Piece of Metal

From Tahiti Fun

Being the voyagers we are we have gone….NOWHERE! ha. We woke up the next morning and it was blowing a bit and we thought ……let’s stay awhile longer. We have decided for the moment to wait for our boat parts and then head off to Moorea and then on to Bora Bora.

Another deciding factor was that the kids friends arrived in the morning at the anchorage and the hope of a play with them was enticing the kids to stay. They arranged to get together with Robin (Alex’s friend) and Julie (Amelia’s friend). I gave them a little freedom and they all went off to grab ice creams together from….McDONALDS!

I found it funny that once they were back at the boat the first thing Robin asked to do was to see Alex’s book selection. Once he had a series to borrow decided on it was time to jump in the water to cool off and then they read their books together in the cockpit. A bit different than backpacks strewn all over the floor in Toronto and Alex and his buddy’s playing Calling of Duty upon my arrival home from work. Don’t worry though…Alex is still dreaming of his Uncle’s X-box.

They all ended the visit by flying around the boat on the halyards. I only heard a few smacks and crashes. I brought them into the marina to find their parents and as we were walking towards the dinghy bar we could see a man off in the distance walking towards us with a piece of metal in his hand. Alex says, “Hey I think that is Dad and he has the piece of metal he was looking for”. Robin says, “It might be my Dad. He was looking for a piece of metal today to”. This totally hit my funny bone. To funny that the world we now live in has two friends who’s Dads could be coming home with a piece of metal!

Once we had dropped off Robin and Julie we headed over to our friends boat Salamander for sundowners. We enjoyed sparkling white wine (in a bottle!!!....we have only had boxed wine since Panama) and a beautiful assortment of French cheeses and baguette. Happy hour is my favorite time of day J.

All in all I am pretty happy we haven’t headed out yet. Yesterday Graham and I even spent the day together having our own adventure. We hopped on a local bus and found some beautiful caves. It was really nice to spend the day together without either of us having to compete for our attention. Absolutely perfect and it turns out I still really like the guy and vice versa I think.

We are back to doing chores today such as ….taxes, banking, home school registration, and the never-ending boat maintenance. Alex’s flu has hit us all except for Graham, so everyone cross your fingers the Captain doesn’t get sick cause you know what that means…..lol

Ps…..The Captain is now sick….wish us luck J

Voyagers

We are voyagers. I love being voyagers. I am so totally hooked on the feeling of....."Where should we go today?" It is really, really cool to just be able to pick up and go and your home goes with you. I enjoy our stops but we are on a journey and we need to keep moving, to keep looking forward. It is so exciting.

Tahiti has been a cool stop on this journey. It has been our first taste of real civilization since we left Panama City. It was a shock to walk into the huge air conditioned grocery store but it felt sooooo good. Unfortunately the prices are SKY HIGH! Thank goodness I bought enough groceries to get us to New Zealand. I feel so proud each time Graham runs out of something and I can produce another bottle, jar or bag of it and he is so happy with my shop job. You know I love the kudos. The only things we need to stock up on are fruit, veggies, cheese and meat. We spent about $200. I think we are doing pretty good with our budget. We decided that the fruit and veggies were to expensive in the grocery store though and we had heard there was a farmers market at 6am on Sunday mornings where they were much cheaper. This means that for the past 2 Sundays we have woke up at 5am and taken the dinghy in the dark all the way into town (about 3 miles). We carefully find our way via the red and green buoys. One wrong turn and you end up on the jagged reef. We had a couple hairy carry moments of Amelia yelling...."Dad REEF"!! Regardless we saved some money and had an adventure! Gotta love that.

We also managed to squeeze in a Tahiti tour Perry style. We took our dinghy into town and saved the taxi fare. We took the kids to the food vendors in the open market and bought baguette sandwiches for our lunch. ($2 each) We jumped on the number 1 bus to the end of the line. ($4) We hiked from the end of the line up a mountain into the lush Tahiti landscape to a waterfall. Pretty neat to do given the fact that practically no one speaks English.

We did have a few bumps in the plan though. The first one was a HUGE centipede revealing itself to me from under a leaf on the trail as Amelia and I hiked. Scared the crap out of me and I heard these things are extremely poisonous. Second bump was the fact that when we were almost there Alex started feeling sick and weak with his cold. It was decided that we would turn around and Graham and Amelia would continue on and meet us back at the park in Papette. I didn't realize he was feeling that sick. I felt terrible for pushing him that far. Luckily as soon as we turned around and hiked back to the road a truck came along and offered us a drive to the bus stop! The third bump was the fact that I forgot to leave Graham and Amelia with the instructions for getting to the base of the waterfall.....ooops. They hiked up, up, up and finally they looked across and they were above the stunning waterfall. They said it was really gorgeous but they were so looking forward to a swim. Ha. Well we chalk these Perry Style Tours up to character builders and the good news is that the whole day only cost us.....$16.

Tomorrow we are off voyaging again! We are heading to the island of Moorea which is only 20 miles away. The guide book says that it is one of the most photographic islands in the world? Wish I had google to see what it has to say. We met a guy on the bus to the falls who lives on the island and gave us his number. He said we should call once we are there and he will show us around. I am looking forward to meeting his family and hearing his story.

Excited for tomorrow and really grateful for today......

Permanent

Exciting, exciting, so very exciting! Guess what we did today??? WE GOT TATTOOS!

We have been thinking for awhile that we would like to get a Polynesian tattoo once we had completed the major South Pacific crossing. We aren't necessarily tattoo people but we really wanted something original and significant to mark this major milestone in our lives. Well WE GOT IT!!!

We found a reputable shop in Papette, Tahiti called Mana'o Tattoo (www.manaotattoo.com). The owner actually won the Best Tribal Tattoo gold award at the iron and ink competition for 2008. They also had pictures of when they had tattooed UB40 band members. We knew the deciding factors would be how comfortable we felt in the shop and with the artist and we had a check on both fronts. We asked for appointments for Graham, myself and Amelia. YUP, Amelia had her heart set on a beautiful Polynesian dolphin around her ankle bone. At this point though the story turns sad. The owner let us know that although we may have seen other children with tattoo's he would not tattoo children. He told us that as they grow the tattoo would become distorted. He said that many artists will just do it for the money but that he would not. This is when the quiet tears began streaming down her face. Broke my heart. She had our permission which she worked so hard to get but here was clear logic telling her not a good idea. She totally understood but it had been something she had been dreaming of and speaking of daily for so long it was a heart break. She has decided she will someday get that dolphin to signify this moment in her life.

Yesterday Graham and I went into town on our own and arrived at the shop at about 9:30. We each had a creative session with the artist. Of course I had Graham go first :-). Graham said that he wanted his tattoo to represent the fact that we are now shellbacks, his children, his wife, the ocean, and the voyage. The artist sketched out his ideas and Graham and him worked through revisions until he was happy. The next step was transferring the sketch to tattoo transfer paper and then sticking it on to use as a stencil for the actual tattoo. I watched as the needle pierced Graham's skin for the first time and not even a flicker of pain on his face. What a man! He didn't watch the work getting done but he was able to hold a conversation all the while. It took about 1 1/2 hours to complete. It turned out so great. The outside had the four points of the compass encased in the ocean waves. The inside is a turtle representing not only a shellback but also as per Polynesian art only the King gets tattooed with a turtle representing power. The left and right front feet of the turtle are the symbol for boy and girl representing Amelia and Alex and the larger female symbol is on the turtles back representing me. (LOL....how appropriate eh!) It is perfect.

I was up next. I had decided to get a tattoo band around my finger. I told the artist that I wanted the tattoo to represent my strength as a mother, my family unit of four, my husband as my rock and my visionary opening our minds to the direction we have taken. He laughed when he heard all these things and in his broken English told me we only had a bit of space. I went back out to the waiting room and he prepared his area for me. He called me in and said, "Ok, lets do this". I asked if he was going to first sketch out the design. He said he would draw it on my finger and if I liked it then we would do it for real. I chose to have the tattoo done on my wedding ring finger. I haven't wore my real ring for the past few years and I liked the idea of having something there. I was shocked once he was done drawing that everything I asked for was represented. He let me know that the band could only go around half way because if it is on the back it would wear off. On each side he ended the tattoo with two shark teeth which represent strength. In the middle he did a symmetrical symbol with four corners representing our family of four. Next he did the male symbol in the middle representing Graham with a directional arrow pointing forward. I LOVE IT. Oh and it look cool to boot! ha. I am so happy that for years to come I will look down and have this constant reminder of this amazing journey we have undertaken. Oh I forgot to mention the actual tattooing.....I placed my hand on a saran wrapped covered stool with a light shining on it. The artist got out his smallest finest needle. He said he was going to tattoo slowly since there wasn't a lot of room for correction. He said that the skin on the side for the sharks teeth would be the area that it hurt the most. I was in my frame of mind of, "I am woman hear me roar", so there was no way I was going to flinch. I did brilliantly and to be totally honest it hurt way less than I thought it would.

We got home and the kids raced out on deck and jumped around excitedly waiting for us to uncover our art. Down below we did the big reveal. They absolutely LOVED them. OMG's could be heard throughout the anchorage.

I can be found now at any given moment in the day smiling to myself each time I notice the tattoo.

Tattoos in Tahiti

High highs and Low lows

Tahutaka Marquesas

Enroute to Tuomotos

Tuomotos

I have heard Alex describe life out here to many people and he always is sure to include the fact that it is "High Highs and Low Lows".......ain't that the truth!! So strange how one day you can be riding a beautiful bicycle along a lush green atoll and the next day be bashing into waves and throwing up overboard! Oiy!

So where to begin......lets start with the HIGHS! Tuomotos were beautiful. We had 5 wonderful holiday days. Our days consisted of snorkeling, snuba diving, French baguette runs into the village, bike riding, swinging off the Gromit boat, feeding the fish, pearl farm touring and exploring. Highlight for me was having Alex take my hand while we were snorkeling and guide me up to a black tip reef shark. Absolutely terrifying but really really cool. Everyday when the kids would jump in they would see sharks. It was so strange to watch the kids so excited to be snorkeling and diving with them. I remember one day ......while I was in the dinghy watching everyone snorkeling....I saw Graham, Alex and Mike way off and I heard Alex say, "Wow, guys there is a huge shark over here". Amelia and Zoe were a ways off and I yelled over to them, "Alex just saw another big one". They both began to swim as fast as they could IN THE DIRECTION OF ALEX to see it! It is strange as a mom to have this mix of pride for their fearlessness and understanding of the underwater world but also since I am so totally not as cool as they are....to be full of this worry that I have to try and work so hard to suppress. I am working at trying to overcome my fears, especially those that my mind knows are unfounded. I could work harder though :-)....starting tomorrow!

We said goodbye to the Tuomotos and left late in the afternoon enroute for Tahiti. From the distances we knew it would be about a 2 night sail. We exited the pass for the atoll and had jumping dolphins at our sides as we surfed out. For the next 12 hours or so we had beautiful calm seas and light winds. We enjoyed spaghetti in the cockpit and settled into our cruising routine.......

Now for the LOWs....The remainder of the trip we had the wind pretty much on the nose and the waves pounding just off our bow. The up and down motion of the boat made Alex and I so sick. Graham didn't feel 100% either but Amelia (thank god) was right as rain. Not only did I feel sick to my stomach but I had a splitting headache. It was so bad. At the peak of my sickness when I thought it couldn't get any worse, Alex woofed his cookies right next to me. Nothing worse than being sick and having to clean up after someone else. Amelia was a trooper. We kept thinking that maybe if we ate we would feel better. She made us rice and beets. She cut up oranges and passion fruit. She brought us drinks. She brought us cold cloths. She covered us in a blanket. She checked on us regularly. One side of the cockpit was drenched from all the water we kept taking over the side from the waves. Every so often the far side would get soaked to. We were to sick to care and just laid on the soaked cushion in our full rain gear and prayed for the night to end. Graham and I stuck to our 4 hours on, 4 hours off schedule and we both felt so crappy that we spent our 4 hours each time in bed. I was so happy to see Tahiti come into sight but it seemed to take forever to get to the anchorage. The moment our anchor was set, we jumped into our bathing suits and swam. I was shocked how quickly the awful feeling left me. Pretty much as soon as I had washed my hair in the ocean. It was like I washed away all the sickness.

and then the HIGH HIGHs were back! WE ARE IN TAHITI riding the HIGH. Way cool. Oh and best of all.....today we went to the outdoor market and we bought lettuce. Beautiful, magnificent lettuce. We have been so veggie and fruit deprived. We have spent the past two days gorging ourselves. I am so grateful for lettuce.....oh and of course the fact that there seems finally to be more highs than lows on this adventure.

Vacation

Today we snorkeled in a crowded stream of beautiful Tuomotos fish.
Sounds so poetic and perfect. You may be picturing us swimming as one
with the fish. All headed in the same direction. NOT. Picture me
yelling into my snorkel and jumping on Graham's back, so the fish
would stream around him and not touch me! LOL. Picture Amelia grabbing
my hand and laughing hysterically into her snorkel. Picture Alex
diving up and down and all around the stream and poking at the fish.
Oh what fun..so much fun..so new and cool.

We all snorkeled along together, pointing out all of the spectacular
marine life. There was so many different types of fish to see we were
overwhelmed. We would all be pointing and calling to each other
underwater. I am shocked at how many new species of fish we saw within
10 minutes of being in the water. It is like they were from outer
space. Their colors were so vibrant and varied.

Graham and Alex got the hooka (snuba gear) out and all put together
and in the afternoon we went back to this awesome reef and brought it
with us. The kids saw sharks, eels and manta rays and we were SO
HAPPY! Amelia was thrilled to sit on the ocean floor at 40 feet down
with her Dad. They found a really cool claw shaped clam and a very
unique shell. She has them soaking right now and has been scrubbing
them with a brush. Alex says he is happy to be back into "Vacation"
mode. We are thinking we will spend 5 days here just exploring the
reef and touring the motu. I even dug out the hammocks today and I am
hoping for some lighter winds so I can get em up tomorrow.

Alex is dying to fish. I won't let him because the guide books say
that Ciguetera (basically a disease the fish have here) is a huge
problem on this atoll. I found him today on the end of the dock
talking (or at least communicating) with these two local women. They
had a couple lines in the water with raw chicken as their bait. They
were catching small red snapper. They let him know that the snapper
was safe to eat since it was small enough and not infected. Not sure
if I mentioned it before but Alex has an obsession with raw chicken.
It seems every time he throws his hook in with raw chicken on the end
of it he gets a bite, so he is constantly beggin me for it. Anyone who
knows Alex knows he isn't the most careful kids ever. Alex + raw
chicken = disaster, so I don't often give in! Anyway, he was
like..."See mom raw chicken works and ciguetera isn't a problem!" I
guess we will see how long I can keep the lines out his hands.

Right now Amelia has Maia over for a sleep over. Tomorrow we have more
snuba planned, a hike of the motu, breakfast at the Gromits and maybe
even an afternoon siesta. I am so grateful for vacation days.