on the move again!

It was hard to leave Tahiti. The sailing club was relaxed, friendly & felt like home. It was nice to put some roots down even if it was only 2 weeks! It was a friendly city & great island. The island itself is not as you would picture it. It is very green & mountainous; there are only a few beaches, the majority of which are black sand or rocky. The fabulous beaches & crystal clear waters are on the neighbouring islands of Moorea & Bora Bora.
As always there was work to do, trawling around the boat supply & DIY shops (Gilly, you would be in heaven!) in search of items that we never find until the 5th shop, restocking food, fuel & water supplies (first time since the Galapagos Islands! 80 gallons of fresh water in 11 weeks – pretty good going!).We made time for fun days, our first mission: a session of people watching & my much needed burger & chips (I had been dreaming of a meal out for months, cooking everyday is still driving me crazy!!). We play “guess the origin of the tourist”. Bobby believes you can tell a Brit from the shape of their heads whilst I spot the Yank a mile away with his bright white socks & trainers! ; )
As always hitch hiking is the cheapest way around town, which is how we met Gillaume & Julian. 2 fantastic French guys doing their internship in Tahiti. They took us surfing (nice sand breaks especially for me), cooked numerous outstanding meals at their amazing house on the mountain overlooking the beautiful coast. They were even kind enough to lend us a scooter for a couple of days, during which we toured the island. Slightly bum numbing after 8 hours but we made it all around Tahiti & even visited Teahupoo where they hold the world surf contests.
July 4th celebrations were held by Erin & Chris on Barefeet (a very beautiful catamaran) Believe it or not the Euros out numbered the Yanks! Fantastic BBQ with unlimited all American food, burgers, hotdogs, brownies, apple pie & pecan pie! I am still amazed at the food cruisers prepare, especially amazing with the limited food supplies & equipment onboard boats. No Brits or supplies of tea were thrown overboard during the celebrations!!
Our dingy fondly known as “the aquarium” with the amount of water it allows in & the fabulous view of the ocean now possible through the huge hole in the bow ! A painstakingly slow job to repair it & reglue the entire floor. Removing all traces of old glue, sandpapering & then finally the applying glue which had to be done in three phases! Now the waiting stage with all fingers crossed to see if it works – 3 days for the glue to dry! In the mean time we borrowed “Tippy” (she was very aptly named!) from s/v Erie. I was finally given lessons on how to use the outboard & there was no stopping me. It’s a bit like getting your driving licence & no longer being reliant on Mum! I had my freedom back; Tippy & I became great friends!