Fi and Clive come to visit us on Itchy Foot and we went to explore Mo’orea

Mo’orea is a glorious and delightful destination and we were so lucky that we got to explore it together with Fi and Clive. Wait a minute and back up. We are lucky full stop that we have friends  with so much gumption and eagerness to come and visit us in such a far flung place. And not only that, they came to visit us in a far flung place and were happy to do a bunch of muling. Clive’s journey was the stuff of nightmares with the door to door well over the 30 hour mark. Our patient, understanding friends shopped and schlepped and kept on bringing out surprises and treats throughout their visit. Tons of chocolate and tea and treats for Teo. We added Snakey and Slothy to our family and Fi brought nail polish and earrings for trading further down the line. Fi went to Decathalon for us because it has all the stuff you need on a boat and more. And she brought lots of jewellery making gear so we can be creative in the rainy season. But of course it is not about the stuff, it is about the time and we had a wonderful long week in Mo’orea during which they spoiled us rotten and we are so thankful for that time.

As we arrived in Tahiti and anchored near the Intercontinental hotel we were dazzled by visions of Mo’orea. We even mused that it would make a lovely photo book if someone were to take a series of sunset photos of this beautiful island. We were hoping to have all of our boat jobs finished by the time they arrived but we barely even got started. Mostly, we were excited to welcome guests onboard Itchy Foot and were already envisioning our time exploring with Fi and Clive once they were safely onboard.

Well, the weather forecast forced us to leave a little more abruptly than we had planned. We picked up Fi and made a trip to Carrefour for provisions and we sailed for Mo’orea. We spotted whales shortly before sunset on our way to anchor at the top of Cook’s Bay. Spotting sea mammals is always a treat and this was no exception, the beauty of nature at its best. Once we found a sot that would protect us from the forecasted winds we enjoyed a very calm swim in the evening before happy hour and dinner aboard.

The next day was everything but calm, it was grey and windy and rainy. But we didn’t let it stop us and we went ashore for a long walk to the village of Maharepa. We explored the resorts on the shore and stopped into shops to avoid rain. There are gorgeous stands with fresh fruit (we even got to try a new fruit called star apples) and handmade crafts along the way. It was dark and we were muddy when we returned home, but we were smiling because our bellies were full of the yummy pizza that was a treat from Fi.

Clive had to tack an extra flight onto his epic journey and we hated to do it to him but we had to make quick decisions as the weather threatened to trap us in Tahiti, without a beach or good swimming water. Clive took it in stride and arrived bright and bushy tailed and ready to hike up to the view point at Belvedere. We checked out some pineapple plantations and a few ancient sites with tikis before we reached the top. It was a funny moment to emerge from the jungle to see a carpark full of tourists on ATVs enjoying the view that we might have worked a little harder for. We hitched a ride down the hill and enjoyed our evening nestled safely Cook’s Bay. Clive brought a remote control lego jeep for Teo that they built together and he also shared some Ladybird books with him from his own boyhood collection and they became quick favourites.

We had lots of lovely swims in the sea and visits to the beach and collected lovely memories. We walked to a prawn farm where Fi bought fresh prawns for an excellent evening meal one evening and we celebrated both our birthdays. We explored the little village Tiahura and found cute little roadside burger place with good burgers and delightful Belgian waffles.  We snorkelled with humpback whales and Teo and Jon caught glimpses of the baby and her mamma and we spent some time at Sting Ray City with the rays and the sharks.

As the old adage goes, time flew and we were all teary as we kissed and hugged them goodbye. The next few days were empty and we felt as if Itchy Foot were way too big.  This lifestyle is full of new friends and still the most special moments are when we have time together with people who know us well and we love the fact that Teo connects so well with our close friends. We miss them madly.

Written by Mia, we were in Fakarava back in August and loved it, read more below:

We loved Fakarava so much that Teo and I made up a song about it and I can only tell you that you are very fortunate not to be subjected to our singing it over and over.

We entered the atoll using the north pass and were happy that it was a wide and easy entry, in fact we probably didn’t need to get the timing just right as we did with the passes into Kauehi and Tahanea. It probably would have been navigable at any time, maybe even in the dark, although once inside we prefer to have the sun high in the sky making our path through the water clear. We still shudder to think about moving around these atolls in the dark.

We picked up a mooring ball in front of town and considered ourselves very lucky since as we were approaching another boat was just leaving. We gave the town of Rotoava a good explore and we even have our eye on a two story house with a dock and a lot of promise, we might have to fix the roof before moving in, but then again it doesn’t rain that often. We were charmed by the town and the friendly locals. We walked to the windward side of the atoll which was probably a distance of a block or so and were impressed by the pounding waves of the Pacific. The church in is beautiful and adorned with long strings of shells. Teo and I were climbing a tree in the sunset and we had nice chat with a very sweet grandma who gave Teo one of her strawberry yogurts. There are a few options for buying supplies and some cafes ashore. One evening we joined the families from Caramba and Luminesce for crepes and ice cream which is a treat for us. One morning Jon paddled ashore and came back with fresh croissants and pain au chocolat, yum yum yum!

Since arriving in French Polynesia, we have struggled to get enough internet for our tasks like paying credit card bills and taxes, let alone communicating with friends and family and keeping on top of the blog. Being internet free is not usually a problem, in fact a break from constantly checking our devices is one of the things we chalk up in the pro column of this lifestyle. However, some things just require internet and it is sometimes very tough to make that happen when we are faced with a deadline. Everyone assumes everyone is connected at all times and it seems that when you explain that you cannot get online people don’t believe you, not really. We had high hopes for Fakarava and it didn’t really play out the way we had hoped.

We keep pinching ourselves when we see how clear the water really is, even along the coast of the town quay. You clearly see the reef sharks and coral bommies even standing on the shore. We also have lovely fish swimming around the boat. Most of them love the oatmeal we were happy to share with them while the oatmeal lasted. In Fakarava we actually ran out of many of our reserves. There was a dangerous few days where Itchy Foot did not have the ability to make pancakes, I am getting choked up and can’t really tell you much more than that. We planned to stock up in Tahiti and we stayed longer in Fakarava than we planned, partly because of enjoying it so much and partly because we were waiting for good sailing weather.

Fakarava is one of the larger atolls and because we don’t move very quickly while we are keeping a close eye out for coral bommies and because we prefer to move during the hours of the day when the sun is highest in the sky, we stopped halfway down at a place called Kakaiau. The atoll is narrow here, probably 20 paces and all night we could here the waves pounding the shore. We had this gorgeous place with clear, navy blue water to ourselves and used a few days to take care of a disturbing boat job and in the end we were happy we had a weevil infestation. Is anyone else amused by the last sentence?

We moved on to Harifa in the southeast corner and the water was the beautiful turquoise of our dreams. There was kite surfing going on a sand bank nearby and a big throng of kids, including some locals really enjoyed building forts ashore and of course building bonfires. We took a few long walks and explored the made a couple of treks to the windward side of the atoll. One day we walked through a shallow lagoon and it seemed that the sharks dropped their kids off for nursery here. The baby reef sharks are actually really cute. And then the terrain turns almost lunar as you approach the barrier reef. We waded out to the edge where you can clearly see the drop off. We were impressed by the dunes of dead coral that were five meters high. We sat there and envisioned the storm that sent the coral up that high. The next day we walked the other way and did some amazing rock pooling, picking shells and checking out the hermit crabs feisty enough to be on violent windward side. We really enjoyed those three anchorages and our exploring.

But by far the highlight of Fakarava was snorkelling the pass with the beautiful coral and incredible reef fish and the sharks. Did I mention we were snorkelling with sharks? It filled me with dread to begin with and then when you see their nonchalance and attitude towards swimmers it is clear they  do not consider us yummy in the slightest. We snorkelled the pass four times and just drifted along with our dinghy. It was incredible and at times really quick like a roller coaster. We nicknamed a certain part to the trip the “superman sector”. We hung out with a half Norwegian half Colombian family from Singapore there and the kids got along really well. One afternoon we explored the tiny  town that used to be the capital of the Tuamotus island group. The little church has an altar out of mother of pearl and was decorated with the same strings of shells. There are some beautiful cabanas for rent as Fakarava south is a world class dive site. Everywhere we visit we are impressed by the attention to detail and the small things the locals do to make themselves and their surroundings things of beauty.