Tag Archives: moorea

eBike Circumnavigation Around Mo’orea

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On our second day of liberation we go on a bike ride.  But not just any bike ride, an eBike ride.  I have never ridden an eBike before but how hard could it be?   We met this amazing couple Jesse and Audrey who rent eBikes for 6000xpf ($60 a day) and deliver them to you.  After a short briefing, we were off.  Now, these are e-assist bikes meaning you have to peddle, continuously in order to make it around the entire island.

 it is 60 kilometers or 38 miles to circumnavigate Mo’orea.  It is a relatively flat road with a dedicated bike lane almost around the entire island.  Hmmm, we thought, ok we can do this in 3 hours or we could do this slowly and check out the sites along the way.  The later won out.  We followed the road around the water’s edge.

Ready, set, peddle

To start, we decided to head south around the island as we had not seen that side of the island (it is the bottom of the island (the pointy part).  We have not really seen much of the east, south, or west side.  Most of our time in Mo’orea has been in the north (by Cooks Bay and Opunohu Bay).  So, while we were “fresh” we could see new areas.  Matt took the lead and set the pace so this was my view most of the time.

We had a lot of amazing views alongside the south west coast.  We were both super surprised to see a lot of sea front real estate open. Some of it was parks, some preserves, some just open beautiful grassy area.

We stopped at a few good photo op places – Matt my sweet poser.

Passed by a lot of beautiful churches

Just a super cool mosaic and tiki on the side of the road.  The tiki is taller than me.

Painapo Beach aka Tiki Island

We stumbled upon a pretty little beach lined with dozens of tikis.  The beach is called Painapo Beach, Moorea and evidently it is permanently closed.  There used to be a restaurant, dancing and lots of festivities here before it closed.  Evidently, they closed in April 2019 when the owner/manager got sick with covid and they have not reopened since.

I love this photo. There is a HUGE tiki that welcome’s visitors.  Then just below it is a rock with two carvings.  A man that faces the street and a woman that faces the entry.

Many tikis line the walkway that delivers you to the heart of the beach.  I just loved their facial expressions.  I learned that tikis with their eyes closed are from Mo’orea.  Tikis with their eyes open (large or wide) are from Marquesas.

In the center of the beach is a circle of tikis…

Matt inspired me to be a little silly.  Smiles matter!

Hangry

By the time we made it around the top of the island or the “W” we were famished, tired, and a wee bit cranky.  Who knew riding an eBike around an island would do that?  We decided to stop at one of our favorite eateries, Snack Mahana.  We lucked out with a table on the water and enjoyed grilled mahi mahi and a tuna burger.

Once we enjoyed the feeling of sitting on a real chair, we couldn’t stop.  We were not ready to subject our butts to more miles on the ebike.  So, we decided to have a drink at a little place we passed earlier.  It was a 3 mile backtrack, worth it to go to a new place for an after-lunch cocktail.  The place is called Le No Stress and it was lovely.

After a huge lunch and many beverages, we hopped back on the eBikes.  We still had 18 miles to get back to Vaiare Bay.  I must say, my butt was screaming at me.  It was not a fan of the seat.  But forge ahead we must. 

With about 8 miles to go we came to the largest and longest incline of the entire trip.  Whom I kidding, it was a HILL.  Crap! Lucky for me I could use the e-assist and boy did I need it!  But at the top we had a lovely view over the Intercontinental Hotel.  If you look super close, to the right between the 2nd and 3rd palm trees and close to the reef you can see Sugar Shack.

eBike Ride Results

We certainly took our time to enjoy the tour around Mo’orea.  It was a truly fun adventure and one that I would highly recommend.  I would however, advise actually using the e-assist!  We “saved” our battery and in retrospect should have used it a lot more.  Maybe we would not be as sore the next day.  As it was, I used the lowest mode “eco” for 60 of the 75 kilometers.  On the 3 hills I used “standard”.  Then toward the end of our ride, I used “standard” for the last 15 kilometers.  I was beat and just did not have it in me.  I still had “high” to use but felt like that was cheating just too much.  Regardless of what mode you used you still had to peddle (except downhill).  These were just “e-assist” so a day of exercise is what we got.

Stats:

  • 7 hours on the eBike
  • 75 kilometers
  • Average speed was 18.8 kilometers
  • Top speed was 40.0 kilometers

If you find yourself in Mo’orea and want to rent eBikes, we highly recommend “eBike Moorea.”  The owners, Jesse, and Audrey speak wonderful English and will deliver and pick up the eBikes to you.  The cost is 6000xpf ($60) for the entire day.  They can be reached at ebikemoorea@gmail.com or +689 89 35 56 36.

In the last blog, we hike to Taraieie Peak.  Events from this blog post occurred during the third week of August, 2021.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.

Mo’orea Hike to Point Taraieie

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After 32 days of confinement we were finally free!  We were allowed to explore, hike, and ride bikes around Mo’orea.  It has been months since Matt and I had exercised our legs on a good hike.  On our first day of freedom, we set out on 6.7 mile hike straight up 85 stories (almost 1,000’).  Our goal is to get to the ridge at Taraieie.

It started out easy enough along a paved road, then behind one of the two local markets.  The paved road turned to a nicely manicured dirt road sandwiched between beautiful private gardens. 

About 2 miles into our journey it started to rain.  Not a torrential rain shower, but it was enough to force us into hiding for 30 minutes.  Now our beautiful trail turned muddy and very slippery over the fallen leaves and tree roots. Gots to be careful in our flip flops (yes, stupid I know).

Matt has always been stronger when it comes to a hike.  He is literally like a goat climbing a hill.  He spent most of the hike looking for me and waiting. 

Along the way we found lots of fruit trees.  The soursop fruit which is really lovely (sort of like a berry and apple flavor) grows right out of the tree branch which sure looks funny to me.

Many beautiful flowers bloomed in the shade of the tall trees.  These particular bird of paradise flowers had a beautiful iridescent glow to them when the sun spotlighted them.

We made it to the top with relatively no drama.  It was a beautiful view of Vaiare Bay.

The way down was a bit of a challenge for me.  I kept slipping out of my flips, crashed on my arse a few times, and felt the aches and pains of someone who has not being hiking in a while.  But a hike is a hike as long as you complete it – and complete it I did!

It was a great day to be out moving. But I will admit I was pretty tired by the time we got home.

We get down and dirty cleaning and repairing the boat in our last blog.  Coming up next, we rent eBikes to circumnavigate around the entire island of Mo’orea.

Events from this blog post occurred during the third week of August, 2021.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.

Confinement Boat Projects

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A boat, like a house, is a constant work in progress.  There is always something to do, to clean, to repair, or to replace.  Confinement provides us with an excellent opportunity to focus on some of the much-needed boat projects that needed to be done. 

Some of our boat projects are just “nice to have” done projects.  For example, we want to replace our rain shades with bigger rain shades to keep our cockpit drier during storms.  We made rain shades a few years ago and they are “fine” but they could be better, more efficient, easier to install, and cover more area. 

Another “nice to have” project is making a seat cushion for the transom area of the cockpit (around the wenches and above the line holders).  People inevitably sit on the hard fiberglass area even though we have three large cushion seating areas.  So, why fight it?  We’ve been talking about making a seat cushion here for years but the concern is where to stow the cushions while we are underway…since we would need to access the lines.

But those projects will have to wait until we get through our priority boat projects.

Necessary Boat Projects

Where to start? There are so many.  We start with some of the older boat projects.  One of the great things about a catamaran is that you have two of everything.  One of the bad things about a catamaran is that you have two of everything.

The sunbrella cushion covers on both helm seats had weakened and ripped.  We needed to replace the covers which is easier said then done.  The covers are made to fit snugly over the waterproof material and cushion.  Supposedly to prevent the cushions from retaining water.  Which doesn’t always work when you are in a massive storm. 

Matt dutifully removed the sunbrella fabric and then painstakingly removed the stitching so he could replace the top panel.  Our cushions were made in Turkey in 2010 and were well made.  They had double stitching around all the seams.  Which is great, until you have to remove all the stitching.

The bottom left photo shows you what the cover looked like.  Doesn’t look too bad until you look at the top left photo which shows you how worn out it really was.  The bottom right shows you the finished cushion cover.

Annoyingly, we discovered several weeks after installing our new helm seat cushions, that when it rains, the fabric actually shows are two different colors.  So don’t look when it rains 🙂

Helm Wheel Covers

I started working on the helm wheel leather covers while Matt was working on both helm seat covers. We had covered our wheels at the helm station with leather to prevent them from slipping in our hands during storms and to make it more comfortable while at the helm.  But the leather had turned green (it was tan) from mildew and old age.  It had ripped in some sections and generally needed to be replaced.  Another “easier said than done” boat project.  You see there are 120 stitches between each rung and there are 5 rungs (600 for those of you mathematically challenged) times to wheels.   That’s a lot of stitches!

Removal:

First: remove the two turks head knots that mark the center of the wheel.  You can either cut the string or try to find the end that is neatly tucked under the knot.  I was able to find the ends of 3 of the 4 knots and saved the line.  But the 4th one had to be cut. (see two top images)

Next, the stitches had to be removed.  Originally, I thought I would just cut the line.  But it was a particularly windy day and I did not want pieces of this sticky string to go in the water.  So, I literally pulled the line through each stitch to remove it.  (bottom left image).

The old leather (green used to be tan) next to the new leather (gray) in the lower right photo.

Next the wheel needed to be cleaned.  There was double sticky tape holding the leather in place and rust, and gunk all over the wheel.  Nothing that a brillo pad, cleaning agent, and elbow grease couldn’t handle.

Port Helm

Port Helm

Port Helm

Starboard Helm

Starboard Helm

Starboard Helm

We measured, re-measured, and then measured again.  Once we cut this leather there is no going back!  After we cut it, I sewed the two end pieces together, applied my double sticky tape to hold the leather cover to the wheel and started stitching.  It took me about 30-45 minutes per rung, times 5 rungs, x 2 wheels.  Needless to say, it took me several days to finish both sides.

In case you are wondering, we purchased our leather helm covers from Edsonmarine.  They are pricey, but they work wonders!

Next Matt recreated the two turks head knots on each helm.  These help us realize where “center” is which is crazy important wile underway.  Sometimes, you are looking at the sails or the mark or the channel and can’t look at the wheel.  So, it is important to be able to “feel” the knots to know your wheel is centered.

Interior Table Cleaning

We have a beautiful table inside the cabin that folds open to make an even larger table (double the size).  We try to maintain it and keep it clean, but daily use, oils from hands and cleaners and what not create build up.  The outer edge, or darker wood gets the brunt of it.  It was way overdue for some loving.  We take a very gentle approach as we don’t want to scratch the wood.  Using a metal scraper, we tenderly scrape the gunk off (with very little pressure).

I promise you it did not look this bad until you zoom in.  My sister who is fastidious about cleaning never noticed it so don’t judge 🙂

It was remarkable who well it cleaned up. Looking at the bottom three images:  before cleaning, after cleaning, and after oil.

And the finished table:

I took the opportunity to do more of our rails, leading edges and more….over a week’s time:

Nav station

Nav station

Prop Cleaning

Matt whipped out the hooka to clean the props which had grown a bit hairy.  He jumped in before I had a chance to take a before photo so all you get is his photo.  Hooka, weight belt, cleaning tools and he is off to shave our props.

Matt with the hooka gear on

Matt with the hooka gear on

The props after their hair cut.  The yellow is prop speed which helps keep the growth to a minimum.

Raw Water Pump Repair

The port side raw water pump needed to be serviced.  Matt replaced a bearing and the shaft.  In the left photo you can see the old and new shaft along with the bearing.  While he had the pump off he also replaced the hose to the raw water pump.  The old and new.  What a difference.

Random $hit:

On one of our walks we encountered the lovely ladies who were crafting gorgeous floral crowns and necklaces.  Not only were they stunning, but they smelled devine!

Just a beautiful photo of Sugar Shack on a particularly calm day.  I was snorkeling back to the boat and popped my head up to get my bearings.  It was just so pretty I had to share it with you.  You can see how clear the water is as the coral heads are apparent.

 

Did you meet the sharks, rays, and fish in Vaiare in our last blog.

Events from this blog post occurred during the third week of August, 2021.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.