Bora Bora Bounce

The wind and waves have been treating us to a show in Bora Bora. We are tied to a mooring ball near the Mai Kai Yacht Club and our first night here was not very calm. The wind has picked up to more than 15 knots with higher gusts and it is coming from a little too far south so we are also getting a big chop in the anchorage. We put an additional line on the mooring ball (so we now have three) after hearing stories of people lines breaking and boats drifting away here.

We did manage to get the dinghy launched (that was exciting) and get to shore (that was wet) to walk around the town of Vaitape. We need to find propane (or cooking gas of some variety – every country has a different mix of butane, propane or a combo). Plus we are trying to get some New Zealand dollars for our next stops and we needed to get some baguettes and veggies. It is a nice little town with two big groceries, lots of roadside fruit and veggie stands, a nice chandlery with lots of boat parts, a hardware store, three banks and lots and lots of t-shirt shops and pearl/jewelry stores. We also needed to check in with the gendarmes for hours of checking out of here at the end of the week. The gas station has the cooking gas but eggs are hard to find. Baguettes were plentiful and we bought some nice little bananas from a fruit stand (and got a good deal – the woman threw in an extra bunch free!) and we bought tomatoes from the day care centers' stand!

We got back to the boat and bounced around all afternoon – not very comfortable. Our friends from Chapter Two came over to enjoy some of the mahi we caught and we had a lovely evening. She brought the "pudding" (that is the term for desserts) – a yummy apple crisp with custard – yummy! They will be heading off for the Cook Islands today – so it was nice to have a chance to visit with them before they leave. They also pointed out some good anchorages on Bora Bora. So after we get some fuel and baguettes (today or tomorrow) we'll probably be off as well – but just around the island.

Lots to see here – including (we hope) getting in the water with some manta rays!

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