29 September 2024 –Tahiti
We woke to a nice morning although it had been rocky in the night. We had an early breakfast of fruit and then decided to go to Papeete to the market. On a Sunday there is a large fruit and vegetable market, but all the other shops are shut.
We went for tour around the stalls and bought carrots, courgettes, bananas, cabbages, cucumbers and tomatoes. We also bought some tuna fillet. It was great to see the market in full flow with the stall holders shouting away and trying to encourage you to buy. The colours and smells and noises are a great experience.
We returned to Stormbird with all our booty and stowed it as best we could. We had a break and a coffee and then headed off to Carrefour for the big shoppe!. Keith had prepared a list of what we needed and Sean, Keith (each with our own large trolley) and I went in different directions to find parts of the long list. Every now and then we would meet up and compare notes and then off we went to get the next things on the list. This took quite a while and we ended up with three full large shopping trolleys which was provision for 6 for two weeks. During this time, we were serenaded by a Tahitian band which moved around the store and luckily seemed to follow us around so we were shopping whilst tapping away to the music. The picture of the day is the serenading of us as we shopped.
We had so much stuff we could not get it in the car so Sean wheeled a trolley back to the marina. We met him and filled two trolleys left at the marina. We brought it all back to the boat and spent a few hours sorting it all out and stowing it away.
Once done Sean and I cleaned the deck and Keith cleaned the bunk room he had been using and the heads in preparation for the three-lady crew arriving tomorrow.
Once all the jobs were done we had a shower and put on our Harrington Dash shirts and headed off to the Casa Blanca restaurant and there was a band on Sunday. We were suitably dressed Tahitian style. We had a great evening enjoying the music and atmosphere. We had a good meal too.
It had been a busy and productive day and by tomorrow we will be six when Carolyn, Joyce and Erica join us.
Crewing Opportunity Year Two
In year two I will be going from New Zealand in early January 2025 across to Sydney and up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025. I will need some more crew.
If there is any interest do email me at hine.nick9@gmail.com
The blog will continue as we move through French Polynesia and beyond. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com