Author Archives: Mark

Usually, when a place is hyped by fellow cruisers, it is often a bit of a letdown due to high expectations. This was not the case with Fakarava’s south pass. We have now spent a couple of weeks here on a mooring ball and have had tons of time to explore. The first thing I […]

To continue on with part three ( Part I – Part II): Sailing inside an atoll Yes, fuel is available in Fakarava. In fact, it couldn’t be easier. Once we dropped the anchor near the small village of Rotoava after dodging bommies and pearl farms on the way up, we could see the fuel pump near […]

I am picking up where we left off in Part I. Here is a video I wanted to attach to Part I but, with the ailing hamster situation, it wasn’t possible. We have moved a little and believe it or not we have 4G service. Or perhaps the hamster has been replaced with gerbils, four […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

  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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 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 […]