September 15, 2007 - Saturday
Faaroa Bay, Raiatea, Society Islands
French Polynesia
We know there are nearby religious stone carvings atop the mountain, but how we get there from here is not clear. We have friends who have been hiking up every volcanic mountain, in the Society Islands, but we don't seem to follow suit. It is really amazing how much hiking is available throughout the Society Islands, after the low lands of the atolls of the Tuamotos, it is quite refreshing to see and probably a wonderful accomplishment to hike to the peaks.
Maybe, next time we'll make our second cruise through the South Pacific (and Easter Island), a hiking tour of the mountains and the ancient marae (stone structures and icons). We know we are beginning to sense departure as we already speak of "next time" or "wish we had gone here" or "wish we had stayed longer there". In any case, we all feel extremely grateful for the times we've had as we obviously have seen much more than the average tourist in paradise on their mere two-week vacation. I think, maybe it is worth all the seasickness woes…just maybe?
Captain
We have been immersed in reading the Harry Potter series. In anticipation of receiving HP 7, Sami reread all the books. As the most prepared, she was selected to read HP #7 first. Then, Gaby read it, followed by John. The three of them had to sneak conversations about the book and outcomes when neither Anya nor Judy was present. At the other end of the boat, Anya and Judy raced through HP #5. Anya read #1, 2, 4, 5 etc; sadly she could not read #3 as we had "sold" it to another cruiser who begged for us to sell it to her so her son had reading material during their passage across the big blue. Occasionally, we regretted that exchange but luckily, another awaits us at home. We realized that Anya reads faster than Judy, the bets were on that she would read #6 next. However, while at the Bali Hai Club Resort in Moorea, to our delight, someone had left a pocketbook copy of #6 in the book-trading library. So, we read #6 simultaneously. Still, Anya finished first and began HP #7. Days later, Judy was ready for HP #7, so the two shared the sole copy using different magnetic bookmarks as they read in tandem. Judy read after dinner and early in the morning. Anya read during the day and late into the night, leaving the book at the foot of her bed so Judy could read in the morning before she woke. Anya finished first. Yesterday, Judy finished HP #7 at 2 AM, yesterday others cooked, cleaned and conducted life without her. I call it a new "Literary Diet"; Judy reads more and cooks less. If Judy
read like she has for the last 48 hours, we'd all be thin in no time!
First Mate:
After breakfast, we dropped the dinghy and motored down the Faaroa River, which is navigable for over 1 km and empties into Faaroa Bay. This is an usual natural feature in the South Pacific. It reminded us of our river rides in El Salvador. The river was surrounded by lush green vegetation (bananas hung over the river edge as did the breadfruit trees, the taro root plants climbed up the banks, while the wild ginger bloomed in red and pink and nearby hibiscus firecracker shrubs shared the shoreline with the giant banyan tree roots), in the distance was the volcanic monumental ridgeline. The birds announced to the tropical inhabitants our passage. A sole local man rowed passed us on his surfboard, later informing us of a botanical garden at the edge of the river where he had just gathered some bromeliads and wild ginger flowers. In the shallow waters, a few schools of fish would part for our dinghy, as we rowed by, and often we would watch the three foot eels (some with leopard pattern skin) dart along the muddy bottom. Rain sprinkled and left, refreshing us. The mid-morning dappled sunlight and gentle breezes made it an ideal time for exploring the Faaroa River. Along the waters edge, a few homes, actually small simple dwellings, were set among fruit trees and vegetable gardens guarded by both sleepy and yappy dogs. A calm row down the river had us lazily enjoying the morning.
13:03 local: Pulled up the anchor to move to the next bay, across from Te Ava Moa Pass.
15:09 local: Dropped the anchor in 82 feet, a sand mud bottom, but a word of caution, don't go too deep into the anchorage, as there are coral heads that reach out from shore and come up quickly. What a rude surprise they can be!