La ora na from Tahiti where we are still waiting for the arrival of our new mainsail. I know, I know – there are worse places to be waiting 😂 but we are on a final countdown to when we must depart French Polynesia due to our 90 day visa. We had hoped to have time to explore some of the other Society islands but until we have a mainsail, in Tahiti we remain. The benefit of course has been some time to rest and relax while safely docked in a marina (or so we thought, cue foreshadowing…). We have had the ability to catch up on some needed projects and boat maintenance. We also have worked on provisioning and exploring a bit of the island.
We rented a car and set off to do some provisioning on Saturday. Since we left Panama in February for our Pacific crossing, all of the stores have been smaller mom and pop stores with the exception of the Uline supermarket in Hiva Oa. This meant a much smaller selection of items as well as a higher cost. In Tahiti, we have been pleasantly surprised with the wide variety of stores and selection of items. Our first stop was at a large Carrefour market not too far from the marina. The size of the store rivals a US supermarket or Walmart. Not only do they carry groceries but also household supplies and clothing. And yes, we found pretzels, cereal, and curry sauce! But no tahini. There always seems to be one item that just cannot be found. And yes, I know we can make homemade tahini with sesame seeds but it is a bit more challenging without a food processor on board! And so began the great hunt for tahini in Tahiti! We went to a different Carrefour that was even bigger and nicer, we visited the Happy Market (love the name), Marina Express, the list goes on but no tahini- ah well, I guess we will be making it!
On Sunday, we decided to do some island exploring and started the day with breakfast on the waterfront in Papeete. Papeete is the capital of French Polynesia and has a population of 27,000. It is definitely the busiest place we have seen since Panama City. There are many stores, restaurants, businesses, and traffic! One of the highlights to visit is Marché Papeete or Papeete Market. The market is a riot of colors and smells, with two floors of vendors. It sells fruit, vegetables, fish, flowers, oils, handicrafts and many souvenir items. Vendors also sell local textiles and handcrafted items such as shell necklaces as well as handwoven hats, baskets and purses. It was a bit overwhelming to the senses but definitely my favorite area of the market was the flowers. So many exotic and colorful flowers to enjoy. Because we visited at the end of the market day, we made a plan to go back earlier the next morning to purchase some fresh produce!
Upon leaving the market, we decided to take advantage of having a rental car and take a drive south along the coast. The roads are very nice and well marked here but of course there are lots of roundabouts. And of course the car was a manual transmission but Bob did great. Our first stop was to visit the Museum of Tahiti. We had been told by other cruisers this was an absolute must! We are so glad we took their advice- it was a beautifully done museum that is the national museum of French Polynesia. It provided a look into the history, culture, and traditions in each of the five archipelagos of French Polynesia. It was fascinating and so educational with a focus on the population, navigation, funeral rites, marae, sacred, fishing, everyday life, tapa, tattoo, dance and music. They also had a photographic exhibit that was beautiful including a very moving Pride exhibit exploring life as a transgender Polynesian.
We left the museum to continue our coastal exploration. Our next stop was at Plage Vaiava – because for all who know me well, you know I cannot go past a beach without stopping 😂 The beach was a public park and quite busy. It had food trucks and some areas with shade as well as a large sandy beach. We took a quick look but then continued on our way. As we drove, we passed many beautiful public parks with access to the water which was so nice to see. Many locals as well as tourists seemed to be enjoying these areas together. Our next step was at Grotte De Mara’a. This site is composed of three natural caves hollowed out of the rock. The permanent trickle of water has formed pools of water and the ceilings of the caves are covered with ferns and moss. The biggest cave is called Te-ana-pape-o-Vai-poiri. The other two caves, called Mata-va’a and Vai-patoto, are much smaller. The site is difficult to see from the road but has great trails between the three caves. It is said that this site is clearly visible from the sea and serves as a landmark for local fishermen. We continued our drive a bit further along the coast before we turned around to head back to the marina for the night.
On Monday morning, we headed back into Papeete to the market to purchase some produce. There were definitely more vendors and more choices than the day before. It was so great to find some beautiful tomatoes and fresh basil as well as eggplant! After the market we stopped to have some cappuccino and pastries before heading back to return the rental car. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we did not venture far and I used the time to do some cooking with the fresh ingredients we had procured. I made some homemade naan and roasted eggplant on Tuesday followed by pasta with tomatoes and basil on Wednesday which was fun. It was great that we had done some provisioning since the weather turned a bit windy and the swell in the marina got a bit challenging.
Swell in a marina when you are on a dock with easy access is not usually an issue. But when you are on a dock and you have to use a passerelle to get on and off the boat, things get a little tricky. A passarelle is a gangway or boarding platform to get on and off the boat. In our case it is a 10 inch wide plank of wood that I have lovingly dubbed, “ the plank of doom”. This plank is tied at an angle to our backstay to keep it from falling in the water. It is a bit slippery, (just ask Bob how he knows 😉) and on an angle due to our windvane coming off the back of the boat. It is one thing to walk the plank while it is relatively calm but a whole different thing to try and do it when the boat is bobbing up and down maniacally! On Wednesday evening the wind seemed to pick up in addition to the swell so we hunkered down below to read. At bedtime, Bob went up on deck to secure things for the night when I heard him calmly say, “I need you to get your shoes, get the searchlight, and come up here. Quickly.” This is never a good thing to hear on a boat. Upon exiting the companionway, I see the sailboat next to us is up against our fenders and of course no one is onboard. Bob quickly walked the plank of doom to get down to the dock amid the continued swell and realized their mooring line on the port side had given way. Not only was the boat now dangerously close to us but it was also hitting the stern on the dock. I stayed on our boat to be able to push their boat off of Meraviglia while Bob jumped on board to try and at least find a way to pull their stern off the dock to prevent further damage. He was able to secure a secondary line that helped pull it off the dock but it was still a risk to us. He went in search of marina staff to get assistance while I stayed on Meraviglia to continue to push the boat off of us. At that hour of the night, only the security staff are on sight and their boat experience is limited so Bob continued to help them troubleshoot a way to temporarily secure the boat for the night. After trying a variety of things, they were able to string a mooring line from the next mooring space over onto the boat. I think they were very thankful for Bob’s assistance as the security staff seemed very nervous around the water and especially getting on and off the passerelle in those conditions! Crisis averted for the night but we did have some trouble getting to sleep that night! By Friday, the swell finally calmed down and the owners of the sailboat next door returned and are working to make sure their boat is well secured.
So, we are continuing to await our sail which currently appears to be stuck in New Zealand per our tracking information. We are using the wait time to continue our research for our continued journey west and have booked our marina for cyclone season. Hopefully, this week will bring our new sail and we can move on to Bora Bora 🤞
Manuia from Meraviglia!
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