True Romance

A girl without freckles is like a night without stars...

We settled on grabbing a mooring from the field at Marina Taini, where literally HUNDREDS of boats surround us-a strange experience after being fairly isolated for the past few moths.

Most of our restock of food supplies had been accomplished in Port Phaeton, but we desperately needed water and fuel, so a stop here was definitely  required before heading off to Moorea and there were also a few "must do" tasks to tackle before we could take off to new adventures.

Jon needed to make a rope shackle for where our anchor chain attatches to the inside of the anchor locker-much easier to cut in the event of an emergency than our current, stainless steel one.

Fort my part, I had been ignoring the five "body bag" size duffles of dirty/wet laundry that had been piling up in our shower stall. We don't have enough water to do regular wash and things like bedding and towels eventually get so salty they just have to be done properly. I had discovered a neat little trick, that worked well when we had rain- let the dingy fill up (as it will, in a good shower) and rather than pump it out, simply add detergent and dirty clothes and then tow it behind you to the next anchorage, then, rinse and dry on a clothes line. Presto! Instant washing machine. 

It works great with little stuff and dish towels but what we have now, needs a few days of serious devotion and a million quarters- I wasn't looking forward to it.

The forecast was showing fairly high winds for the next few days, so we figured it was a good time to get the boring stuff out of the way and free us up for playtime when we get to Moorea.

We organized the wash, rinsed off the boat and filled the tanks at the fuel dock-which was a crazy zoo of mega yachts and dingies and people shouting and laughing in about thirty different languages.

After grabbing a mooring that would work for us-it turns out to be forty dollars a week, which includes use of the laundry and the cold showers at the dock, it was time to put on something clean and go out for a "treat" dinner. 

The kids and Jon munched hamburgers and fries and I finally got that steak with pomme frites and pepper corn sauce-that I had been craving since we left Mexico. Luckily, we hit the joint at Happy Hour, so we didn't even need to break the bank for the luxury of someone else doing cooking and washing up for us.

Jon and I toasted the kids and ourselves and we all marveled at the fact that little ol' us, a couple of goofy actors, all the way from Bowen Island and Hollywood, had managed to pull this off.

Here we are, in TAHITI!!!

Wow.

The next day, we gave Pura Vida a good dose of lovin' and cleaned and cared for her and I went on line and found a local surf instructor, to take Kai and I out for a session.

A friend of mine, a long-time, surfer-girl, had suggested we do this, as we are new surfers. Taking a lesson is fun, and going out with a local gets you a spot on the break and you get to meet people while it introduces you in a nice way, to the local community.

She couldn't have been more right.

It's a holiday, for the school kids here, so we ended up joining a local "surf camp". We agreed to meet them at the public bus stop and were told look for the white van loaded with surf boards that would pull over to pick us up. 

Hunter and Jon walked us to the bus stop.

At $50.00 a person, we couldn't afford for the whole family to go, so  while Kai and I had our adventure, Jon and Hunter were off to town for daddy/daughter fun and to pick up a package my mom had sent from Canada.

As a white van piled with surfboards, pulled over, Kai and I kissed the other half of our little quad good-bye and agreed to meet them in town, later.

Our instructor  hopped out an opened the door for us.

An ex-pro and Tahitian/French champion with many titles under his belt,

he was super tall and ripped and since he didn't smile or take off his sunglasses, 

he was a little intimidating at first.

"Okkie-Dokkie" I thought, "....time to give into the flow of yet another adventure".

(Tahiti is famous for very fast waves and pretty much all the breaks here are reef breaks and the winds were pretty high AND the Southern swell was really pumping, so we were a little nervous about where we were going)

As we climbed in the van, Kai just about had a heart attack....

it was filled with gorgeous, 14 year old GIRLS! 

"Aren't they cute!" I whispered, to Kai as he smashed us both up next the window, as far away from the tangles of tan legs, shy smiles and long hair, as he could get.

Kai looked at me, like he wanted to kill me.

He studied the window, as if the scabble of industrial scenery we were passing, was the MOST interesting thing anyone had EVER seen. I could feel him mentally willing me not to say another word, or even breath, or in any way, make us any more obviously, noticeable, than we already were.

Meanwhile, I speak a little French, so I had to hide my smiles as I listened to the girls pinch each other and whisper, about the "cute" boy in the front seat-I'm sure they would have been surprised  if they knew the tall, handsome, American, boy was only eleven!

On we drove, for thirty minutes, while I chatted a bit with our instructor ( who turned out to be super-cool and friendly) about where we were from. He told me he loved California surf and he had heard from friends, that surfing in Tofino, Canada was really good too, but he couldn't imagine being so cold.

On we went, through downtown Papeete and its crowded, noisiness, then, up, past farms and rural towns, listening to the girls chatter and sing along to French pop on the radio.

All of a sudden, the green canopy of trees to our right parted and a crescent of long black volcanic sand appeared...there it was, a beautiful (and easy!) beach break, with a gentle right, peeling off to the side. 

This part of the island also was protected from the winds, while the swell was a wrap around coming of the point, not  at all like the monster rollers I had seen crashing over the reef near our boat as I sipped my morning coffee.

Phew!

Kai caught his first wave and off he went, managing to carve into it and ride it almost back to the beach. 

He popped up out of the foam with a priceless grin on his face.

"All right, California!" whooped our instructor, then he turned to me with an affirmative nod,

"He'll be surfing all the time, now" was the decree.

I had to agree, as Kai caught wave after wave,  oblivious to the flirty, giggling girls around him,  just obsessively focused and paddling into anything that came his way.

The day was perfect, the water warm and clear, down to the shiny black sand underneath us.

Verdant, green, Tahiti rose up above us, the smell of vanilla floating in the air, 

friendly locals, cheering each other on, telling us what waves to gun for and clapping, giving us the 'Shaka" sign when we caught them....

It was so insanely fun and great, to be surfing in Tahiti!!!
With my 11 year old son!!!!

I had to pinch myself.

A few hours later, we climbed, happy and salty and chattering like monkeys, back into the van.

Our instructor dropped us off, downtown, at the big cathedral where we met up with Jon and Hunter. They had their own adventures, only slightly less-joyful, dealing with the Gendarmes( police), while trying to find out about our visas.

Never mind the red tape, Hunter babbled with glee about all the goodies Nana had sent her and Kai in the "care-package"...

They tore into the bag of candies right away.

We wandered around the streets and peeked into all the surf shops, oogling the video screens of all the pros attacking Teahoopu.

"I'm SO coming back here one day...." vowed Kai, stuffing sweet tarts in his mouth,  while watching a local legend shredding waves on the big screen. 

We ate lunch at a little bistro, beside the water and stopped at the huge public market and wandered the stalls, looking at ukeleles and all the crazy, beautiful local flowers for sale.

As the sun went down, we climbed into the public bus ( blasting Polynesian music) and made our way back to the marina...and the five bags of laundry that were waiting for me.

I put my head on Jon's shoulder, looking out the window at yet another new and exotic city with all its strange smells and colors, rolling past the window.

Kai was in the seat in front of us, chattering away to his sister about how to paddle into a wave.

"This is so great" I said, looking up at Jon.

"Ive been thinking...."  He putting his arm around me, smiling,
"let's just find someplace to do our laundry, for us...".

Now, that's Amore!