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Day 119: One Year to Go, Dingy Ride thru the Jungle and 1st Snorkel Trip for David and Paul; Friday, May 2, 2014



'One year to go' means that on May 2, 2015 Joel and I will be home, at the Boca Ciega Yacht Club on that date, a Saturday, at 12 noon. Party time! Put that date on your calendar.



David up at 7:00 AM. I got up at 7:10 AM. Breakfast at 8:15 AM. Eggs, bacon and French bread. I tried the orange marmalade jelly. Not good. In the trash.



At 9:00 AM Tim and Tracy from Folie a Deux dingied over so we could talk about plans for the day. While we were talking a number of tour boats drove past us heading to the head of the bay and up the river there. We intended to follow and did so at about 10:00 AM. Folie a Deux in their dingy and us in ours. Theirs was a 5 horse power gasoline motor and ours electric. As we motored up the river at 3 knots the width of the river went from 100 yards to 10 yards, with tree branches close overhead and branches and logs to dodge under water. We finally turned around when the tree branches were too close. You almost needed a machete to cut them down and proceed. Which is what we saw one tour boat do. Along the way we also saw about 15 kayaks led by tour guides heading back down river. Most of the kyakers spoke English and were American. On the way back we bought a bunch of bananas from a couple of natives on the river. Paid 1,000 francs for about 50 bananas. Once back at the boat we hung them up on the transom to ripen as they were solid green.



At 12:15 PM while 500 yards from our boat the lithium battery, which had 32% of its power left, went from 32% to 0%. Bummer. We paddled to a buoy and held on, while calling for a tow from Folie a Deux. Brian from Folie picked us up a short while later and towed us to our boat. Joel had said that lithium batteries were capable of doing what this one did - going from plenty of battery power to none with no warning. Because Folie a Deux was with us I didn't bring our spare battery. If we'd been alone I would have. The trip up the river was great despite its ending.



For lunch I thawed out 4 steak burger's which Joel cooked on our grill. Excellent.



At 1:34 PM we weighed mooring buoy and headed out of the bay. A Polynesian in one of their unique crafts paddled under Folie a Deux's transom; like he was 'drafting' them. After a half mile he gave up. Weird.



We anchored the boats in 35 feet of water off an island in Passe Teavarua, where we snorkeled for an hour and a half. Tim stayed on Folie while his family snorkeled with us. David saw a moray eel. We all saw lots of fish and coral, and ventured out the pass a ways where you could see the water drop to a hundred feet under you. Because it was cloudy and the tide was going out, visibility could be better. But overall, a very good first snorkel for David and Paul.



By 5:00 PM we tied up to a mooring buoy at Point Toamaaro on Tahaa island. Again, in 80 feet or so of water.



At 5:31 PM I took a picture of a rainbow over Folie a Deux; and at 6:30 PM we dingied over to Folie for a Cuban dinner: beef, rice and black beans. Great as usual. Dessert, made by 16 year old Brian from Folie, was excellent. So good I forgot what it was called. Included whipped cream. Being over 50 is tough. Before dinner I showed everyone some of my videos from the Galapagos. Taken with a Go Pro Hero camera, which you can take underwater.



Back at the boat at 9:00 PM, we watched the Pilot of the new series The Americans. About a KGB family living in American in 1981 at the height of the Cold War.



The plan for tomorrow is to snorkel in the morning at the 'Coral Gardens' on northwest coast of Tahaa, inside the reef; then travel 20 miles to Bora Bora in the afternoon; snorkel in Bora Bora; and then grab a marina slip for the night. On the way to Tahaa one of the rally sailboats advised us that a rally boat had two fishing rods and reels stolen while in Bora Bora. We were advised in our briefing that thievery was a problem in Bora Bora and that you should always leave someone on a boat when anchored there. Being in a secure marina is OK, but not anchored out. Too bad, as all the other islands in French Polynesia haven't had that problem. The last item that was stolen from a rally boat that I'm aware of was a dingy and motor from a large catamaran while in Panama.



365.



Brian Fox

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