Partir c’est mourir un peu. Leaving French Polynesia for the Cook islands

foto, Frans Polynesie, ilse, reisverslag

June 6th, Raiatea in French Polynesia. We are at anchor just before the little town of Uturoa and are taking advantage of the reasonable internet to order parts for the boat and to update the blog.

If all goes well we will sail from Bora Bora to the Cook islands, then Niue,Tonga, Fiji, New Caledonia to arrive in Australia early november.

We will sail tomorrow to Bora Bora to check-out of French Polynesia and to wait for a good weather window, looks like the 11th will be a good day to leave.

We arrived in French Polynesia a year ago on june 8th, after a 22 day crossing from the Galapagos. We enjoyed the culture, the people and the way of life in French Polynesia. Their smiles, although life is not always easy here, the flowers in their hair, the music everywhere, we will surely miss it. But we feel it is time to go and discover other beautiful countries and islands. Mauruuru French Polynesia, I feel so fortunate to have been here with Sanuk.

Partir, c’est mourir un peu,
C’est mourir à ce qu’on aime :
On laisse un peu de soi-même
En toute heure et dans tout lieu. (Edmond Haraucourt)
Before going to Tahiti we made a stop at Rangiroa, the biggest atoll of the Tuamotus. Supermarket in Rangiroa with the tricycles. They are frequently used on all the atolls in the Tuamotus.
So happy we finally got our diving permit. We should have done it much sooner but now we will be able to dive in all the wonderful islands to come.
Church in Tiputa village on Rangiroa.
The cemetary in Tiputa with lots of flowers and frangipani trees. The Frangipani tree is said to be immortal, because flowers and leaves still grow even after being uprooted. That is why it is planted on all the cemeteries in French Polynesia.
The blue lagoon in Rangiroa. We stayed at anchor for one night but it was very rolly.
When we wanted to go snorkeling at the Blue Lagoon we were greeted by at least tens of black tip sharks. I did jump in the water but did not feel very comfortable with all those sharks around waiting to be fed.
The interior of the supermarket in Rangiroa. At the cash register a man with a crown of flowers. Mahu (men-women) are part of life in French Polynesia where, at one time, families with all boys would raise the 2nd boy as a girl.
Papeete Harbour seen from the Belvedere restaurant just after a rainy sunset.

 

7 gedachten over “Partir c’est mourir un peu. Leaving French Polynesia for the Cook islands”

  1. Nice pictures. Ik kan begrijpen dat het moeilijk is om uit het paradijs’ te vertrekken. Misschien tot in Australië in december!

    1. Dat zou leuk zijn,we bekijken het in september :-). Hopelijk krijgen jullie nog meer mooie zomerdagen zoals de voorbije weken.

  2. Weeral meegenoten van jullie fantastisch avonduur!

  3. Ilse en Stefan, ik heb net jullie verhaal over mooie eilanden, bloemen, vriendelijke mensen, haaien, plannen om verder te zeilen gelezen (als afwisseling bij het “verbeteren” van overhoringen), leuk. ik wens jullie verder veel sterke en deugddoende ervaringen, en (wanneer nog eens) tot ziens. Lieven

    1. Bedankt Lieven! We voelen ons bevoorrecht dit te kunnen doen en genieten van ons avontuur. Groetjes aan de familie.

  4. Bedankt voor het verslag! Ik geniet er ook een beetje van! Hou nog iets over voor 2018 !
    Goeie vaart! Pascale

    1. We hebben al veel plannen voor 2018. We bespreken het in September! Genieten jullie maar van de Filipijnen, het zal mooi zijn.Als jullie gaan snorkelen vergeet dan zeker geen zwem t-shirts mee te nemen als bescherming voor de zon.

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