Tahiti - Part 1

Thursday 22 June 2006 Tahiti Well, it took two days and nights of sailing
to get to Tahiti but we made it. The first day and night brought good winds
but lumpy seas, and the second had calmer seas but much less wind. We came
in to Papeete Harbour after asking permission from Port Control, made a spin
around the busy inner harbour, then asked and received clearance to pass by
each end of the Papeete International Airport which is on the water. We
came through the channel that is inside the outer fringing reef to the
northwest side of the island where we anchored near several boats we left
Mexico with (surprise, surprise). We were tired but happy to be here.

Papeete is a for real city with heavy traffic and hustle/bustle. The
grocery store was to die for though, and within walking distance from our
anchorage near the marina where we tie up the dinghy. We also met up with
Laurent who is the cruiser agent that we used for paperwork since the
Marquesas. He took our passports to get us checked in to Tahiti and will
check us out when we are ready to leave. We have a long list of things to
do and get here, some for some minor repairs, including welding on our
Monitor wind pilot which we did not get fixed in the Marquesas after the
"misunderstanding" on the cost of the repair.

WE have heard many complaints about how ugly a town Papeete is, and how
expensive, but we find it is just another city and the prices are still high
compared to the US but less than the Marquesas and certainly less than the
Tuamotos, and, you can get almost anything you need. The larger grocery
store is fantastic and we got a huge slab of ribeye steak for tonight to
feast upon for about $8. The marine store (chandlery) is well-stocked and
the prices are also reasonable. There is a fuel dock that you can side-tie
to instead of Med mooring, which we have avoided so far. On a sour note,
the stove parts that I special ordered from Florida months ago cost $150
plus another 150 in shipping - and they are the wrong parts!!!!!! (NO
returns after 14 days says the invoice). Argh!!!!! We asked for our mail
to be forwarded here and we are hoping it will not cost the same, but it
might.

Tonight we will batten down the hatches as a big southerly is supposed to
blow in later, and last for two days. We are just inside the fringing reef
which is exposed to the south which means we may get some nasty swells
coming over it, especially at high tide. You can hear and see the surf
crashing on the outside just a couple of hundred yards away - it is loud!

Oh well, as Terry my friend in Anacortes reminded me after I whined about
something or other, we are lucky to be here and not having to go to work
every day at eight in the morning. We are grateful that we have the chance
to do this.