Author Archives: Mark
Fun in Fakarava – Part I
What is there to do in Fakarava? The short answer: not much. The internet here is either driven by a hamster in a wheel or a windmill. It seems like whenever the wind dies so does the internet. Or, perhaps the hamster collapses periodically from heat exhaustion. Or maybe, it’s a combination of both. When […]
Finding Fakarava
We are anchored in Fakarava. Where the heck is that, you might ask. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of it. Unless you are a sailor passing through the South Pacific or a world-traveling SCUBA diver, the chances are you have no idea where we are. It’s not like Fakarava is high on any geography […]
Fish and Food
The topic of this post is fish and food. I am going to write about food while showing you pictures of fish. The fish pictures are all taken in waters surrounding Tahiti at some of our favorite snorkeling spots. One thing that is very true for both Cindy and me is, we’ve always eaten well. […]
7 Years of Sailing
Seven years ago this month we moved onto Cream Puff to live full-time. On May 4th, 2015 we departed St. Petersburg, Florida to set sail and travel the globe. Above is the picture we took as we departed wondering what lies ahead and over the horizon. Now we know what was over the horizon. We […]
7 Years Ago
Seven years ago today, we sold our house and started out on this wacky adventure of ours. Click here to take a look back at that day. Coming soon: Seven years of cruising, our favorite pictures, and fondest memories.
French Bureaucracy, iPods, and The World
There is a funny saying; the French may not have invented bureaucracy but they’ve certainly perfected it. It’s that time of year again. We need to renew our visas or carte de séjours (residency cards) for another year in French Polynesia. Before I talk about some of the bureaucratic idiosyncrasies, I must first say, […]
We are thinking about trading in Cream Puff for an ark
Today, the sun came out. It is the first time we’ve seen the sun in about seven days. It’s been raining. And I mean, raining! I’m talking about days and days of tropical storm-like hard relentless rains. We have a low-pressure system over us that will eventually turn into a cyclone as it moves away […]
Christmas in Tahiti, Again
It just dawned on me I haven’t written anything here for quite some time. I guess it’s time to rectify this. The real reason this page is a little quiet lately is because we’ve been so darn busy. Let’s begin with the obvious: Hope you had a happy Christmas and we wish you a wonderful […]
Back to Normal
Wow! What a difference a couple of weeks makes. Since our last post, things are significantly better here now. Covid cases are again minimal and manageable. The hospital staff is able to breathe again. Most restrictions have been lifted and there is chatter about more being eased very soon or totally abandoned. Swimming was allowed […]
Confined to the Boat
I have to say this upfront: I love our lifestyle and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Even with our current confinements, I would rather be here than most other places. French Polynesia went from one of the safest places on the planet to dodge Covid to one of the worst in about 3 weeks. We […]
Going Up Hills as French Polynesia Goes Downhill
We recently did one of our favorite things. Renting a car and roaming aimlessly about is as good as it gets. Although we’ve done this numerous times on Tahiti, we still find fabulous nooks and crannies, incredible vistas, and great local cuisine. We are in the minority when it comes to cruisers renting cars. This […]
Heiva 2021
Heiva is a 140-year-old French Polynesian festival. All of the islands in French Polynesia come together in July. Following the Christianization of the archipelago by the London Missionary Society in the early 19th century, a ban existed on songs, games, and lascivious entertainment. This changed in 1880 and in celebration of French National Day, the […]
Belvédère de Taravao
Based on the previous post, I have a feeling you might be expecting to see pictures of Bora Bora and a post detailing our travels there on this update. No such luck. We are still in Tahiti. And, we are going to be here for a little while longer. I have to laugh at the […]
Injections and Bus Etiquette
We have been Covidized. Both of us are now fully vaccinated with Pfizer’s concoction. I know I have said this before here but, it’s worth repeating. The French Polynesian government has done a fabulous job of managing this crisis. During the onset, they recognized some boats (including us) were en route and had very limited […]
Cream Puff Goes to the Spa
This has been our view for the past ten days. It’s awesome, isn’t it? We rented a house high in the mountains because Cream Puff went to the spa and we became homeless. It is that time again when we open our wallets and shell over thousands of francs for the Puffster to have her […]