Moorea again

With the backstay repaired and provisions loaded, our work in Tahiti was done, so we enjoyed our last evening in Papeete by taking in the traditional dance show at the Intercontinental Hotel. We did NOT buy the $100 buffet to go with the show! Instead we got take out sashimi from the Carrefour supermarché, which we wolfed down while sitting on a bench in the shopping mall, much to the amusement of the locals.

We then walked a mile to the hotel, where we had a nice reserved table in the bar with a very good view of the dancing. The cold Hinanos were only $5, and there was a $5 cover, so this was an excellent deal indeed. While the dancing was not as good as at last year's Heiva festival, it was still a beautiful and entertaining show.

The next morning we sailed out of Taapuna Pass, while the local surfers enjoyed a wonderful left break just beyond the buoys.

There is a convergence zone parked over the Society Islands, so we didn't have the right winds to sail to Huahine. Instead, we returned to Moorea, which is such a verdant and restful contrast to Tahiti Nui. This time, we anchored right off the Bali Hai hotel in Cook's Bay. This is one of the friendliest and most charming hotels we have visited. They let us park our dinghy at their wharf and walk through their grounds.

The convergence zone dumped a few inches of rain on us during the night. The next morning Cathy used the rainwater in the dinghy to do her laundry.

Later we went ashore to continue provisioning. After stocking up on fresh baguettes, pastries, and veggies at the local market, we wandered up a dirt road into the surrounding hillside.

Near the end of the road, we came upon a local couple working in their garden, and asked if they had any bananas and/or pamplemousse to sell.

Sepli, a local firefighter, and his wife Vanina went into full hospitality mode, grabbing a huge sack and filling it with pamplemousse and limes. They also gave us an enormous stalk of bananas, some star fruit, papayas, and fresh basil and ginger.

There is so much fruit that they had to bring it to us in their truck later in the afternoon. It was way too heavy for us to tote! We tried to repay their hospitality by inviting them to happy hour on the boat.