Back to Haamene

Aug 28, 2015 1715
Anchored at head of Haamene Bay
Aloha Everyone, hope this finds you all doing well, we certainly are! When I last wrote, we were anchored off the south end of Raiatea. We had a delightful evening, never made it to a movie though. The next morning we motored slowly against a strong headwind. Would have liked to sail, but we were in a relatively narrow part of the lagoon, and short tacking wouls have been difficult. It seemed every time we turned a corner, the wind was still on the nose! We were eventually able to unroll the headsail and eventually ended up in Faaroa Bay, at the end on a mooring. It was a bit rainy and windy, so the exploration of the river was postponed until the morning. We BBQ some chicken and then played some Oh Hell. The morning was beautiful, and the guests took the dinghy up the river, longest one in Tahiti. It is very lush, and parts of it the overhead canopy covers the river. Once they returned, we headed off for Uturoa, the second largest city in Tahiti. We tied up to get some fuel and then moved to a different pier where we could leave the boat for awhile. We checked out the open market for local gifts and then headed to our favorite pizza joint for lunch, beer and wifi. After that, and a few groceries, we headed back to Tahaa and picked up a mooring in Apu Bay. Rocky put some pasta together and then some cribbage. This morning, we motored over to Haamene, again headwinds, and then anchored and had lunch at Mac China. Our local friend Tama, met us and joined us for lunch. He then took our guests on a tour of Tahaa, like he has all of our other guests, while Karin and I took a short hike, and then headed to boat. This is Karin's last day and she wanted some time to organize. She has been here 10 weeks, and we have had a fabulous time together. She will be missed terribly, but such is life. She flys back with Rocky and Darlene, leaving Randy with me. Sunday, Cathy and Ellis fly in. We will spend a few more days back on Tahaa, and then on to Bora. Next weekend, Ellis will leave, and we will prep boat and then start the journey back to Hawaii. All for now. Aloha, David

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