Rangiroa

We have arrived at slack tide to enter through Tiputa pass. You have to time your arrival very carefully as there can be a 7 knot current either pushing you in through the pass where you are out of control or out of the pass where you are struggling to have steerage. Harry timed it perfectly and on the inside it was calm as a bath tub as you can see from above. We anchored directly in front of the hotel where Vanessa and I stayed at our honeymoon 28 years ago. 28 years ago it was a sleepy dive resort that is now turned into a luxury 4 star resort with over water bungalows. It was great after being at multiple beach restaurants and bars to walk into a luxury resort, watch the sunset, and have a proper cocktail after a couple months of sailing resorts.

Dolphin diving

If Fakarava was the shark capital of the South Pacific, Rangiroa is known for the playful dolphins that welcome you as you come into the pass and play with you as you scuba dive.

Please enjoy a short video of some footage of the dolphins and sea life I took while I was diving that Harry was nice enough to edit into a video.

Gaugin Pearl Farm

We took a tour of a 3rd generation black pearl farm. It was incredible to learn that it takes approximately 4 years to produce a black pearl. The shell will then be reseeded and a slightly larger pearl will be produced in another 4 years but with a lesser luster and some shells can be reseeded a 3rd time. It was wonderful to watch the pride in the owner explaining his life’s work.

Random Acts of Kindness

We have been amazed by the random acts of kindness extended to us on our journey. The picture above of Cullen and I on the bench is from a restaurant called Josephines that overlooks Tiputa pass. The dolphins put on a show at sunset doing summersaults in the waves 200 yards from the patio where Cullen and I are sitting. In spite of the fact that there was very little seating available, Josephine always made a space and made us feel welcome.

Adrian in Las Perlas saw us wandering around as we got out of our dingy, adopted us, gave us a tour of the island, took us to her 2 favorite beach bars, and then arranged not only a dinner reservation but someone to watch our dingy at the ferry dock. Another RAK (Random Act of Kindness)

Jose in Panama who owned the liquor store, we asked him a good place for lunch and he saw that we were struggling to get a taxi with 2 cases of wine, he got into his car, drove us to an incredible restaurant, and introduced us to the owner.

Our latest Random Act of Kindness was meeting Lily. She had a little restaurant and house on the waterfront on Rangiroa. We were able to meet her beautiful son and open or not she would always open the gate, get us cold beers, serve us incredible sashimi, and make us feel welcome. The reality is the people we have met along the journey and the people with us on the journey have both been an Irish Blessing.

Overnight to Tahiti

We have now arrived into Tahiti. Mike flew ahead to spend a week on shore with Cecelia. Vanessa will arrive this evening and Cullen and I will join her on shore at the Hilton Tahiti. We had an uncomfortable passage with 10 ft beam seas, constant rocking and high winds. It was so great so see the sunrise and come inside the protection of the reef. We are really looking forward to seeing Vanessa but also the creature comfort’s of a hotel, air conditioning, and a lobby bar as we have not slept ashore in 4 months since leaving Chicago. We will post again before we leave Bora Bora on May 20th.