Rangiroa atoll is the largest atoll in the Tuamoto Archipelago, and the 2nd largest in the world. It’s 44nm long by 18nm wide, so if you were in the middle, it would seem like you were in the open ocean, except there would be no ocean swell. We arrived at 4am after an overnight sail from Manihi, so we hove-to a mile out until daybreak. A large schooner was also waiting for daylight to enter the pass and we contacted them on VHF to verify when slack water was. Like many, this atoll is tricky to enter since the published times for hi/low tides are also affected by wind. On windier days, the atoll fills up with more water than normal, which affects the timing of the current entering/exiting the atoll, as well as the magnitude of the current. We followed the 100’ schooner in at 8am under power with the wind from astern and a slightly ebbing current. The waves were steep but this pass is wide and deep, and after 10 minutes we were inside the huge lagoon in calm water. We anchored in 35’ of water at a popular sight among 2 dozen boats.

Snorkeling at the Aquarium

Just inside Tiputa pass, there’s a small motu called Nuhi Nuhi, about an acre in size, with a single palm tree on it.  A reef extending off the southern side, called the Aquarium, is a great place to snorkel. We tied the dinghy to a mooring ball and snorkeled around for an hour. The current was strong because of the southerly wind, so we had some difficulty returning to the dinghy. We saw lots of tropical reef fish, a Moray Eel, and colorful coral.

Scuba Diving

The Tuamotu will be one of the best dive sights we will be visiting, and Rangiroa has plenty of dive shops. Karen and I did our last dive in the Great Barrier Reef about 2 years ago, so we didn’t need an easy, refresher dive. We did 2 dives on different days with a friendly dive shop called Eleuthera Plongee of Rangiroa.  Both dives started just outside of Tiputa pass and ended inside the pass, drifting along with the incoming current. The reef was very alive and colorful and full of tropical fish.  At 65′ we saw a white-tipped reef shark http://sto..t/female-cialis/. Jacintha stayed ashore and had fun hanging out with kids from  Bob the Cat, a Kiwi family on a 48′ Catamaran who we first met in the Marquesas (Dave the captain and some of his crew did the dive with us). I used a GoPro Hero3 camera on the dives to take the pictures shown below.

The Blue Lagoon

The Blue Lagoon is an atoll within an atoll. Located near the SW corner of Rangiroa atoll and about 20 miles from our anchorage, the Blue Lagoon is a shallow lagoon less than a mile wide that’s surrounded by reefs and small motus. To save time and effort, we took a tour that departed on a fast powerboat from the anchorage in the morning, and returned in the early evening. It included lunch (BBQ chicken, poisson cru, fried fish, fruit, cake and drinks) that was prepared and served on one of the motus they used as camp. The snorkeling inside the lagoon was fair, but the scenery and setting were ideal. Jacintha had fun wading in the water among lots of small reef sharks. The group of about 25, mostly tourists from France, also walked along a shallow reef to a neighboring motu called Bird Island to see Frigates and other birds. On the way back from the Blue Lagoon, the boat stopped at an area where there are lots of sharks. manta rays, and reef fish. We snorkeled around the black-tipped reef sharks for an hour. Most were about 4-5’ in length, but a few that we saw were 8-10’. They were called Lemon Sharks and tended to swim under us at around 10’ below the surface. The photos were taken from a GoPro Hero3.

Jacintha Snorkeling at The Aquarium

Final Day in Manihi
Our 4th and final day in Manihi was spent relaxing and snorkeling in the turquoise, warm waters. The crew from another Seattle boat (SV Scintilla—Chris, Chris, Marcus, Cindy) joined us in the anchorage and snorkeled around the reef with us. We spotted lots of different reef fish and a moray eel. Jacintha is very comfortable snorkeling now and doesn’t use a life vest anymore. We just need to keep a close eye on her as she likes wondering off while exploring the reefs.

Fixing Dinghy Paddle
When there’s no Home Depot, West Marine, or even a basic hardware store within a few hundred miles, you learn to be creative if you need to fix something. When we were in Hiva-Oa, we had our dinghy tied to the concrete wall while we were touring the island. The surge pounded it against the rough concrete and broke off one of the aluminum oar handles. We went a few weeks without fixing it and luckily didn’t need it, but if the engine would ever fail, having 2 oars would be helpful to get back to the boat. So today I finally fixed it.

Yesterday while walking around a remote area of Manihi atoll, we found a couple of 3’ long metal pipes, about a foot longer than the aluminum tube that broke off the paddle. I used a hacksaw to cut off the damaged end of the aluminum tube, then shoved the metal pipe inside the tube about 1’, leaving 2’ sticking out which made it the same length as the original paddle. I drilled through the tube and pipe and used a 1-1/2” stainless steel machine screw, locknut, and washers to fasten it. Next I slid on the plastic collar that has a hole where the paddle pivots against the dinghy when rowing. The diameter of the collar was larger than the pipe, so I cut some rubber (from an old bicycle inner tube) to wrap around the pipe to make it fit tighter. Next I drilled through the pipe using the holes in the collar as a guide. On the end where your hand would be when using the paddle, I wrapped some more rubber inner tube around the pipe to make it a more grippable handle. Then I used rescue tape, which stretches and bonds to itself, to cover all the joints between the collar, pipe, and aluminum tube to cover up any sharp edges.. The whole project took about 90 minutes and now the paddle is strong and usable again.  Will try it out today when we go ashore to snorkel and gather coconuts!

Coconut Gathering
While anchored in a remote part of Manihi in the Tuamotus, we got serious about coconut gathering! We found a tree that was not too tall that had lots of young, green coconuts. Armed with a climbing harness, 50’ of rope, and a machete, we returned the tree with high hopes climbing to the top and hacking off cluster of coconuts. I tied an old coconut that was on the ground to the rope and tossed it over a branch near the top and pulled myself up. While holding my weight, I was able to twist off 3 or 4 coconuts before I had to lower myself back down to rest. My second attempt to climb up was less successful and I ended up on the ground on my back as the rope slid down the branch (obvious now from the photo). We found a long stick nearby that was perfect for reaching the coconuts from the ground. I broke off branches to make the end ‘V’ shaped and used it to push against the coconuts until they fell down. This method was far easier than climbing up, and I was able to drop another 9 coconuts. After jumping in the water to cool down, we chopped up one of the coconuts and enjoyed the refreshing coconut water and then ate the soft coconut meat. The remaining 12 we took back to the boat for future consumption.

Another Tooth
I was relaxing in the hammock reading on my Kindle and Jacintha decided to join me. While she was climbing in, her very loose tooth got bumped and fell out! This is her 2nd tooth to come out on the boat trip. The tooth fairy stopped by overnight and left her 500 French francs (about $5 US).

Misc. Boat Projects
During our stay in Manihi atoll, we did some boat maintenance. A thick, green layer of algae had formed along the waterline and a good scrubbing  was needed to remove it. I also cleaned and waxed most of the hull above the waterline while floating alongside in the dinghy.

During our Pacific Puddle Jump crossing, a water leak had developed in the head. The floor was constantly wet with saltwater, which we thought was from leaking chainplates or a thru-hull fitting, since the deck was constantly wet. At anchorage I discovered the leak was actually coming from the toilet intake, so I dug out a gasket from the head rebuild kit and that fixed the leak.

Karen finished modifying the dinghy chaps (canvas sun protection) that we had made for us in La Cruz. There were 2 cutouts for the oar on the port side that were missed, so she cut the circles and lined them with vinyl, the same way the others were done. We then fit the chaps onto the dinghy.

I spent 2 hours free-diving to clean the boat bottom, scraping the barnacles off the propeller and hull. It was the first good cleaning since La Cruz, Mexico. I noticed the bow thruster zincs were gone so will replace them at the next stop.

Nuku-Hiva is the administrative center of the Marquesas, with air service to Tahiti. We had a nice 28 mile sail here from Ua-Pou with just the main and genoa and Ian doing most of the steering. We dropped anchor in Taiohae Bay–a large, fairly well-protected bay on the south side of Nuku-Hiva. A small cafe next to the dinghy pier had wifi and is where we spent a considerable amount of time uploading pictures from the 23-day crossing and our visits to 3 other islands. They had refreshing orange, pinapple, pamplemousse juice, french baked goods, chicken and fish, coffee, etc, so we sat and ate and drank and used wifi.

In the evening, we went to an outdoors children’s native dance/drum competition.  Kids from several islands dressed in colorful outfits and performed haka dance which combines dancing and chanting. There was food cooked on outdoor BBQs so we ate dinner while watching the performance.

Nick caught a ride to the small airport on the north end of Nuku-Hiva, where he boarded a flight to Tahiti.  He booked a room in Papeete for 1 night, then will fly to New Zealand for a week before heading back to England.  Nick was with us for a week in Mexico, the 23-day crossing to French Polynesia, and 12 days in the Marquesas. He and Jacintha bonded well and he really lightened the load on Karen and I. We enjoyed having him aboard!

One evening we went to a native dance show that was inside a building near the anchorage. A dinner of Marquesan-style food was served prior to the dancing, which was a nice variety as shown in the pictures below.

We spent 2 days at a quiet bay called Taioa (also known as Daniels Bay) just 6 miles west of Taiohae,  The highlight was a trek to a waterfall with the crew from Family Circus. The hike took 2-1/2 hrs each way with river crossings and rocky terrain, but was well worth the effort. The 250-meter high waterfall was at the end of a narrow, steep canyon. The deep pool of cold water was refreshing after the long hike. The top of the falls wasn’t visible since it cascaded down several rock faces and you had to swim around some large boulders to reach the area where the water fell. On the way back we stopped at one of the few houses and bought fruit  (mangos, pamplemousse, coconuts) from the owners, who asked what we wanted and then picked them off their trees. The couple are relatives of a well-known man Daniel, who passed away a few years ago and to whom the bay was named after.

We up-anchored and motored back to Taiohae Bay to provision and re-fuel in preparation for our next venture—a 3-day passage to the Tuamotus, once called the Dangerous Archipelago. The atolls there have lagoons surrounded by fringe reefs and  are only about as tall as  coconut trees, so you don’t see them until you’re 5 miles away. There’s usually 1 or 2 passes to get inside the atolls and timing is very important because of the strong currents.

Hi from Apropos anchored on Ua-Pou island, our 3rd stop in the Marquesas. We left a very crowded but fun anchorage on Hiva-Oa mid-day yesterday for the 75 mile sail to Hakahau Bay on Ua-Pou, where there are only 2 other boats anchored. Our guidebook says this is one of the most “dramatic” islands with the tall rocket-shaped rock formations around the bay. We arrived at 7am and plan to stay here 2 days, then on to Nuku-Hiva, our final stop in the Marquesas, and Nick’s jumping off point.

The beauty of this place (and the fact that we’re in the South Pacific) makes the pain endured over the past 24 hours worth it! As we up-anchored yesterday, we fouled the prop with a line from the wind vane (capt’s mistake) just as the anchor was aboard. Being in such a crowded anchorage, we quickly dropped the anchor back down to keep us from drifting into any of our neighbors. I dove down and after 10 minutes was able to free the line from the propeller shaft. In the process, my hands, arms, and back got bloodied from scraping against the razor-sharp barnacles on the hull (there was a lot of chop so the boat was bouncing around a lot). Then for the next 12 hours we motored and motor-sailed through confused seas to get to Ua-Pou. Confused seas with little wind are a bad combination because the boat rolls a lot, making it difficult to sleep. We shortened the watches to 3-hours and used the electric auto pilot to steer since the engine was running. We poled out the genoa and had the main up until the wind went below 5 kts, then lowered the main at 4am. About 30 minutes from the bay a squall came through and soaked us, so we arrived tired and wet. But hey, like I said, we’re in a beautiful anchorage now in the South Pacific and the past 24-hours are in the past… We decided not to go ashore and just relax on the boat and swim in the water. Going to shore means preparing the dinghy (uncovering, inflating, and lowering into the water) and lowering the engine from the stern brackets down into the dinghy. Our 2nd day here was full of rain showers. Karen did laundry and had the clothes drying on lines and every time they were almost dry another shower came through. We collected lots of fresh rainwater running off the bimini and from atop the dinghy cover and Jacintha had fun playing with the water. The entire bay turned a muddy brown from the water runoff from ashore. The swell coming through the anchorage got worse and overnight our anchor alarm went off. At 3am we only had 8’ of water under our keel and were getting closer to a rocky shore so we up-anchored and moved to deeper water. This was the first time we drug anchor and had to re-anchor. I think it was a combination of bad holding (sounded like the chain was scraping on a rocky bottom) and the large swell and wind. We woke up tired to a very steep swell coming into the bay and decided it was time to get out of there!

Hi from Apropos in Hiva-Oa. We up-anchored from Fatu-Hiva at 7am and set sail for the largest of the Marquesan Islands, Hiva-Oa, the official port of entry. We sailed in light winds most of the way and arrived at 5pm to a full anchorage with a dozen boats, many of them from the Pacific Puddle Jump rally who we are friends with. Chris and Heather from Family Circus stopped by in the evening to exchange stories of our crossings. Jacintha was thrilled to see her two good friends and they played in the “v-berth club” while the adults talked in the cockpit. Family Circus is a fast Catamaran and did the crossing in 19 days and they’ve been in Hiva-Oa for a week so gave us lots of good information–where to find wifi, banks, pizza, tours, etc. We plan to spend about 5 days here before moving on to the next island. Tomorrow we will visit the Gendarme, the official who checks you into the country, then go to a bank to get some French francs and explore the town, which is a few miles from the anchorage. The only gas station on the island is next to the anchorage so it’s easy to hitchhike a ride into town.

We did the official check-in with the gendarme so we’re now legal and can stay in French Polynesia for up to 90 days. Afterwards we walked around the small town and found an internet cafe, small grocery store, hardware store, and a few restaurants. We bought some french baguettes and ate them with butter, cheese, and prochiutto for dinner. Today we went on a full-day tour of Hiva-Oa. Our guide Pifa, who also works as a fireman, grew up on Hiva-Oa but spent time in the states and spoke English. He drove us in a 4-wheel drive SUV from the south end of the island to the west end and then the north end along narrow winding roads that were mostly dirt and rock (felt like we were back on the boat!). We stopped at a recently discovered solitary Tiki that dates back to 50AD! At another Tiki sight from the 1800s there were a half dozen stone Tikis along with other stone arrangements and Pifa explained what each one symbolized as well as some historical facts about the site. He then lead Nick and I through the beginning part of a Haka dance, the ancient warrior dance that’s still performed at dance festivals throughout French Polynesia. Another stop was at the house of one of his Uncles (Pifa’s grandfather had 20-some kids and he joked that half the island were his cousins). The courtyard had mango, starfruit, banana, lime, pamplemousse, and breadfruit trees. We sampled some homemade vinegar and salted limes. A short distance down the road he stopped the truck at his cousins house and came out with cups of frozen mango juice and fried banana bread. The road continued along the coastline going around beautiful bays. Between the bays we were traveling on winding roads along steep cliffs many hundreds of feet above the sea. Much of the land we traveled through belonged to someone in his extended family. Hundreds of goats were on the hillsides or along the road. We stopped at one point where Jacintha got to hold a few-day old goat, and sit on an adult goat http://pong.uwstout.edu..ml! At the far north end of the island, where the road ended, we stopped at a house that cooked us lunch–fresh mango juice, plantain, breadfruit, fried banana, coconut something for appetizers; goat meat, raw fish (poisson cru), pig, and beef for mains. This was a great sampling of Marquesan style dishes with all locally grown/raised/caught ingredients. With full bellies, we drove another hour before stopping at a nice bay for a swim. We had fun playing in the waves, and Pifa cut some fresh mangos and a young coconut for us to enjoy. While we were drying off, he taught us how to make a fish on a fishing pole by weaving a coconut palm leaf. I’m sure I left out some things, but that gives you a taste of the tour, which began at 9:30am and we returned at 5:30pm. Pifa then even offered to take us to his Uncles restaurant for Pizza, and picked us back up at 7:00pm (we just had enough time to dinghy to the boat and turn on the anchor light). A dozen other Puddle Jumpers who we knew were also there so we joined them at a big table for dinner. Jacintha fell asleep soon after eating and had to be carried away. Pifa drove us back to the anchorage where we managed to launch the dinghy in the dark (with a sleeping Jacintha) and motor back to the boat for a great night’s sleep.

Compared to yesterday’s all-day island tour, we had a more relaxing day today. The highlight (for me anyhow) was getting a tattoo. When I planned this trip over 5 years ago, I had in mind I would get a tattoo in the Marquesas, in the traditional symbolic style they are known for. I discussed what I wanted with Pifa (our island guide) while we were at his uncle’s pizza restaurant and thought more about it overnight. Pifa picked us up in the morning and drove us to his cousin Piu’s tattoo shop and translated to him what I wanted. I chose a band around my upper right arm with Polynesian symbols–sailboat, my 3 kids, Karen, safe voyage, Marquesan cross, sharks teeth, and the sea). Aside from the sailboat, the other symbols are harder to recognize, but make sense once you know what they are. Karen took pictures during and after and the whole thing took about 2 hours. We also did some much needed boat cleaning today, then took the dinghy to the pier where there was a food truck cooking meals. Jacintha had a hotdog and fries, and the adults shared 2 huge plates of coconut shrimp with rice. The food truck shows up here once a week and a lot of locals and a handful of cruisers stopped by for dinner. We were thinking about moving on tomorrow, but the grib (gridded binary wind info) files show better winds on Sunday, so we may stay here another day. The anchorage is very crowded with 1 or 2 boats arriving daily, and few leaving! It’s a lot of fun since we know about half of the boats and exchange stories with them about our crossings. Everyone puts down a bow and stern anchor to reduce swing and allow boats to anchor closer together. We had never used a stern anchor before, but bought one (along with 50′ of chain and 100′ rope) when we were in San Diego so are glad to finally make use of it.

Hi from Apropos in Fatu-Hiva, one of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. We’re so glad we decided to stop here for a few days before going to the downwind islands of Hiva-Oa, Ua-Pou, and Nuku-Hiva. The anchorage is surrounded on 3 sides by steep mountains covered in green, with coconut trees along the shore and part way up the mountain-side. Jacintha and I slept in the cockpit last night and woke up at 6am to daylight, a cool breeze, and the scent of fruit and flowers coming off the land. We took the dinghy to shore in the morning just as it was starting to get hot (I had to jump in the water to cool off while waiting). Once we got around the small rock breakwater we were surprised to see a small village, which couldn’t be seen from the boat anchorage. Standing on land for the first time in 24 days was strange–maybe we had a touch of land-sickness. A man came to the docking area to great us (in French, with a little broken English). He wanted to know who was the captain and mechanic, and all fingers pointed to me. He hurriedly lead us to his house and showed us his broken washing machine and asked if I could fix it. It was an outdoor unit made of plastic with 2 lids–one for washing and one for spinning–and the spinning part no longer spun. Nick and I removed some screws on a back panel to gain access to the inside. I poked around and saw 2 electric motors and the one for doing the spinning wasn’t turning on. About all I could do without tools and a multimeter was to inspect  a fuse (good) and check some wire connections (good). The 4 wires (they use 220V here) that connected to the motor were not accessible without taking the motor out. So after about an hour, I had to tell the man I couldn’t fix it. He then offered us a bag-full of Pamplemousse (very large, sweet grapefruit) for trade, and asked if we had a spare dive mask (glass, not plastic). Nick happened to bring 2 so we told him we would bring one back after we hiked to the waterfalls. It took us about 90 minutes to hike to the falls, first along a paved road where we passed about a dozen houses,  cows, horses, goats, and boars tied to trees, lots of free range chickens, and lots of dogs. After a mile the paved road turned into a dirt road. Soon the road ended and we were trekking through waist-high brush, then scrambling over boulders. Eventually we reached a beautiful 200 foot waterfall with a deep pool at the base. We jumped in the water which was cold at first but felt great. The water ran along the sheer rock wall that the sun was shining on, so when we sat on a small ledge at the base, the water coming off the face was warmer than that in the deep pool acheter kamagra oral jelly pas cher. After getting out we warmed up on some large flat rocks in the sun. This was truly an amazing experience and well worth the trek there and back. On the walk back to the village, we picked a bunch of bananas from a tree along the road. Back at the village, a woman asked us if we wanted to see some wood carvings. Between our broken French and her broken English, we had some conversation as she displayed the Tiki carvings from rosewood and ebony. Her husband had a nice shop with electric tools such a a lathe, grinder, and buffer. Since we hadn’t been to a bank to exchange money, we had no French francs (the local currency). She didn’t want US dollars but would accept Euros, which Nick had. Even though we decided not to buy anything, she happily sent us off with a large bunch of bananas and some small fruit she said would be good in a salad. As we continued to walk, we began passing children walking home from the small school, some with their parents and some alone. We stopped to take pictures of the 2 boar, and 4 curious kids stopped next to us. We exchanged Bon Jours and then Karen pointed the camera at them to take a picture and immediately the turned away and put their hands over their faces. When she lowered the camera, they came back. We exchanged names and learned that 2 of them were neuf (9) and 2 were huit (8). They were curious about the camera so we showed them the picture of the boar we had just taken. As we walked past the house of the man with the broken dryer, we picked up the sack of Pamplemousse and continued past the school, where a dozen kids were playing soccer on a big slab of concrete. As we neared the dingy, the man was sitting along the road and reminded us about the dive mask and we told him we would go to the boat and bring it back. The spare mask that Nick had was plastic and the elastic strap was not in good condition, but we took it back to his house. He didn’t look too excited with it and asked if we had any wine or fishing lures! Back at the boat, we were all very hungry and tired. Nick and I replace the VERY chafed windvane line that had steered us for 2800 miles with a new line and got the dinghy back onto the boat while Karen cooked spaghetti with minced meat and anchovies. After we ate dinner in the cockpit, Jacintha fell fast asleep. Nick soon followed and Karen is reading on her Kindle as I type this email. We plan on leaving this bit of paradise tomorrow morning and sailing to Hiva-Oa, 48 miles away.

For our jump to the Marquesas, we decided that having 3 adults on board would be much better than 2.  A 2-person watch can be exhausting especially in heavy weather, and since this crossing will take 3-4 weeks, it just made sense to have another crew member aboard.  So, a few years ago we mentioned our cruising plan to Nick, who lives in England, and he was all for it.   In fact, he was so gung ho that he contacted us in February 2014 to let us know he was all ready and was going purchase his airline ticket to meet us in Mexico.  After we let him know he was a year early, he then had an entire year to really prepare!

So Nick flew from England to Mexico via California and arrived on March 7.  He will be with us until April 26,  when he flies out of Tahiti bound for New Zealand, then back to England.

While anchored in the bay near La Cruz, we’ve been tackling some final boat tasks during the day and going to live music in La Cruz at night.  The local bands have some pretty amazing musicians playing 70’s, 80’s and 90’s music.  One venue called Anna Banana’s had about a dozen leather Crown Royal whiskey pouches hanging from the ceiling that contained the ashes of former cruisers who hung out there.  Another favorite was Gecko Rojo, so named when they were painting the walls red and a gecko happened to be on the wall and got painted.  We watched a 2-person band at Ballena Blanco called The Traveling Band, who played amazing electric guitar to the beat of a mesmerizing bongo drum.  Here’s an 8-minute video of her bongo solo:  http://youtu.be/KZOu1qV-v2c

We’ve also been attending some of the cruising seminars that are put on at various marinas around Banderas Bay.  Topics such as Medical, Electrical, Fishing, and Weather have all contained useful information as we prepare for the jump to the South Pacific.

Baby Turtle Release II

We went to another turtle release that was held along the beach about a mile from Paradise Village.  This one was a bit more relaxed compared to the one we went to in Zihuatanejo.  After a brief and very informative talk by the volunteer coordinator, everyone in the group scrubbed all scent off their hands using the sand, then were handed a baby turtle.  We got to hold it and give it a name, then place it in the wet sand 15 feet from the surf.  It’s important that they make their own way to the surf, especially the females.  While they are on land, they are using their senses to “map” the exact location using the earth’s magnetic fields, and the females will return to the same exact beach in about 7 years to deposit her eggs, just as her mother had done.  It’s an amazing process and is why sea turtles have survived for millions of years, where many other creatures have become extinct.

YouTube video:   http://youtu.be/XV9U_Sr3h78

Carol and Lance are friends of ours from Victoria, BC and fellow Hans Christian boat owners.  They have a 38′ MkII and are liveaboards, so they felt right at home staying aboard Apropos for a week at Paradise Village marina.  What started out as a request for them to bring us a few boat parts turned into a suite case ++ full of boat parts, special food requests, and some mail.  They even made a trip to Seattle and picked up a huge order I put in at Fisheries Supply.  Being in Mexico for 4 months makes you appreciate the selection (and price) of boating supplies in the US.  It will get even more difficult in the South Pacific, which is why I stocked up on more spare parts…..  Karen and I sorta went crazy with our requests though–peanut butter, cans of ravioli (for Jacintha), Cheerios, Snoqualmie Falls pancake mix, sewing machine needles, brackets for the SUP, more iPhone cables, an electric pump, spreader light bulbs, caulking, zincs, filters, tools, and more.

We spent the week enjoying the resort facilities–pools, yacht club & restaurants–and also accomplished a bunch of boat projects like finishing up some deck re-caulking, some work on Ian (Fleming wind vane), replacing spreader light bulbs, fixing a few leaks, canvas work, ratlines, etc.  We attended a “Paradise Village Welcoming Party” that had free food, drinks, and entertainment–part of which Carol and I were participants.  Carol volunteered herself and then me in some sort of dance contest where we made complete fools of ourselves dancing to 4 short songs of different genres (including disco and the song “What Does the Fox Say”)!  But we were well rewarded with the winning prizes of Para-sailing (for Carol), a bottle of Tequila (for me), and a Mexican blanket (note–the audience was the judge and we had some friends in the audience)!!

During the week Karen, Jacintha, and I also went to the South Pacific Puddle Jump kickoff party that was held at the Puerto Vallarta yacht club.  Andy from Latitude 38 Magazine (organizer of the Puddle Jump) presented a slide show and talked about what we can look forward to in French Polynesia.  We also participated in some fun games with other fellow “jumpers” and Jacintha won a prize for getting up in front of everybody and telling a story–something about fishing in Australia.  Each boat’s crew was interviewed for the Latitude 38 Magazine and a group photo was taken.  It was a fun evening spent with around 40 other cruisers, most of whom we will meet up with in French Polynesia and beyond.

My 16 year-old daughter Amanda came for a visit during her mid-winter break from school, happy to leave the wet Pacific Northwest behind for a week.  We hadn’t seen her for 6 months so it was great spending time with her.

During her stay, we visited old town Puerto Vallarta, hung out in the pools at Paradise Village, tried boogie boarding and stand-up paddle boarding in the ocean surf, and did a bit of sailing.  Jacintha really enjoyed having her big sister around.  As connectivity via wifi is paramount to a 16 year old, we also hung out at Starbucks in Paradise Village ALOT!