Our sailing home takes us, Scott and Kathy Erwin to travel the world one island at a time. Come along on this adventure to learn, or join Kathy’s Yoga, and explore and see the world.
Our snorkeling adventures in Tikehau brought us to a a small coral area where the Manta Rays get a dental cleaning. These are definitely our new friends. Today off the old Pearl Farm in Tikehau, Tuomotus, we encountered these gentle giants being cleaned by small wrasses and remora which rid them of the parasites they have on the skin and mouth.
Although some cruisers prefer to scuba dive, we find the best colors and the most animals are within the top 20’. We have all the scuba equipment (including the compressor) but we rarely find scuba is worth the time and effort. Believe it or not, the water is getting colder, it’s winter here, in August, and the locals don’t like getting in the water (80f, 27c) lol. We are even wearing shorty wet suits. A bit spoiled we are. It’s supposed to get down to 77 by the end of September. Burrrrrrr, it will be even colder South of here. I never thought I would say we need to go more north to get warm(er) Ha! We even have a blanket on the bed.
A few facts on Mantas: Kathy is intrigued by the Reef Manta Ray. Learning about these new friends; he can grow to a wingspan of 16 ft! But we have only seen these 3 of about 6-9 ft. You can see at the front of his face, he has a pair of cephalic fins which can be either rolled up in a spiral for quicker swimming or they can be flared out in front to channel the plankton filled water for feeding. I watched today that he has a small dorsal fin and a long black tail without a spine or barb like his cousins have.
Mobula Alfredi (Reef Manta Ray)
These Mantas are not afraid of us at all and often turned to look and see where we went. The Tuomotus never fail to amaze us and this atoll Tikehau is no different. We will poke our way around this atoll for a week or so before moving on. We are adventuring French Polynesia, one island or atoll at a time.
This checks off another box of “things we want to swim with”. Lol Adventure never seems to be far away….I can’t tell you how cool it is not to be in a hurry.
The Epidemy of Tahiti Photography. I must have walked 100 miles all throughout Papeete these weeks. Photos really sum it up well. We were lucky to witness a small wedding ceremony and dance. Downtown every corner has either a Tahitian Pearl shop, a pub selling Hinano Tahiti Beer or possibly a cute Grandma lady hand crafting floral headgear. Country Pride is evident with many flags flying and banners announcing the Summer Olympic surf event next July. Resorts are primarily thatch roof huts over crystal clear aqua waters with views of the surrounding coral reefs. Typical fauna includes fragrant pulmeria and vanilla plants, banyan trees, mango, breadfruit and of course coconut. Its typical to find pastel colored churches and yummy fruit stands along the road. Unfortunately the wall art isn’t what we saw in Mexico, and there is quite a lot of Graffiti, as Papeete is a big city of 136 thousand people.
Multiple surf breaks at Tahiti! The world famous Surf spot Teahupoo is a few miles drive south of Papeete. But, this similar break is only a 5 minute dingy ride from Marina Taina. Motoring about half a mile off shore on the outer reef that protects the inner channel of the island. There is always a break from the swell, but usually it’s too close to the reef to surf. Sometimes there are doable surf spots around other spots at this Society Island in French Polynesia.
The surfers are brought out by a speed boat, then they swim to the break. We sat safely just inside the break precariously watching for rouge waves. Lol. (Hand in the throttle and in forward at all times)
Only the best of the best and not the faint of heart, these surfers are in a bit of a different class. They come from all over the world to surf these reefs and a few in Moorea, just a quick ferry boat trip away. Most of the other atolls we have been to do not encourage a lot of surfing because how dangerous the reefs are. The reef in this video is literally right on the other side of those waves!!!!!! We are told this was a very small swell this day. The surfing Olympics (hosted by France) will be right near here July 2024.
True Vacation or just more of the same? 2 years into our World travels and we have learned some very important tips. Traveling throughout Mexico, nearly all the United States and now French Polynesia have gained us some realizations that “not all is as it appears”.
Faking a call in Point Venus, Tahiti. We had to bus out of town 30 miles to find some local vibes.
We’ve grown up with our beliefs that we travel to these “Love Boat Destinations”. Let me explain. As young people (I know I’m dating myself) we grew up with expectations of these great vacation spots to see the world. For example Cabo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, St Thomas, Oahu, Montego Bay, Tahití, and even Vegas or New York City. (enter your own memory here).
Makemo, Tuomotus, French Polynesia. This villager treated us to coconut milk, he lives alone, lives off the land and is the only person on this 2 mile wide (Motu) island.
30 years ago this might have been the cultural experience that reflected the county or region you were looking to see. But it’s 2023! Now-a-days these spots, and hundreds of others, nowhere near reflect the culture that actually resides in these countries or states. My Uncle Lou (who traveled tonight countries) said to us “The less money you spend when you travel, the more you’ll see of what you really were hoping to experience”. It’s not about the pricey hotels and restaurants folks!! It’s about connecting with the local people! The biggest travel tip is that is FREE!
Renting bikes for the day in Fakarava, French Polynesia.After scuba diving Fakarava south pass, it was time for a beer at the only bar in the village. Tuomotus, French Polynesia.
A week in the Hilton Hotel in Papeete Tahiti will have a nice pool, access to great fluffy drinks and catered scuba diving, but you will not see this island for the wonderful Polynesian Culture that has centuries of history. You won’t shop in their grocery stores or learn what drives their economy or family structures. Take a walk, a bus, see the people and explore.
Hiking the backside of Hiva Oa, Marquesis, we met Jaba cooking his fish dinner. He cut down coconuts for us!Wandering around Fatu Hiva, we met Marta, she gave us 4 Pomplemouse and we gave her a raincoat.
Mexico is a perfect example of this. We spent nearly 2 years throughout these speacial coastal regions from Ensenada to Zihuatenejo. Biggest tip: A trip to Puerto Vallarta is the opposite of what Mexico is all about. There is a bar on every corner with pricey drinks watching other tourists walk the strip. Or siting at a nearby tourist beach, under a Palapa with nearby stands of inflatable Chinese beach toys. This is not the real Mexico.
A local invited us to dinner. Fatu Hiva, French Polynesia.Local village children will come and play if you sit and hang out awhile!
Folks, if I may……. Get out of these places (unless that fluffy drink is what your looking for). Find someplace meaningful to you and maybe the people there will find you meaningful. A week or two in Marquesas, Mexico City, Fakarava, Copper Canyon Mexico, Prague and millions of other places will leave you with more culture than all the places I listed earlier above. Rent an apartment, shop in their grocery stores, walk their streets…….have a drink in their corner bar….learn some of their language! When you spend a $ in Cabo the bartender only cares about the next drink. When you sit with the guy covered with tribal tattoos and he explains his involvement in the tribes drum group and explains how the village hunts together with the one gun in town he doesn’t care about your $’s. Just sayin’.
Agua Verde, Baja, Mexico.
If you’re still reading and interested, let’s talk safety. Of all the time we’ve spent in Mexico, Kathy can only remember one time she felt unsafe and it was in Mazatlan. She confesses it was probably fine, but the area was dirty and sketchy and is not on our real Mexico list. On the other hand, we’ve both felt unsafe in multiple places in the United States and in California. Of course we believe in not getting yourself in a bad situation. World wide! I feel it is much easier to get yourself in a bad situation in California than in Mexico. Jus’ sayin’ again. Plan ahead, and GO!!
La Cruz, Mexico.Mexico City.Barra de Navidad, Mexico.
Beautiful sunsets of Moorea, French Polynesia. No matter where we are, or when, the views of this majestic Mountain island are unforgettable. Going there on a friend’s Catamaran tomorrow then we will take the ferry back. Sea Bella is stuck at the dock for another week…stay tuned.
Heiva is a spritely celebration and competition of ancient Polynesian culture (held every July) that was long suppressed by colonialism. However, many families from all over the 65 inhabited Islands secretly kept traditions alive practicing ancient dances and songs. France recently began ‘permitting’ the Island groups to participate again. Consisting of tribal dance and costume, art, sport and music. The musicians made instruments primarily drums, lukulele, a bamboo nasal flute, and conch shells. Passionate singing is sung a cappella in the ancient native Tahitian language. It was amazing to experperience Heiva, such an incredibly unique and emotional celebration.
Featured on BBC’s series “Blue Planet II,” the coral reefs of French Polynesia host a very rare spectacle to see. Up to 18,000 Marbled Grouper fish migrate to the atoll Fakarava every July, at the full moon high tide. 1,000 grey reef sharks fill this Tuamotu archipelago in search of one thing: these marbled grouper, who have come to spawn. The sharks’ typically feed at night and gentle swim at rest in the day. The sharks live here year round, as it’s an easy place to rest, gently floating in the 3 knot current of the incoming or outgoing tides.
Sharks feeding behavior becomes unpredictable and erratic as darkness falls and the hunt begins, making for an extremely complex, exciting scuba dive. Some fish are lucky to escape the hungry jaws of the sharks.
Here are a couple of scenes from Fakarava South Pass. We scuba dove daily for 4 weeks. Snorkeling too. Its so beautiful here with 85 degree temperatures and 80 degree waters. July is in the winter months here at about latitude 17 degrees south of the Equator. Rainy season is French Polynesian Summer, but still beautiful and warm. But, look out for Cyclones in December through March in the South Pacific Islands.
But what was really exciting were the SHARKS!!
Snorkeling with Danika on our buddy boat Simplicity
Tahiti is next. Look for beautiful Island photos and posts about Heiva, the fantastic annual Cultural Festival.
We dropped Anchor in the small island of Makemo. A big 2 day squall was coming, so we tried to shield ourselves from a weather. This quite difficult to do since the Tuomotu Island are flat sand beaches with no hills to block the wind. The ensuing winds definitely challenged the hardest of crews and the electrical storm did cause some damage to the generator and wind instruments.
Sea Bell is anchored at the Red Arrow.
A nice villager lived on the island behind our boat. Yes, it’s a desert isle called a Motu. A coral island in the shape of a ring with a huge lagoon on the inside. His name is Uribroa. He has lived on his little island for 28 years!!! Deserted? Good question. No power, no running water, no wifi or phones and very few visitors. Uribroa only had on an old shirt on and wandering around on his beach….. He took us to his home (camp more like it). Uribeoa was an amazing gardener. He also is different kind of interior decorator. His island is designed with everything he has found washed up on the island(s) over the last 28 years. We brought him many items off our boat, as he has almost NOTHING. Coconuts and crabs are his diet. We gave him some shirts, hats, lighters and some food. Dog food was also given for his skinny dogs.
Locals are so kind and very generous with coconuts and smiles, but only speaking native tongue and French.
Makemo, French Polynesia. The local villagers were practicing drums and dance for the upcoming festival in Tahiti. Heiva! Once again we were swamped with kids and we felt totally accepted in the community. enjoying time with cruisers is always routine. Campfires and music on the beach is common. Island life!
Tahanea, French Polynesia is coming up next. It is a nature preserve and we hear the scuba diving and snorkeling in the pass are supposed to be better than what we’ve seen. That is hard to believe!!! The coral, sharks, octopus, Moray Eels and thousands of tropical fish keep us in the water frequently. It seems every time we get in the water, it gets better!
Crazy storm past over last week. LOVE our anchor, thats for sure. Harder it blows the harder she digs in. We clocked over 50 knots multiple times and had sustained 30-40 knots for a day. A few boats here broke their snubbers (the rope attached to the anchor chain to softwn the pull and protect the windlass)
Ahhh, sunny day coming!
The clarity of the diving in The Tuomotus is stunning! We have all been in the water nearly all day all about our boats. See the octopus cleaning his head with his tiny arm? And the colors of the coral, reef fish, shell…but best of all is sharing this incredible life with friends on SV Simplicity.
More go pro photos, as we just can’t get enough of the colorful and strange sealife here in the Tuomotus. Good thing there are no jellyfish (yet anyway) and the water temperature is perfect for just a bathing suit!
These remora’s usually hang out under sharks and boats, but this little guy stayed with and under the 6 of us for an hour.
Our World Adventure 