Blue Book of Boats

There is very little traffic, and few local homes had cars in the driveway. Everybody has a boat or a couple of outrigger canoes. There apparently is a public bus, and we saw a couple parked, but never saw one on the move. We only encountered one tour bus an that was filled with our fellow passengers. We did see several marinas, and quite a few charter boats, mainly catamarans, so I guess there is a base here. It looks like great sailing with smooth waters and just the right amount of wind. There was one beautiful private sailing yacht about 90 feet long, red hull, called “Mustang”.

Once we left town there were a few miles of tidy homes with attractive well kept gardens, but it thinned out rapidly. The far side of the island was pretty empty. There are no luxury hotels here. There is a large Marai (sacred spot) where sacrifices (human and other) were performed, a place which is now favored by “new agers” who believe it is good for their Karma.

Around 11:20 AM we decide to stop for lunch. Very few, actually no roadside eateries, but we saw a sign for “Hotel Opua” and restaurant, and took a rough side road down to a beach where there was a cluster of white clapboard cabins, and a little open air bar/restaurant. Only one car, probably the owners, and we did ask if they served lunch. The answer was yes, but not before 12. We moved on.

The next place, Hotel Apitipia, was similar, but not a soul to be seen, although tables were set. We gave up and continued our drive. As we approached Utuaroa again (we could see our ship) I spotted a local “snack bar” and we drove in. It was about 4 tables under Palapa roofs with a small cookhouse nearby. The other customers were all Polynesian. One liter of orange juice was 400, it came in a cardboard carton. I had Steak Frites for about $20, it was huge and very good, the others had sandwiches, each a whole baguette split lengthways with delicious cooked contents, chicken or fish. Mother couldn’t finish hers so I helped her out.On top of my steak, the largest lunch I have had the whole trip! Phil paid, but the cost was reasonable.

While we were eating it began to drizzle a bit then it became a downpour and the ship disappeared from sight. The rain lasted about 10 minutes then it stopped and the sun came out by the time we finished lunch. Perfect.

When we got back to Utuaroa, I dropped the others off and drove the car to the Airport where they had asked us to return it. I paid cash and used up my remaining francs plus a few US dollars. We used 11 liters of fuel which cost 1600 francs.

We are now at sea on the way to Raratonga in the Cook Islands (him again!) and will arrive tomorrow morning. No more French, I suppose New Zealand accents now.

On the second day at Bora Bora I took things easy in the morning. In the early afternoon Phil and I went ashore to find a Lagoon tour. There was one on offer at the dock, but they needed at least 4 people to go and Phil and I were the only ones. Phil then went around the docks trying to convince two more people to come. I went to talk to the boat captains and found one about to leave. $75 for 3 hours so I grabbed Phil and we hopped aboard. This was about a 25′ aluminum boat with a glass panel in the bottom, and a single 115 HP outboard.

Phil and I were the only ones from the Amsterdam on board, the other passengers 3 French couples and a pair of honeymooners from California, American-Chinese. All the men and half the women were kind of out of shape, a bit chubby and soft, in contrast with the Tahitian crew who were muscular, tattooed and hard as rock.

We were provided with masks and snorkels. There were flippers too but none big enough for my feet!   We stopped 3 different places. The first, just outside the reef, was populated with trigger fish and black-tipped sharks. we also spotted a few lemon sharks, bigger but further away, they never came close.

At the second location we were surrounded by Rays. The crew seemed to know them and after observing them awhile I could see that each one was different. One had a damaged, stumpy tail, another an exceptionally long sharp tail. I began to recognize them as they swam by. I took quite a few photos in both locations. Phil has a fancy SLR camera, but didn’t bring it so I will have to give him some of my photos. If you touched one on the nose he would rise to the surface right in your face, expecting to be fed. I couldn’t help feelin that we were in a sort of Marine Petting zoo!

The third location was inside the reef, with lots of coral and many kinds of colorful reef fish. By then my battery was dead so I left the camera on board and just enjoyed swimming around.

On the way back we stopped at the Hilton resort to let off the most glamorous of the French couples. This place is $1000 a night and up, and they were pretty young so maybe they were rich and famous, but we didn’t recognize them.

Back at the ship I showered with everything on including camera and sandals to get all the salt off.  Here’s another photo of a Bora Bora sunset.

In the evening the concert was a Beatles group which joined the ship at Papeete. This was their first show on board. They dressed as “early Beatles” with neat suits and ties and bobbed hair. They really are form Liverpool so have the correct accent. Looks not so much, although they did call each other John, Paul, George and Ringo, or we wouldn’t have known which was which. Who knew my mother was a Beatles fan? She was screaming with the best of them.

The sound was pretty good on the first few tunes, like “All my loving” and “I want to hold your hand”. If you closed your eyes you could believe it really was the Beatles. Later on they began to slip bit and sound like a cover band. Still not bad. All older tunes, the most recent being “Hey Jude”. They tried to get the audience to sing along on a few songs, without great success.

The English-speaking seafaring tradition maintains that all sailors who cross the equator during a nautical voyage must undergo rites of passage and elaborate rituals initiating them into The Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order of the Deep. Those who have never “crossed the line” are derisively referred to as “pollywogs” or simply “slimy wogs”. We will be crossing the equator today. I can say I have crossed the line. I won’t make a fuss.

We are now at 3 48 N 133 34 W1999 miles from Los Angeles.

Wind from South at 24 knots, moderate sea with occasional bigger wave. Fluffy clouds.

Saw Mom and Mary at breakfast, Mom went for a morning swim first!

Life on board is now routine, not boring but no great excitement either.

The Amsterdam is now at 10 43 N 130 03 W making 17 knots. Wind about 10 knots from the SE, large swell from the SW causing the ship to pitch, and occasionally slam the bow sections right under my cabin.

Air temp 27 degrees, water only 18, which surprised me as it was 28 a couple of days ago. Blue skies and fluffy clouds.

There is no satellite TV here, although the internet still works. They let us access the New York Times website free.

Last night was the first formal night. I put on my blazer and tie,but discovered I didn’t pack the gray slacks and black socks I set aside. Wore Khaki instead.

Had a lovely Lobster dinner, free Champagne before hand. The Titanic must have felt like this just before the iceberg…

I have decided to book a few excursions. There are none on Nuku Hiva,and taxi to the Typee Valley is 12,000 Francs, about 130 dollars. I’ll walk.

On Tahiti there are public buses, so I’ll take them. I plan to book a back country tour on Moorea, and a trip to the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns.

Apparently there is to be a Mongolian Barbeque tonight, a welcome change from the usual fare, which although of high quality, lacks spice!

I’m getting a lot of programming done, so I’m not yet in full vacation mode.