Goodbye Tahaa hello Arearea!

The beauty of this place continues to make me pinch myself. I'm writing this morning at a quarter to six, just as the sun is rising from behind Tahaa on the deck of our catamaran moored at Apu Bay.
The mooring is perfectly sheltered from the winds just south.
The temperature is again perfect, and I'm not cold without a shirt. Birds and roosters call on the island, but it is peaceful in the bay. The wind is again blowing rustling the orange tinted palms. The waters gradually become more turquoise as it gets light.
Bright and early yesterday, I backed up seven gigs of photos and videos on to our two hard drives. We said goodbye to Le Taha'a and closed the door to our overwater bungalow one last time. We settled up and the hotel shuttle took us to the airport.
When we arrived, Le Tahaa person called Tahiti Yacht Charter to pick us up. Originally, we planned for the shuttle to take us direct to the marina as its just next door, but for some reason they aren't able to do that. So despite emailing to ask them to wait for us with Ben, there was a flurry of confusion apparently because Mike had called in yesterday from his hotel quoting my name, so the TYC driver went there looking for me. Of course, no one there by my name. Picked up Ben from the airport, then Mike from the hotel. Shannon and I actually saw the shuttle drive by, but then it eventually came back and got us.
The driver Hine gave us fresh leis and introduced us to our cat named Arearea. The Lavezzi 40 was nice although a bit older and sea worn in some places. It was pretty well maintained being chartered for this many years however.
We unloaded luggage onto the boat and then went to meet the others who were grocery shopping in town. Despite what we were repeatedly told, Champion grocery store was open on Sundays, but only to 11am, possibly a ploy to get us to buy provisions from them. There was a nice reunion of everybody as TYC drove us back to the marina.
Check out probably took an hour longer than normal because the main refrigerator cooler wasn't working, and only after protracted attempt by Hine to fix it talking to the technician on the phone, did he finally get his ass down from Tahaa to repair it.
Boat check out and chart briefing were very good, sometimes in French, sometimes in English which was fine for Mike and I, maybe less so for Ben. The girls did the girl things, and put everything away on the boat.
Finally we were ready and as I went through some important info about the boat like water and safety, it became more real and got exciting! I was a little nervous too.
We took a boat photo before departure, Mike in his rash guard, girls looking pretty and all of us wearing our leis.
Using differential motoring, I expertly got the boat out of the marina despite a strong wind from the east and we were off! We sailed an hour jib only to Apu Bay in 20 knot winds. It was the best feeling once again to turn off the engine and be under sail only. We tried a tack to get a sense of the boat and accidentally gybed because I didn't tell Shannon at the helm to stop turning while we were sorting out the jib sheet as it got caught first on a window, then a halyard winch on the mast.
We picked up a mooring buoy. Apparently, the restaurant that you're supposed to eat at to moor no longer exists. We took out the kayaks and dingy to shore to see if we could get a Pearl Farm or Vanilla tour, but we ended up on someone's vacant private property guarded by a friendly dog. So since it was late, we went back to the boat.
We started up the BBQ and made steaks. There was just enough butane to cook steaks medium, which were not bad actually. We had quality time before hitting the sack. The shower wasn't bad and I was surprised somewhere we had a heater for warm water.
Shannon and I actually didn't sleep too well last night. For Shannon it was all the rocking, and for me the noises. I got out on deck to fix the mooring line twice, the second time when I realized it was moored too close to the boat did it fix the knocking. Then when I finally identifies some tapping from the rocking on the traveler was I able to get some sleep.
Overall, a great first day. Bora Bora tomorrow!

Enjoy it while you can

Day number three at Le Taha'a Resort and Spa has come and is almost gone. We awoke to the wind howling past the bungalows to find a scary looking storm cloud drenching Taha'a island across the lagoon coming towards us. Is this the end of our luck with the weather? Is this going to be the beginning of rain, cloud and typhoon winds just when our cruise is about to start?
Before I even had time to set up the camera for a time lapse video, the rain was upon us. And then it suddenly passed replaced with beautiful sunny skies again. None of this eight months of continuous Vancouver drizzle!
The winds kept blowing and white caps appeared suggesting speeds of over ten knots, but to me it seemed definitely more like 15-20. A couple sail boats and catamarans motored to and fro in the lagoon.
I watched a receptionist dash from the main desk with leis and tiares in hand to welcome the incoming boat from Raiatea. As our stay nears an end, another excited one begins.
Shannon and I are getting pretty good at doing nothing. We read a bit inside because it was too windy outside. I swam out to the edge of where the water color changed from white to turquoise then walked back under the bungalows. It looks like the crab we saw through the aquarium is a permanent resident on that pillar. I looked forward to breakfast and particularly the fresh juices. We had the buffet again as it was the best value lasting us until dinner. The food was the same with one different table of tasty smoked salmon, some meats and cheese.
After a nap, we went on a trip to the pearl farm on Taha'a. A boat took us over followed by a half hour drive to the southern part of the island where the farm was. Now, I've seen several pearl farms but this one had the best info session I've seen so far. The proprietor went over how the pearls were seeded to the pieces of mother of pearl that were placed in with the nucleus that secrets the material forming the pearl. Inside her house, we saw Tahitian pearls of all sorts famous because they are "black" pearls. The Italian couple we came with bought two loose 8.5mm A class pearls for 260 euros. Pretty cher.
Unfortunately, because of the truck ride and diesel fumes, by the time we got back to the hotel, we were a bit nauseous. Nevertheless, we pushed on to drift down the coral gardens once again.
Despite the sun behind some clouds, it seemed warmer to me. We started off on the Tautau side which was shallower and more difficult to navigate the gardens. Shannon dropped out half way and I continued on to the finish.
Again, I was surprised how close the fish got to you without being afraid. Especially the yellow ones who seem just curious to check you out. This time, I didn't have any black fish nipping at me, although there were many fish that "watched" me as I floated by. One big colorful one seemed content swimming against a current between me and a head of coral. It was so close, colorful and big that I quickly grabbed my camera only to find that it was out of batteries.
Back on the beach, we soaked in the secret hidden lukewarm hot tub, then shivered our way to our real hot bathtub in the bungalow.
A la carte dinner was again good. The tuna tartar with sesame and wasabi oil was delicious. Shannon got the tasty lamb chops I had yesterday and I got a stirfry that wasn't anything special.
The housekeeper came by and left us a note that our departure shuttle was scheduled at 8AM as requested, so that we could meet up with Ben and Chantelle to transfer to the marina.
Yes, kind of sad leaving such a nice hotel, but I think the reason the average stay here is 3-4 days is because the novelty starts wearing off and the wallet wears thin.
We're lucky in that we're going to be cruising around on a catamaran for the next ten days around the islands instead of going home! I'm looking forward to meeting up with the crew, checking out the boat and get underway. Should be great!

Coral Gardens 2

I awoke this morning at a quarter to six, the sun above horizon, but hidden behind Tahaa. The temperature was perfect for laying on the deck chair and watching the water change colors.
Apparently we were very luck with the weather. According to other tourists, the last three days were cloudy with scattered showers. Yesterday was the first nice day, and today is starting to look like a good one again.
Along the way to breakfast, we watched a catamaran raise mainsail and get going. The winds yesterday and today were gusty up to about twenty knots. This would be perfect sailing weather, if not a bit stronger winds than I'm used to in Vancouver, where it was not infrequently 0-7 knots whenever I went out. I'm planning on a reef until we get used to cruising.
Our $60 buffet breakfast was good. Nothing special, except for the view and locale that you were paying for. It had all my favorite fruits, more pastries than a couple can sample, sausage, bacon, fresh juices and omelettes and pain doree from the kitchen.
By the time we were finished and back to our room, housekeeping had already come by, and Shannon said this place was amazing.
We read a bit, napped a bit, and Shannon gave me a haircut on our deck. It was windy out! It was good in that it kept us cool, but bad because Shannon got slightly burned a little more despite several applications of sunscreen. We watched the shuttle go in and out of the pier bringing new people to this nice little motu.
In the afternoon, we headed over to the north side of the resort for some snorkeling at the coral gardens, reputedly some of the best snorkeling in the South Pacific. Over there was the infinity pool that we forgot about and kayaks that we could use. We borrowed some surf shoes and went over to the corals between Motu Tautau and Maharare. People from yachts anchored just off in the lagoon were here on dinghy, with mooring buoys readily available.
What was really cool about the coral gardens was that you start out where the reef meets the ocean and the current pushes you through. At some points the current was pretty strong but if you just stood up, your weight was enough to hold you in place in waist deep water.
The fish were very friendly here with a couple of bright yellow ones following Shannon around, making her nervous. She was also hesitant getting into the middle of the channel where the current was because she wondered if the urchins would come out and attack her face.
There was a passage between some coral that I wanted to get through that was guarded by territorial black fish. I stuck my foot out and it would angrily nip at it. Then another one would nip at my other ankle while I was distracted with the one in front of me!
There were whole bunch vibrant fish, several schools and occasional bigger loners that snuck in and out of the coral. The urchins had a beautiful blue color on their bodies and dangerous looking black barbs that aimed at my foot when I pointed it too closely.
It was a bit too cold because of the wind to do the gardens a second time, so we returned for a shower after a quick stop on the mini-island where they did weddings and special dinners (it'd be windy!), and a dip in the infinity pool.
We watched the sunset from the beach just outside beach bungalow 49, or should I say, Shannon watched it, because I had to go back to the pool because I forgot my sunglasses there. By the time I hustled back to the beach, the sun had just set.
After watching catfish fight for food under the lights of our bungalow, we headed to the main building for dinner. We had the infamous dinner as part of our half-board. It was a dinner outside under palm trees and stars. The tuna tartar and lamb chops were perfectly done, but the sides, like this morning's breakfast was much too salty. Reviews on the Internet warned of bad food, but it was all right. The bill came out to an extra 1200 CFP for our two bottles of water.
Promptly after dinner, we canceled the half-board so that we could order off the menu tomorrow.

Tahaa Coral Gardens

Today we went out snorkeling in the Coral Gardens and saw a lot of really colorful fish. Three zebra-like yellow tailed fish seemed to really like us and follow us around, particularly swimming really close to me. It kind of freaked me out a bit.

At one point passing through the coral there was a little black fish nipping at Edward's ankle! We saw all kinds of really colorful fish swimming amongst the coral and really large black and blue sea urchin that were everywhere that pointed its barbs at you if you ventured too closely.

We returned back to the cabana and then went to suite 49 to watch the sunset.

Paradise found!

The first impression of French Polynesia, seeing it for the first time, was amazement at the colors. I couldn't believe how turquoise-blue green the water was, my favorite color in the 64-pack Crayola crayon box. The plants were intensely green and the air perfect in temperature for framing this color saturated landscape.

We touched down in Papeete at 5 in the morning, flying by Tahiti island which I thought resembled a mini Oahu: both volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, sharp and coarse peaks to vegetation carpeted peaks, white surf outlining the where beach met sea.

A Polynesian dancer accompanied by two typical, almost stereotypical, musicians welcomed us with song the moment we entered the airport. Next was to be a lot of waiting. We waited in line for immigration to process us newcomers, then for Shannon to go to the bathroom. Customs turned out to be more straight forward than I thought. I asked an officer if I had to declare our food, and being all dry and not fresh, we didn't have to. He told us to go to the "Rien a declarer" line where I impressed Shannon by answering his interrogation all in French. I was surprised that the usual questions like amount of alcohol and food weren't asked neither on the immigration card nor by the officer. I think they're main concern is catching people who want to permanently stay in the country. "Do you have family and friends here? What is the purpose of your trip?" and on the card, "Do you intend to find work here?"

We were timed perfectly to wait in another line to check into Air Tahiti for Raiatea. Our luggage just made the 20kg cut off since we redistributed a sack of popcorn and trail mixes to our carry ons.  Taking our one liter bottle of Baileys as carry on was not a problem.

Through the airplane windows, we caught our first glimpses of the famous reef surrounded islands, blue lagoons and motus. Our hotel Le Tahaa had its own welcome desk at the airport and without delay we were boarded on their motor boat shuttle to the resort.

At the pier, we were given leis and welcomed with a drink at the reception while they took our information. Our hostess then gave us a tour of the resort including the breakfast buffet, fantasy spa rooms, a grass tennis court, and massage tables over the water where one could really go over the top.

Then came our room. We walked up the bridge to room number 25 where Shannon couldn't believe what she saw. A private deck overlooked Tahaa island and the pier. Stairs led down to another deck at water level for swimming, and where room service could be delivered by canoe if so desired. The room was absolutely gorgeous with flowers strewn over the king bed looking out to the water, his and hers sinks, and these windows down through the floors, one at the foot of the bed and another beside the tub, where underneath lights illuminated the water attracting fish.

Up until this point, Shannon thought everything might have been like Thailand, the crystal clear water, fine sand and palms. But now we understood why a place like this charged up to a thousand bucks a night. At about $450, even I thought it was an incredible steal. Thank you Groupon!

Oh the life! "This is what I deserve!" Shannon quips. We spotted the beach where we thought the Bachelorette Ali sat distraught over Frank blindsiding her and leaving back to his ex-girlfriend in New York.

We spent the rest of the day stunned a how beautiful everything was, reading and napping on the deck, exploring chest deep waters and looking underneath our bungalow.

Because there wasn't anything to eat except the hotel restaurant, our food today consisted entirety of instant noodles (a kettle came with the bungalow), trail mix and protein bars. By doing that, we saved $300, as half-board for the next two days came in at a shocking $130 per person per day for a buffet breakfast and a three course dinner. Mini bar prices listed pop at $6 (500 CFP), a bag of chips at 350 CFP, ad 375mL of champagne for 7500 CFP. Internet purchased per hour was same as the can of pop.

In the evening, we walked down the beach to bungalow 49 where our hostess informed us had a nice view of the sunset behind Bora Bora. The resort had about 12 beach bungalows and I'm guessing 30 over the water bungalows. We stayed at the cheapest bungalow category facing north with a view of Tahaa. The most expensive is the Bora Bora view. Shannon and I discovered one of the Bora Bora bungalows doors open and unoccupied with sheet covering the furniture inside the room. We took advantage of this enjoying the sunset from the bungalow dock.

We arrived at Le Taha'a and we think we found paradise!

<p>As I write this in am watching fish swim through the glass floor in our over water bungalow. This is amazing. I can't think of words to describe this place because beautiful, amazing, and stunning don't do it any justice. It is truly a Paradise! Our over water bungalow is the coolest place we've ever seen! We can swim off our deck, the water is crystal clear and that beautiful aqua blue. I never want to leave. At night we can turn on a light below our Bungalow and watch the fish swim through the floor even in the bathroom while having a bath! We can't stop taking photos. I want to capture every moment so I never forget this experience. Even though it took us 8hrs flying time from LA then another 45min flight and lastly a 30mins boat ride to get here every single minute was worth it!! <br>
I already have a sunburn. Out in the sun all day will do that I guess especially when I'm so fair skinned to start. I was even wearing sunscreen! I don't want to sleep cause I want to enjoy every second here and sleeping seems like it would be wasteful. <br>
When we arrived here on the island we were greeted with lais and flower crown and a welcome drink. They make you feel like royalty. We watched the sun set over the water which was very beautiful. Everything here is beautiful!&nbsp; I'm excited to see Bora Bora cause I can't imagine how it could be more impressive. </p>

Leonard Nemoy Event Horizon Theater

I'm still very happy with how my laser eye surgery turned out. It's great waking up seeing, and not worrying about forgetting where I put my glasses or having to take my contacts out at night. On the airplane now as I'm writing this, no greasy eyeglass frames or gritty contacts. Just clear vision when I open my eyes from a nap.

It's weird to think that you can run out of things to see and do in Los Angeles, but I think we've hit most of the tourist spots that we wanted to see. Probably the rest of LA would be the restaurants and nightlife that would actually require moving in and living in the city to properly appreciate. Also, because we are on a baggage quota, we luckily can't enjoy all the shopping here.

The last place we wanted to see was Griffith Observatory, left to the last day because it is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

In the morning, after finishing editing the LA video for our blog, we packed up checking our luggage weight on the scale, checked out and went to do some shopping. Trader Joes was along the way and we snagged a bunch of granola bars, dried fruits and nuts,  and cookies realizing that the few days before our yacht charter on Tahaa could get quite expensive in terms of food. The hotel we are staying at is on a private island meaning we're pretty much at their mercy in terms of meals.

Our staple for lunch these last couple of days was Subway, as here, most of their 12" subs are $5. I also picked up a haircut kit for $10 which included a clipper, scissors and a bunch of attachments for ten bucks! Shannon thought Ben would probably need a hair cut too, so we'll have that service on board. What a deal!

The Griffith Observatory was a great astronomy center perched atop of Griffith Park. It's very impressive how they have managed to make the observatory free.

We were greeted by Foucault's pendulum, proof that the earth was spinning on an axis. I wanted to see one of these ever since the one in Paris' university was away on tour when I visited it in 2002. There were basic exhibits on tides, seasons, day and night, that Shannon found to be a good review. The most interesting exhibits to me were the alpha-hydrogen filtered telescope on the sun, the plates that detected cosmic rays, and displays about the planets.

We also watched one of the planetarium movies and waited until 7pm when the public telescope opened. The observatory would have offered spectacular views of the city, but for whatever reason, it was very doggy, and instead of getting better towards the evening, it actually got worse. Unfortunately, that also meant that there was nothing to see from the telescope which was disappointing. That thing was massive! The astronomer, a woman very interested in her work, was disappointed too because she had two targets she wanted to see tonight including Jupiter. She still gave a nice talk about the telescope and its history.

Driving through LA was manageable, but frustrating at times when the navigation wasn't quite there. It was video game like going pretty fast on busy five to six lane freeways. Each day, we saw the aftermath of some pretty impressive crashes, like an SUV completely upside down at an intersection or a couple of cars written off on one of the side lanes. Having to commute to work daily in rush hour traffic would probably drive me crazy though.

For such a big city, you'd think public transit would've much better than it is, but the Metro does go down to Santa Monica or Marina Del Rey. Since we pretty much went to Hollywood each day, staying up there would have made more sense in retrospect, and even then, you'd have to get a car to get to places like WB studio and the Observatory.

We made it in time to the airport, rearranged our luggage and had no problems with checking our bags in. I wasn't sure if we'd be over weight or not. Tahiti is such the honeymoon destination. Our ticketing agent asked us how our wedding was. I guess when you're young and going to Tahiti, then it's probably a safe bet that you're on your honeymoon.

I was pretty excited to go. LA was really just a stop over and it is hard to believe that our trip is actually starting now. In a few hours, we're going to be in paradise pretty much. I can't think of another place that would be as beautiful as Tahiti, and probably our hotel Le Tahaa.

Everyone was eagerly line up way before Air Tahiti announced their general boarding. So exciting! There were the young couples like us, the woman totally decked out in sun gear with a nice cotton dress and wide brimmed hat, there were people with kids, a wife with a huge diamond on her finger.

The plane going to Papeete was pretty big. Bigger than I thought it would be carrying passengers eight seats across, to such a tiny island country. Weather dot com indicates that we may have lucked out in terms of weather with only 10-20% chance of precipitation the whole week. I hope that stays true and that the winds would be perfect for sailing.

In the meantime, I'm totally stoked about seeing French Polynesia, landing, breathing in the Pacific air, flying to Raiatea and then by boat to Le Tahaa for nothing but rest and relaxation. Nothing to do out there but hang out in the hotel and snorkel.