Kylie has joined us!

Our first two days in Tahiti we spoiled ourselves and stayed at the marina, so that it would be easy for Doug and Shelby to get on and off at leisure. Peter & I spent most of the time doing repairs, re-provisioning and generally getting organized for Kylie’s much anticipated arrival. We took advantage of the facilities with Doug and Shelby giving the boat a much-needed wash down, since we haven’t been in a marina for over two months.

The highlight of the week has been Kylie’s arrival. It is so wonderful to have her here.
The first morning the two of us went for a coffee to catch up on her last five months of adventures, which has included a few months in Australia, followed by a field study course in the Philippines. It seems she has brought some of the unsettled weather with her (she was flooded out and evacuated in Australia, and had two typhoons while in the Philippines). It has rained almost every night so she is unable to sleep on the deck and instead has been sleeping on the settee inside.

We motor-sailed over to Moorea (10 miles away) and got all geared up for a threatening squall, but our “QuickStar weather bubble” once again avoided it. Instead, we had a great entry as we were treated to two whales in a display of jumping, breeching and all kinds of activity. There was a tour boat that rushed out to the scene and we took great delight in being able to view it all from the comfort of QuickStar. We anchored for lunch just inside the lagoon and did some snorkelling before heading into Cook’s Bay for a couple of overnights.

Yesterday it rained off and on, so we bundled up for the dinghy ride to shore in gusts of up to 35 knots to explore the area. Peter, Kylie and I went back out in the dark, rainy, windy night to go out for dinner (Doug and Shelby were tired out from touring through the town all day). We had a great time, being welcomed by a gregarious gay owner and served by an entertaining Polynesian transvestite. The main attraction was a local singer who did covers on songs that everyone knew. The food was great and the three of us shared lots of laughs. So very great to have Kylie here!

The reason that this Friday blog is being posted later than normal is that we had a full day today with all of us renting scooters to circumnavigate the 62 miles around the island. It was a typical “Clampit Family” outing with Kylie managing to dump her bike while manoeuvring a corner enroute to the mountain lookout. The good news is that she wasn’t hurt, just a scuffed knee (luckily not the one she just dislocated) and some scrapes on her hand. The scooter was a little banged up but all in all it makes for a good story. Kylie’s not looking forward to her brother Danny teasing her about it when he finds out though!

We will move to another gorgeous bay tomorrow and then we will spend a few nights at a serene anchorage outside of the old Club Med location. The highlight here is the best snorkelling on the island and the added bonus of “dinghy crashing” the local boat tours that bring guests to feed the sharks and the giant mantra rays. We’ll also be close to the hotel that has the Dolphin Centre. We spent an hour there today with front row seats watching bottle-nosed dolphins perform and entertain the people in the water with them.

By next weeks’ blog, Doug and Shelby will already be on their way home. These two months have flown by. We are looking forward to cramming in as much as we can before they head off.

Until next time……Read 10,000 books – travel 10,000 miles – Japanese proverb
P.S. I'll upload some photos from this week over coffee tomorrow morning. Life is good.