Kosmos Travel Log

We pulled into the lagoon at sunrise using the main pass, which is in downtown Papeete. Since we approached in the dark, we didn’t get to see the views from the distance, but from here it looked like Tahiti is a single large mountain that slopes down to the water. It is much less imposing than the Marquesas, which are taller, steeper, and clearly had many mountains. There were buildings all around, including many big buildings that were 4 and 5 stories tall. There appeared to be buildings all the way around the shore and most of the way up the mountain. A bunch of trash floated past us. Yep, we are in a city. (more…)

We started the day with another run through the pass during the morning incoming tide. The wind was blowing at 22 knots, so the wind kept blowing us away from the coral wall. We had to get in the dinghy and motor back over to the coal wall a couple of times. Conveniently, we were more sheltered from the wind halfway through the pass where the snorkeling is best, anyway. The rest of the ride was fun. We did it again, this time starting at the sheltered spot instead of all the way at the edge of the ocean. There seemed to be less fish out today than in the previous two. Guess the sharks were hungry last night. (more…)

Christi awoke feeling brave. “I can do it. I can clean the fish” she chanted to herself. She pulled the fish out of the refrigerator and pulled out an instruction book. Hmmm…. How do I know if I follow the small fish directions or the flat fish directions? It isn’t clear how small “small fish” is. She grabbed a different instruction book, but it was no clearer. Both books used technical language that she couldn’t comprehend. This was a desperate situation. Time was ticking on the (more…)

When we arrived for lunch, we kind of expected to be eating with the other hotel guests and have to pay for our meal. It turns out the hotel was empty and our host, Raymond, was simply looking for company.

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Wednesday morning we picked up anchor. It came out of the water with no problems. We headed to the south side of the island. The ride in the lagoon was calm. We hugged the east shore most of the way and enjoyed pretty views of the island.
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