July 13-16, 2012

July 13  In order to use the internet one goes to the Post Office and buys a Manaspot card which has username and password under scratch off silvery stuff.  Or ditto from a hotel.  So we left bright and early for a very short dinghy ride to the city wharf and the nearby PO.  Tiny little thing. You take a number and wait your turn.  No problem as there were only 2 people ahead of us and they had country music in English.  We were amused by the little 3-4 year old girl waiting with us.  When we sat down she moved as far away as she could get.  When we stood up she walked around and around us checking us out.  It reminded us of the last time we were in Polynesia and the babies would cry when they saw us and the parents would say, "Don't cry. It's only a palangi" (white person).  Apparently, the Post Office is like a bank/safe deposit and the two people ahead of us had wads of 10000 French Polynesian francs to deposit.  40 minutes! later it was our turn only to find that they are out of Manaspot cards.  I know enough French to understand "ne. . .pas" and a show of empty palms plus the pointing to the empty hole in the drawer.

July 14  The wind is howling up to 35 knots and we are just hunkered down doing chores.  We got our internet card at a local pension.  We are glad we moved the boat closer to town. Two huge motor yachts anchored where we used to be. They are all lit up like miniature Carnival cruise ships.  Not the neighbors you want.

July 15  Went to church (Catholic) and were totally inspired by the beauty created from local shells, flowers and wood and the many hues of turquoise of the lagoon seen outside.  All those beautiful people smiling and singing their awe inspiring music reminded us of what's important in life.  Fortunately, the priest talked with his hands so I did fairly well understanding the sermon.  Had lunch in a real French restaurant including dessert. Oh, my.    In the evening we deposited trash and took a stroll through the village, church, cemetery and ocean side of the motu with its outer reef - our last  Fakarava evening .  We leave in the morning on the outgoing tide for Toau.

Etienne with a pearl
on their previous visit

July 16, 2012  On our last trip in 2000,  Toau was one of our favorite places and one of the places we stayed longest.  Pamela's pearl farm,  Rarahu (one of Marlon Brando's many Tahitian children),Tamateo and Etienne, Barry helping with the pearl oyster setting, Valentine and Gaston and shark fishing and the many shared meals.  Turning down the offer to kill a turtle to eat and saying please take us to see living turtles instead (which they did!).  Learning all about pearl farming, how to fish and get other edible critters off the reef.  We'll see what this trip brings.  So far we have a distant neighbor.  He kayaked over to say howdy just as (again) we were bathing naked in the cockpit after our  snorkeling.  We darted below to get some clothes, came back and said Sorry. We were naked and had to go get  clothes.  "I noticed", he said. Cruisers are a race apart.  Single hander from Vancouver anxious to chit chat

Pamelia seeding a pearl on their
previous visit