooaheeknee) in the next day or so. This will be only a 90 mile sail so we leave here at dusk and arrive in the morning. (My favorite thing, night sailing.) There are a few islands between Huahine and Bora Bora, but this is our next stop. This should bring you up to speed for now. You are always in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you for allowing us to continue to share our adventures with you. Life is Good. Love to all. Stay tuned…..