la Orana Boatbloggers ®,
It’s been a long time since we last put anything up on TheBoatBlog ®, and that’s because we haven’t actually been doing much boating to blog about. When Alice and Ben had their little baby boy, now called Orson, Lyn of course wanted to go straight over to Madrid to see him.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaw…Orson is Awesome.
Ju had to stay in Tahiti with the boat. He didn’t really get up to very much while Lyn was away, preferring a quiet time in with a few friends.
A truly international lineup at Domini Scott’s Jazz Club, featuring Carlos El Tambor from Barcelona on cajon, Javier “Knuckles” Ramon from Islas Canarias also on cajon, Richard “Cookin’ Haig from Wales on blues harp. And of course the one and only Jelly Roll Ronnie from Brentford.
Nice.
As well as starting a Divemaster course, Ju also learned a new way of getting into the dinghy.
Not bad for an old sea dog. (9.5 points for execution and technical merit. What do you reckon Paul?*)
But eventually Lyn managed to get back to Tahiti despite all the restrictions, and soon we were able to head back to Moorea which is only a few hours sail away. We even managed to pick up some crew for the voyage.
Lyn with Clare from Tintamarre, and Kate from Barracuda. It’s fair to say, it was a pretty easy trip.
We also met up with our friends Rob and Frances from Alia Vita.
They suggested we went for a little hike. To start off with we were all very keen.
Only three and a half miles Rob said. What he didn’t say was that it was also half a mile up.
At first it was quite easy…
But then the path started getting steeper…
And thinner…
And less like a path…
Till eventually it petered out altogether…
But we fought our way through, and eventually came across what we were looking for.
Les trois pinus.
The Three Pines.
The view from the top was pretty breathtaking.
Not that we had any breath left to take.
And no wonder.
SEVENTY TWO FLOORS! That’s like climbing up the Empire State Building.
It’s not surprising really. When you live on the sea, any walk is up.
The one thing that Moorea is famous for at this time of year is whale watching. Hundreds of humpback whales come up to mate, and to have their babies. We have to be careful on a boat, because one thing that can really clog up your watermaker is whale sperm. We kid you not.
But off we went to see them
We tried to slide in and snorkel alongside them, but every time we did, they swam off before we could get near. Even as a trained rescue diver, Ju couldn’t keep up with a thirty tonne, fifteen metre whale. It didn’t help that at one point when we were getting close to the whales and about to jump in, the dive leader said, “We could get into the water here, but this is where there are a lot of oceanic white tip sharks. But don’t worry. If you see one, all you have to do is maintain eye contact while you swim back to the boat. If you do see it roll it’s eyes back into it’s head, it probably going to attack because that’s what happens when they open their mouths. But that’s very rare. Though last year a woman was attacked…”
We decided to stay on the boat.
It was fun watching the mother whale training the baby. The mother would jump out, and flap her fins around, and then the baby would copy it exactly.
Ju didn’t come back unscathed.
It wasn’t a Great White Shark. More a Great White Bum.
Probably caused by eating this…
A peanut butter, Nutella and squirty cream crepe. A traditional Moorean favourite. And only 4,000 calories.
But all too soon it was time to leave More-ish Moorea and head for distant shores.
Bye Bye Moorea. We’ll be back soon.
But before we leave you, there’s just time for the Boatblog ® competition, which is called…
Where’s Wally Rob?
Answers on a large cheque please, to the usual address.
And it wouldn’t be a proper Boatblog ® without at least one Arty Farty entry. This one from Ju, called “Strange Fruit.”
Nana for now.
Ju & Lyn
*Paul Miller. International gymnast (among many other things) and very old** friend.
**That’s old as in we’ve known him a long time, not as in ancient.
Domini 
Superb blog.
Love it
M x
Sent from my iPhone
What fun, great blog, back in lockdown here, so you’re defo in the best place !!
Jane and Iain x
Welcome to Awesome Orson. beautiful baby and I bet that was a special moment for Grandma. Brilliant blog as ever Ju and the whales look fabulous but also pleased you decided to give the sharks a miss. We’ve been quarantined for a while but allowed out tomorrow, two weeks after the 2nd hip went in for Jo. She’s on the mend and will be fully mobile before you know it, so don’t be surprised if she suddenly rocks up to your next island – she definitely has cabin fever. Paul Miller will be extremely impressed with the dinghy manoeuvre – I was! Take care and keep walking the mountains. It will make the dinghy move easier 😉 Al x