Finally new people!!!

Dosia was starting to get a little lonely over the past week or two but lucky for her more and more boats are starting to arrive. Drew and I had planned to move around to another marina last Saturday but awoke to new neighbors, John and Les, that morning. Both are from California and have been cruising the high seas on Les’ boat Obsession. In roughly two weeks or so John’s girlfriend and Les’ wife are flying in to spend ten days here on the boat with them. We spent Saturday afternoon hanging with them in their cockpit, drinking beers, and the usual routine of “gettin’ to know ya” in the cruising world. I apologized to them later for having “talked their ears off” that day. We were just so excited to have English speaking people around!

No need for maps or directions, Drew’s a regular ol’ tour guide for newcomers if they pull into downtown Papeete. We’ve been here long enough and enough times that we can pretty much tell everyone exactly where they need to go to find any given thing. Most people pulling into Papeete are coming off a multiple day crossing from the Tuamotus so grocery stores, boat parts, and alcohol are usually in high demand. Three days or so of not very good sleep and A LOT of sitting around (which can suprisingly really wear on you) is like one or two really long days of lots of yardwork. You reward yourself with a refreshing cocktail and most of the time, one has never tasted so darn good!

“Okay…we’ll leave tomorrow morning instead…” was the plan as of Saturday night. Sunday morning came early and in comes Elizabeth, Seth, and their friend, Tim, on Honeymoon. Seth and Elizabeth got married last August and instead of going the normal route, they decided to prolong their honeymoon into a year long journey around the South Pacific. Drew and Seth had been chatting back and forth via email so when they pulled in we knew exactly who they were. After letting them get their boat anchored and settled in we went over to introduce ourselves face to face. Naturally that led to “let’s do dinner tonight” so we stuck around that day as well, eager and excited to get to know as many people as we could! After dinner they came back to the boat, we invited John and Less to join us, and we had our first cockpit party of the trip! I LOVE to host and have people over whether it be on a boat, in a house, or in an apartment so I was just in hog heaven. Ummm….hog heaven….not sure if that will be understood by all. It’s a southern term and one of my faves. The beers and the rum went down really well that night. Must have been the great company!

Monday morning came a lot earlier than Sunday for me. We cleaned up, tossed out the evidence from the night before, and motored over to Marina Taina and set up shop in about 19 feet of the bluest, clearest water right off the coral reef. New week, new friends, and a new spot to call “home” for a few days. We had our first grease fest at McDonald’s that afternoon to try and soak up some of the varnish from the night before and Drew and I spent the rest of the afternoon napping on the couch. How quickly one forgets how heavy that junk weighs on your stomach….

We reloaded at the large Carrefour today on groceries and plan on sticking around here for a few days to see who else pulls in. We’re gearing up for a three to four week island cruise around Moorea, Huahine, and Bora Bora. More details of that to come!