Et Voila Adventures: Home, Tahiti & Moorea

JULY 1 – 23, 2014

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

I arrived at LAX airport around 11am after taking a red eye flight out of Papeete, Tahiti. It is a good flight. I go to sleep … wake up… breakfast … land in Los Angeles… done. It is an eight hour flight, but it feels like 2 or 3 hours. I recommend it highly. Our son Jonathan picked me up at the airport and we went directly to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant. Being with him again was a wonderful feeling and we had a very, very nice time together. He is a smart and kind young man and I am proud of him. I am happy to be home.

That being said, modern life is stressful. I am a bit uneasy about how easily I slipped right back into the daily grind. I barely made it on time to places I needed to be, had an endless to do lists… rush, rush, rush. I saw as many friends as I could while juggling my various appointments. During this trip home, I realized just how much I truly missed my family and friends. That is just how it will have to be for now. I can’t have it all! The good news is that my oncologist said that my blood work looks good and he will see me again in November … YIPPEE!! Happiness and a huge relief… onward.

As I write this, it is evening and I am in a quaint hotel room in La Jolla, San Diego. My patio door is open and there is live music playing from a restaurant across the street. James Taylor, the Eagles and Dave Matthews Band… right up my alley. I love San Diego. Theo and I met here 26 years ago. After dating for a year and a half, we married in a small church in Italy and then moved to Orange County. We have spent our adult lives together and have been through most of the ups and downs that come with it. Right now he has friends visiting in Tahiti will I am gone, so I know he is having a great time.

I am in San Diego with our daughter Stephanie and her boyfriend Will who has flown in from Australia. She is going to attend college beginning in August and we are getting her settled before I leave for Tahiti again. It is so strange to be in San Diego, our old stomping ground, but this time our daughter is driving ME through town! Surreal… Will is a wonderful young man and is great with Stephanie. They seem very comfortable and natural together. Stephanie had traveled to South Africa and was working with children at a school. Will was also volunteering and helping with a building project nearby, so that is how they met. They have a lot in common and complement each other in a very nice way. I am so grateful to have had these days with them. Their company has been very, very enjoyable. Will is returning to Australia to do a job in Perth for the next year or so. There is always the issue of geography for them, but it’s only geography. Nothing is impossible, and if you truly want it to be… it will be. I believe that with all of my heart.

FUN THINGS I DID WHILE HOME:

-Vietnamese lunch and talking with Jonathan.

-Bike ride with Stephanie along the coast on the Fourth of July and then watched fireworks at home with Jonathan and friends.

-Lots of visits with very dear friends. My childhood friend Christina even flew from Monterey so we could spend time together, which was especially nice.

-Evenings with my Mother and Father (and their dog Lyla).

-Attended a book club meeting with “the girls”.

-Got many, many comforting hugs from people that mean the world to me.

-Was able to go to the 3^rd annual paddle and swim in honor of our friend Michele.

-Went for my favorite walk in the wetlands with Claire.

-Spent time with Stephanie and got to know her boyfriend Will.

-Ate Mexican food every day.

-Cooked meals with Jonathan.

-Attended the OC Fair and rode the Euro Slide. Stephanie won a beta fish there. His name is Gandolf (after the wizard from the Lord of the Rings).

-Rode bikes to Seal Beach and went to the annual Fish Fry.

-Picked up my Italian cousins from LAX on July 18th and have been having a great time with them ever since. They will be joining Theo and me in Tahiti!

Jonathan and Mummford went for a July 4th kayak

Enjoying time with our friends the Stanleys

The third annual Paddle and Swim in Seal Beach

My mother, Stephanie, me (holding Lyla) and my father

Will and Stephanie participating in the potato eating contest at the OC Fair

At the Seal Beach Fish Fry with Bruno, Giulia, Daniela, Ernesto, Lucia

Will and Stephanie

JULY 24 – AUGUST 5, 2014

PAPEETE, TAHITI AND MOOREA

As soon as I stepped foot outside the Air Tahiti Nui flight from Los Angeles to Papeete I was welcomed by the weather. Warmth with that humidity… there is no doubt where I am! My Italian cousins are with me. Their names are Ernesto, who is my first cousin on my mother’s side, his wife Daniela and their two daughters Giulia and Lucia. They have traveled so far to be with us, so Theo and I want to make sure they have a great experience. That being said, they are not accustomed to living on a boat and sailing. We will take time to explain water conservation, how to minimize trash, turning off the gas when it is not in use, etc… When our son Jonathan and his friend Ethan arrive in a few days, there will be eight of us living on board. They will have to work out the sleeping arrangements. We will see how it goes!

One of my friends asked me what I was bringing back to Tahiti with me. I am not sure what she was expecting me to say, but she seemed surprised when I began reciting the list that was in my head. One Honda BF 20 outboard propeller (just in case we hit a prop killing rock), more fishing lures, a new cell phone for Theo, a Canon EFS 17-85mm camera lens to replace the one that broke at the very beginning of our trip, LOTS of hydro cortisone cream for insect bites, a soldering gun with base and spool, more stainless steel cups and storage containers, marine grease… and I could go on and on. I barely had room for anything else.

I was so happy to see Theo and Isabel again! I could tell immediately that Theo was a bit stunned by all of us and the amount of baggage we had. He wasn't speaking much. We managed to load everything and everyone into the dinghy and onto Et Voila. Once on board I saw that Theo had brought Mambo’s ashes back to the boat. I am not sure why, but this was and continues to be a very big relief to me. We will scatter his ashes as we sail between the Society Islands. He loved the water, so that is where he will be… In the most stunning blue ocean we have ever seen!

Theo is trying to have a SSB radio installed on our boat. Many of the boats that we have gotten to know tune into this radio at 8 o’clock every morning to share information. Without this radio we cannot participate, so we feel disconnected. It should have been installed before we left from the United States where it would have been very simple. Here… not simple. We have two men working on it who are supposed to be the “specialists” in the area. They are like Laurel and Hardy, Lucy and Ethel, Mo and Larry, Beevus and Butthead… you get the picture. They do not know what they are doing and Theo is beyond himself with frustration. His blood pressure must be crazy high. I try not to pay too much attention because I wouldn't be surprised if Theo grabs them by their hair and launches them into the water at any moment. Thankfully, our friend Randy is still here with his son Sam, and they have been Theo’s extra eyes and hands to help finish the job.

In the meantime, we have arranged for my cousins to take a tour of the island while we finish what needs to be done on the boat. When they returned, they were going on and on about the beauty of Tahiti… It was obviously a very good tour. They left at 8 am and returned at 7 pm! Papeete is not our favorite spot, but once outside, the island is lovely. Despite how busy they were that day, Theo and Randy still managed to buy live crabs from the back of a local’s van for our dinner. The crabs were very large and their claws were held closed with rubber bands. When it was time for the pot, we realized that two of them had managed to remove the rubber bands and a third had already escaped into the water (or was scurrying about the boat). Theo grabbed one of the crabs that was loose from behind, but it rapidly lunged his huge claw under his body and cut Theo’s finger. This was scary and painful, so of course Theo claimed that crab as HIS dinner. The other escaped into the water right before our own eyes and Theo almost went in right behind him. This is called working for your meal!! Theo and I have managed to keep all of our fingers and toes attached to our bodies during this voyage, so we will not push our luck by messing with fighting, angry, Houdini crabs again.

Jonathan and Ethan arrive in Tahiti

Exploring

Theo and his Polynesian Canoe

Canoe races passed by our anchorage on a beautiful Saturday morning

The sun setting behind Moorea as seen from our anchorage in Tahiti

I have been replaced as first mate...these two are inseparable

JULY 26, 2014

MOOREA

We have left Papeete for Moorea Island. Theo has been to this island before with friends, but I have not experienced it yet and am very curious. We are motoring because Et Voila is heading straight into 30 knot winds. It is a bumpy ride. We are used to it, but the Italians are not. When we initially left the harbor the girls were in bathing suits, lying on the bow with beautiful wraps and their long hair flying free. It looked like an advertisement for Yachting Magazine. I was in running shorts and T-shirt with my sun hat strapped under my chin. I watched on as the colorful wraps almost flew into the ocean and the loose hair was quickly tied into tight buns on top of their heads. Thank goodness they had taken sea sickness pills as we suggested.

Despite the rough ride to Moorea, we put two fishing poles in the water. We were determined to catch a fish for dinner. After a while we heard the familiar sound of the fishing reel’s high pitched buzzing. Theo ran downstairs to get the pole with the fish, while I put the boat in neutral and began reeling in the second fishing pole. We understood very quickly that this catch was way too much for our pole. It was a big one! It took all of our line, which was a first, and eventually freed itself. During our time cruising, we have lost a total of four fish and four lures. We have a lot of wasabi and soy sauce on board, so we will keep trying…

We arrived in Moorea and were greeted with spectacular shades of green trees and plants that contrasted with turquoise water. We see the mountain slopes and spires reminiscent of the Marquesas and the crystal clear water like the Tuamotu… a stunning combination. We have anchored at 10 feet of water just outside of Opunohu bay, which is a very deep, pretty and natural bay. We put on our snorkeling gear and went to a location that Theo only described as “a surprise”. Once we had jumped in we were greeted by hungry stingrays. I have to say it was very intimidating at first (which is why I was clamped onto Theo’s back like a baby monkey). We had some small frozen fish with us and the stingrays swim up your body to get them because their mouths are underneath their bodies. After a while you can recognize different personality traits among them. Some are very gentle, while others are more aggressive. All the while we were feeding the stingrays, there were also sharks swimming nearby. ALWAYS keep your hand holding the fish OUT of the water so the sharks don’t go for it! This seems like common sense, but if you are in the water and you have eight rather large stingrays swimming all over you, it is easy to forget about where your hand is. Anyway, it was fun and I eventually got off of Theo’s back to feed them myself. When the sharks got too close for my comfort, I jumped back into the dinghy and used the excuse that I had to take pictures.

That night we wanted to go out for dinner. We are still recovering from our live crab experience, and the fact that we are occasionally finding and cleaning crab goo from various parts of the cockpit and stern is just gross… so out for dinner we went (despite Theo’s warnings that it would be too dark on the dinghy ride back). We rode to shore at sunset, had a delicious meal and enjoyed each other’s company. It was a great evening… until it wasn’t. Theo never said “I told you so”, but he should have. The sky was filled with stars, but we still did not have any visibility going back to the catamaran. We had a small flashlight with us, but it just blinded us more. This was serious because it was pitch black and we were on the water with coral platforms everywhere! We have learned by now that if you are going to hit something, try to hit it slowly. Sure enough, we eventually took a wrong turn and hit something (slowly). We were stranded in the middle of a knee deep garden of coral. It was not scary to me, but the girls were very uncomfortable about being on the water in the dark. We were stranded and disoriented. Theo and Ernesto got out and pulled us safely away. What we did not know was that Ernesto was wearing flip-flops and cut his toe pretty badly. Theo kept saying over and over “We are NEVER doing this again”… We eventually DID do it again. More on that later!

The next day we walked to the Belvedere lookout. I call it a walk and not a hike because it is on a paved road and about a quarter of the way to the top, there is a stand where you can get fresh, cold fruit and juice… we were not roughing it! I had the best pineapple juice I have ever tasted. The scenery along the way is rugged and wild. Tall green trees and plants that have grown over the path give much appreciated shade, and bright colored flowers of the island are all around… they are my favorite. We continued on and when we reached the lookout point we saw a spectacular view of both Cook’s Bay and Opunohu Bay. I recommend experiencing this if you are here. Try to go on a sunny, clear day so you get good pictures.

Jonathan and his friend Ethan have arrived in Papeete and are taking the fast Ferry boat to meet us in Moorea. This takes 30 minutes. I can’t wait to have them here. They have been friends since they were ten years old and roommates for the past three years. After staying with us for a week in Moorea, they will continue on for a two week adventure in New Zealand (cold!!) and then back to Los Angeles. Good for them! Once they arrived at the boat, we took them to the stingrays and sharks. I loved watching strong young men scream like teenage girls… it was a good laugh. Afterwards we met the Italians for lunch at a small outdoor restaurant called Coco Beach. It is located on a small motu that you can only get to by boat and the view and the food is the best. We lounged on the beach and swam until sunset. Once we were back on the catamaran, we began preparing dinner. I had defrosted the huge octopus that Liza had given us in Fakarava and we were going to do some on the grill and some in a pasta dish. It turned out amazing and everyone enjoyed it. I was a bit concerned about cooking for eight people, but it is really not that bad. The cleaning up is what gets you! Thankfully, Ernesto and Daniela have been a great help with that. The real issues we have had is water. Our tanks were down to one quarter full on the first day of having four more people on board. At this point in time we are almost empty, and now we have two more people living onboard!

The next day, July 31, was Jonathan’s 22^nd birthday. I made two loaves of pumpkin bread to go with our coffee. I wanted to put candles in one of them to sing happy birthday, but when I did this the candles melted inside the bread. We saw pink, green and blue blobs of wax inside when it was cut open. Who needs candles anyway?

After breakfast everyone jumped into the water to snorkel. A long time went by and we realized Theo was not back. We looked and looked and finally spotted him swimming by himself a ways off. I sent Jonathan on the kayak to get him. Two hours went by and still no Theo and Jonathan. I was happy they were having father-son time together, but I was also concerned because I could see the kayak, but not the boys. Finally, I decided to go get them. The dinghy was still on the davit, out of the water, from the night before, so I released it back down to get in and go. As I did this, I saw that they were in the kayak heading back. I forgot about the dinghy and went about doing other things. Once they were on board, we all prepared ourselves to go onshore. As we were about to board the dinghy, Theo said, “It is full of water”. Yes, it was. When I had lowered it into the water earlier, I forgot to close the drain plug. I am ashamed to admit that I did this, but I swore to myself I would disclose everything that happens in this blog, no matter how embarrassing it may be. After getting a murderous look from my husband, the bailing began. The water eventually came out and luckily it did not short out the battery. We were able to go on with our day. Phew… Lesson learned.

Once on shore we relaxed on an isolated beach. We pretended we were Tom Hanks from the movie Castaway and even decorated a coconut to look like Wilson… It was fun. On the way back to Et Voila, it started pouring down rain. We were all laughing so hard because we were soaking wet and everything we had brought with us was soaked as well. When we got closer to the boat we saw not one, but two rainbows. Ernesto serenaded us with the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow and all was good again… until it wasn’t. We had left all of the hatches and windows open on the boat. There was water everywhere, inside and out. We had left pillows and blankets in the cockpit and those were completely soaked, as were all the beds in the staterooms. I don’t know why Theo and I have regressed in the common sense department. We know exactly what needs to be done before we leave the boat. Oh well, no major damage so far. Onward!

I find myself reliving my first few months onboard through Daniela. I hear things like “Nothing dries here” and “The clothes smell strange” or “All the knives are rusted!” I know this and do my best with it. I am accustomed to the fact that my shoes are always a bit damp and my clothes are wrinkled. My kitchenware has aged rapidly in a short four months. I am accustomed to occasionally finding random items, like night vision goggles, resting on top of my bra and underwear basket… I just move them aside and go on. I do not find it to be a serious problem. It goes with the lifestyle. This is the way it is and it’s okay.

We wanted to go to the dinner and traditional dance show at the Tiki Village. The problem was that it began at 7pm and finished at 10:30pm. That meant that we would have to drive the dinghy back at night again! We talked about it and finally decided to do it and bring the brightest spotlight we had. It was a very interesting evening. We had a tour of the village and then sat in a square area with a pit in the center. They uncovered it and we saw that they had cooked pork and other traditional dishes underground for six hours. The buffet was amazing and we were all in food paradise! Afterwards we watched the dance show and even did some dancing ourselves… It was lovely and we all enjoyed ourselves. The dinghy ride back to the boat turned out to be slow (as usual) and uneventful. We even managed to avoid a partially submerged metal marker which had been knocked down earlier in the day by a distracted ski boat. We were all very happy and relaxed. Tomorrow will be August 5^th and we will leave for Papeete again. Jonathan and Ethan have a flight to New Zealand in the afternoon and the Italians are also flying to Los Angeles for a few days before continuing home to Rome. Theo and I will be alone for just a few days, and then our next group of guests will arrive.

LESSONS: While feeding the stingrays, keep your hands filled with fish out of the water if there are sharks around… better yet, do not feed the stingrays at all.

-Dinghies have a drain plug. Do not forget to use it. We keep an empty, plastic olive oil bottle with the bottom cut out in ours at all times in case it inexplicably takes on water.

-Memorize your route back to the boat during the day before you have to do it by night, or get the strongest spotlight you can find. Ideally, do both.

-Never get into the water here without shoes… you will step on something sharp.

-Crabs can reach their claws underneath their bodies (in a split second).

-If you don’t know what it is, don’t pick it up. Deadly creatures here… when in doubt, leave it alone.

QUOTES: “Alma’s first glimpse of Tahiti had been of abrupt mountain peaks rising hard into cloudless cerulean skies. The sight grabbed the breath from her chest: not its beauty, but its strangeness. She had no idea the place would be so tall, so extraordinary. These were verdant and wild slopes – shockingly steep, alarmingly jagged, staggeringly high, blindingly green. Everything about the place was overdressed with green. Even right down to the beaches. Coconut palms gave the impression of growing straight from the water itself.” – The Signature of All Things – A Novel by Elizabeth Gilbert

FRENCH: Hop-la! Desole. Je ne l’ai pas fait expres – Oops! Sorry about that. I didn't do it on purpose.

Y a pas de mal! C’est pas grave ! – Don’t Worry ! No problem !

On va prendre un verre, si tu veux bien ? – Let’s go out for a drink, shall we ?

OCEAN SIGHTINGS: Stingrays, Spotted Eagle Ray, Sharks, Sea Turtles, Puffer Fish, Needle Fish, Parrot Fish and Flying Fish.