Pacific Odyssey - Leg 3

We are still anchored at Bora Bora, most people went ashore for a few hours to spend their last Polynesian francs on dessert.  Tonight at 2330hrs we will raise anchor and leave for Maupiti, one of the smaller and least visited of the Leeward Islands.  From all accounts, it is incredibly beautiful and the people are very friendly (though we find French Polynesians incredibly friendly everywhere), and it is said to be quite untouched by tourism.  It was discovered in 1722, 50 years before Wallis discovered Tahiti.  The pass in to the lagoon needs to be properly approached and weather conditions need to be optimal.  The wind has died down, though there is still some southern swell; Skipper will make the final decision once we get closer to the pass at dawn.  It was a great day for everyone today.  Skipper, Jordan, Antony, and Stephen got up at 0630 and left in the zodiac for a scuba dive outside the reef, just out of the pass.  The visibility was good and they spent 40 minutes at 60ft in an area filled with fish, different types of sharks, and rays.  One shark was as big as the zodiac and cruised confidently and sleekly by them, uninterested.  The fish in this area are fed by some of the dive shops and thus the fish are not easily frightened and divers can be completely in amongst hundreds of fish, some of them brushing against their masks.  The four of them said it was fantastic. They also saw smaller reef sharks.  They had brought the film camera in its underwater housing and took some excellent footage of life below the surface of the water.  Before breakfast there were morning swims and jumps off the swing.  After dishes trainees went ashore.  Karen, Antony and Katie stayed on the boat and had a relaxing and quiet day, swimming, reading, writing, showering, eating chocolate etc. One group comprising of Graydon, Caelen, Tav, Jaimie, Robyn, Jordan, and Matt spent most of the day climbing Mt.Otemanu, the highest peak behind the village of Vaitape, 727m high.  It has many cliff faces with ropes to aid one climbing up or down.  They said it was a good and challenging hike and they were excited when they came down, tired, but very happy.  It looks stunning and the peak is the one you see on most pictures of Bora Bora.  They were thrilled about what they experienced together and the view they had.  They could see 360 degrees around the island, with Tahaa, Raiatea, and Maupiti in the distance, the sky and sea as far as they could see, melding into each other.   Another group made up of Kelsey, Claire, Carolyn C., Jen, Susan, Tristan, Sam, Gillian, Paul, Scott, Chase, Leslie, and Chris made their way to a beautiful, white sand beach with fantastic areas of coral to snorkel around.  They had a great day just hanging out together, swimming, lying on the beach, looking for shade, reading, snorkeling etc.  When it was time to head back to the dories, they found some fresh water showers and rinsed and shampooed.  They smelled pretty good and looked pretty fluffy.  A third group rented bikes and cycled the 30km around the island.  Carolyn and Krista, Elske, Bec, and Arwen, Tony and I, and Jose climbed on our one-speed, wide and cushy-seated, upright bikes to move a perfect speed around the perimeter of this beautiful island.  Stephen offered to watch our 3 boys and they had a great day swimming, diving, floating on surf boards and picnicking. The colours of the water in the lagoon are incredible, so many hues of blue, aqua, green, turquoise, and azure.  You get a good feeling of the motus that comprise the reef, as you cycle around and see them either joined or separate as motu islands in the distance.  Once we left the village, there is so much to look at.  We saw where the local people live, their houses and their fish boats, lifted in slings, under a roof on stilts, at the edge of the ocean, ready to go.  Most of the houses are very simple, single floor, possibly single room dwellings, with mostly open spaces for windows with floral cloths covering them.  The fancier houses have windows or grates in them, but the openness makes sense here, for the wind to blow through.  Walls are made from tin and plywood in the simpler houses, to poured concrete, or concrete blocks plastered together in the less simple ones.  The ground around the house is swept, often just dirt with a few bushes, coconut trees, a few pamplemousse trees.  There are expanses where there are just bushes, trees and amazing views.  It was wonderfully quiet and it felt wonderful to cycle again, to just peddle and peddle, and observe at a comfortable pace.  Tom went on a dive today and was incredibly pleased; he said it was his best dive ever, with better visibility than he has ever had.  We´re all happy for him as diving is an important part of this trip for him.  Most of us were at the dock by 1630 so Skipper and Karen started ferrying people back to the boat.  There was lots to do at the ship to get ready for sailing tonight.  Dories were raised, 3 tarps came down and were folded and the gear, all of us had been using all day, that was spread about everywhere, needed to find a secure place below. After clean up, we were able to jump overboard and play and clean before supper. It is a beautiful night.  The moon is small so the sky is dark and the stars are clearly visible.  Night runs during the passage to Cook Islands in a few days should be good for stargazing.  The mood on the boat is very good; people seem very happy and satisfied with the pace of life.  There are days to slow down and relax, rest, catch up with writing and reading, and there is the chance to be more active, to participate in hiking, snorkeling, cycling, diving etc. We have a great group that is excited about all the opportunities they´ve had to get to know French Polynesia.   These islands have been very good to us, the people have been incredible to us; I know that I will miss them.  This is it, good night, Bonice.