It was time to leave Moorea, which we were sad about. We liked it there and wished we had a few more days to spend there. We were heading to Papeete to pick up our friends Pete and Shelley, who were arriving later in the evening.
Since we were only going to be in Papeete one night, we opted to go to the sea wall downtown, aka the quay. We didn’t want to deal with anchoring and getting the dinghy down for only one night. There were a few more boats at the wall than last time, but the wall was still mostly empty. It was a weird feeling to pull in, tie up, and just hop off the boat onto dry land.
There was a security guard patrolling the sea wall and we saw boaters with juicy things to steal, like bikes, sitting on their decks undisturbed, so we suppose the security guard fixed the theft problem.
We walked over to the roulette trucks for dinner. We picked one of the crepe places, mostly because the table we sat at had plastic chairs with backs and almost all the other tables had plastic stools. Much to our surprise, a waitress came out and served us like it was a real restaurant. We were expecting it to be an order at the counter kind of environment. Christi had a crepe stuffed with smoked salmon in cream sauce, and for dessert a pear and dark chocolate crepe. Eric had a crepe stuffed with ham, onion, and bouillabaisse sauce, and a crepe stuffed with banana and ice cream on top for dessert. The food was excellent. We could get used to walking off the boat and having a variety of wonderful restaurants just steps away. It was so convenient. From the anchorage it would have taken us at least an hour each way to go to the same spot for dinner.
The drawbacks of being on the wall were passer-bys all peeped in the windows, there was a lot of traffic noise, and there was a nasty surge from the ferry ship wake. Each time the ferry went by, it would rock like we were at sea and the boat would swish against the fenders protecting the boat from the concrete wall.
Pete and Shelley arrived around 2000. It was very exciting — almost surreal — to see our long time friends here in Tahiti. We took them over to the roulette trucks for dinner, then for a stroll along the waterfront.
Eric and Christi,
I heard of your journey and adventure through Jeff Merrill when I was looking at a Nord 43. I have always wanted to take off for this type of adventure and have talked about traveling for 6 months to scuba dive the south pacific. Instead, I am contemplating a similar adventure as yours. I have been boating since I was 8, have a boat now, but spending a year or so circumnavigating the globe sounds amazing, but also daunting. I have tons of questions and would like to get your advice. My job situation is similar to Eric’s (according to Jeff) and my girlfriend and I are very seriously considering it. If Eric dives, I would highly recommend going to Rangiroa in French Polynesia. I have dove Palau, Tahiti, the caribbean, mexico, california and more and Rangiroa is one of the most amazing places I have ever been for diving. If you are looking for crew mates we would be interested – the rent before you buy concept. Anyways – we are happy for you two enjoying your dreams. Travel safe and may calm seas and gentle breezes follow you. Chris and Jen
Chris & Jen
Im long time friends with Christi and now Eric and they are always looking for crew. They did the same thing while buying and while their baby was being made. I wish I could go but w/ 3 kids it isnt possible!
Brans