17:08.09S 153:51.45W One day out from Bora Bora While waiting for our clearance document to come by email from Papeete in Tahiti we contemplated the next stage of our journey as Zoonie sat at anchor under the towering Mt Pahia and an invisible caged bird made a sound somewhere between the rusty hinge on a …
16:29.35S 151:45.16W Over the reef around Bora Bora. The next day was Sunday and we walked the 2.2km along the shore road, puddle dodging, into the town Vaitape to find most people just leaving their church service amidst much bonhomie. “Ia Orana” is the French Polynesian for “Hello” and we made ourselves use it in …
17:35.18S 149:36.93W Tahiti and following on in Cook’s Wake. We started by taking our life in our hands walking toward the oncoming traffic on a busy dual carriageway, (haven’t seen one of those since Bahia) for 10 minutes, to the Carrefour supermarket. Enterprising farmers set up their stalls along the road side to sell fruit …
9:54.47S 139:06.29W Baie Hanamoenoa on Tahuata south of Hiva Oa. It took only two hours in a moderate sea to arrive at the most beautiful bay with crystal clear water and a white sandy bottom. The world sailing couple Eric and Sue Hiscock of Wanderer fame reckoned this is one of the three most beautiful …
8.48.3S 139:01.73W Baie Taahuku on Hiva Oa. At 3.20am in the moonlight we could not miss the monolith of Hiva Oa, every lungful of breath smelling of flowers. The anchor went down next to our friends Torsten and Hille’s yacht Infinity, a 40 foot Halberg Rassy. We became friends during the ARC Portugal Rally in …
Some South Pacific Islands 08:54.97S 140:05.98W 17th July 2016 Baie de Taiohae, Nuku Hiva Rob counted six magical temporary waterfalls cascading down from the Plateau atop this island after the deluge we had earlier, all clearly visible from Zoonie. It has turned the water around us into red/brown muddy streaks. We won’t be making water …
03:05.70S 095:53.95W Whale watching breakfasts and the Diva’s Return. The Early South Pacific. Sailing south of the Galapagos the ocean is alive with life. The only tropical (Waved) albatross and swallow tailed gulls swing by us and two types of tiny petrels, Elliots and the White Vented, with its white chevron from wings to tail …
Back on the Briny, South Pacific 14th June 2016 Concerned that the earthquakes would have changed the riverbed contours we hired Ariosto to guide us back to the mouth of the Chone river past damaged skyscrapers, but looking at the end route as it appeared on the chartplotter we need not have done. Just moments …
Return to Chaos 00:36.38S 80:25.312W Last Days in Bahia. Our coach bounced along the rice road in a westerly direction from Guayaquil, people sitting at the side of the road beside piles of various sizes of sacked rice tagged with prices written on cards. There was little evidence of the earthquakes here. A film was …
Back home in the UK with family and friends for May 2016 England was greening with new spring growth when we started our drive south from Heathrow to Dorset and my side of our family. Henry and Ruby were getting ready for bed and Emily hadn’t told them we were coming so they would have …