Taravai is an island of celebrations!  We had three separate birthday parties, lessons in making leighs and spearfishing, and day out on Sugar Shack.

SUNDAY BBQ & MATT’S BIRTHDAY

Every Sunday, Valerie and Herve host a BBQ for cruisers.  This Sunday was extra special as it was Matt’s birthday!  Valerie greeted Matt with a beautiful flower leigh, happy birthday music (on the radio) and provided a day full of fun activities including volleyball and bacchi ball.

We all brought side dishes, cold beverages, and desert to go with the goat and fish are hosts provided.

A birthday sing a long for Matt with some cookies and crepes.

LEI LESSONS

The French Polynesian lei designs are a huge part of their culture and are passed on from generation to generation.  The women make floral leis, crowns, and costumes that they wear for festivals, dances, and weddings.  Valerie was kind enough to take the time to show us how to make our own leis.

The stunning flowers smelled amazing!

A DAY OUT ON SUGAR SHACK

Matt and I decided to invite everyone on board Sugar Shack for a day cruise to Mangareva.  Rachel’s sister was due to arrive and we all needed a little provisioning and some internetting.  We invited Agape, Halcyon and our island hosts Herve, Valerie and Ariki.  It was a fabulous day out with good friends!  We even spotted a few manta rays playing around the channel.

Herve took the boys out spear fishing several days which provided the bountiful feast for each of our celebrations!

In addition to the Matt’s birthday, we also celebrated Becca’s birthday and Rachel’s birthday.

Becca was blessed with 8-9 rainbows, we lost count.

We had a blast spending a week on Taravai, playing games, eating fresh, local food and celebrating birthdays!

One of the other cruisers is from Brittany (outside of France) and he has a crepe press on board.  He made fresh crepes for us with homemade caramel, chocolate and banana sauces.