This morning we checked the outboard engine motor as soon as we got up. Eric washed off the outside of the engine, then opened it up. He checked the cylinder and it was dry. Good sign. He pulled out the spark plug and dried it. He drained the fuel from the carburetor. Then he tried starting it.
We awoke to gray skies, rain, 17 – 20 knot winds with gusts of up to 28 knots, and white caps in the lagoon. The wind kept changing direction, too, so we were swinging all over the place. Supposedly, it was going to clear up this afternoon, and we were planning to leave as soon as it cleared up. Continue reading
When Eric awoke he was still sick, but feeling much better than he had the previous two days. Christi awoke sick. We were planning to leave over the weekend, so we headed into town to check out with the officials. Check out was quick and easy since all the paperwork had been done in Papeete. We got lunch at the pizza place. We got a tuna pizza, which was good. It had more cheese than most of the other pizzas we have gotten. They tend to be sparse with the pizza toppings out here. Continue reading
Our plan was to go diving, then into town to check out of the country, do some internet stuff such as sending blog updates, then spend the rest of the day getting the boat ready. We were going to leave the next morning for Suwarrow, an atoll in the Cook’s.
Eric awoke with a really bad cold. Diving was out. The wind in our protected anchorage was howling at 20 knots. The weather forecast for Thursday was 12 foot seas at 8 seconds intervals (for non-boaters, this means bad seas). Leaving was out. Much to our dismay, we found out that the large boat anchored between us and the wireless antenna at Bloody Mary’s blocks our signal. So, with all our plans cancelled for us, we took it easy all day. Continue reading
We started our day with another snorkel in the nice spot near our boat. We think it is one of the best snorkel spots we have been to. There are mooring lines and it appears to be a common spot people go. We finally remembered to bring bread to feed the fish. There were tons of fish around when we jumped in. Once Eric pulled out the bread, he was surrounded by hundreds of small fish, mostly sergeant and butterfly fish, all fighting for food. He held the bread in his hands and the fish came up and ate out of his hand. He could feel them biting on his skin a little as they attacked the bread. Some larger fish began to join the swarm. A large parrotfish came toward Eric, clearly after the bread. Eric dropped the bread. We have watched Parrotfish bite off and crush good size pieces of coral off a coral head. Eric was not about to let something capable of damage bite at his hands. Continue reading