John, Missy, and Carl joined us on board Sugar Shack in Tahiti.  We’ve known this cast of characters from Texas for over 2 decades.  They visited us in Costa Rica when Sugar Shack was on the hard.  And now we get to show off our home on the water. It’s so much fun to show them the beauty of our life in French Polynesia.

They arrived Papeete, Tahiti at 0600 after 24 hours of travel from Texas.  We shuttled them to the boat where we unpacked and got settled. They brought all sorts of tasty treats from Texas.  Those included a variety of Texas beers, Diplomatico, and Rose.

We made a plan shortly after unpacking and snorkeling.  Our goal was to make it to Bora Bora during their stay. Which means lots of moving.  First, we made a quick stop to the Papeete fresh fruit and veggie market.  We stocked up on fresh goods and a few Tahitian trinkets.

Snorkeling in Tahiti

A popular snorkel and free dive site was just off our port side.  A Cessna and two barges were sunk next to each other to create a unique opportunity.  At 8-10 meters deep and are just starting to see some growth.

We all enjoyed swimming with the sea life and posing for silly underwater photos.

We did not linger in Tahiti.  We quickly finished up provisioning and left Papeete for Point Venus.

Point Venus, Tahiti

This is a truly beautiful anchorage.  Very few boats, small village, beautiful views, and a black sand beach.  Missy, Carl and I went exploring on shore.

We found this enormous whale made of cans.  The outside (lower right photo) shows the cans painted white. The middle photo shows the interior with the multiple colors of cans.

We got photo ops near the memorials of Captain Cook, The Bounty, and the Missionaries.

After a short rain shower, we were blessed with a double rainbow.

MO’OREA

The next day we hustled over to Opunohu Bay at Mo’orea. This has become another favorite spot for us.  We anchored in 2 meters of clear, turquoise water.  The best part of this anchorage is the easy access to Sting Ray City.  It was hard to contain our excitement.  These majestic creatures did not disappoint. They let you get up close and personal.

It did not take long for our Texas friends to get comfortable with these creatures.

They love to burrow and “hide” themselves in the sand.

Carl got this great shot of Sugar Shack.

John, Missy and Carl went on the Safari Mario Tour the next morning.  It seemed like they enjoyed exploring Mo’orea and the pineapple plantations.

While waiting for our friends to finish up with their tour, we visited the Hilton for some cold beverages and a little R&R.

The next day we moved to Cooks Bay to show them the town of PaoPao.  And, to of course visit Allo’s Pizza.  A local teenager graced us with a beautiful gift of a flora lei.

Coming Up Next:

We do an overnight passage to Huahine.