Showing posts with label Kimball Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kimball Family. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Good Times, Bad Weather

Beautiful Moorea.
IMG 3027
How the kids spend their time when not in the water.
DSCN0124
What laundry for 11 looks like.
IMG 3011
Enjoying our time under the sun in Moorea. 
DSCN1427
On Sunday, we got up early and joined the Huahine branch at the local Mormon church. Martin even helped teach Sunday School.


When we got back to the boat, Sue had laid out a spread.  It's amazing what it takes to feed a brood like us on a Sunday afternoon.

Again, I am being a bit overly dramatic.  We didn't eat ALL of that in one sitting, but we were close.

On Monday, we decided to climb to a beautiful lookout high up in the mountains of Huahine.  The guidebook made it sound so easy to get to, so we jumped off our dinghy and started the hike trying to find the trailhead.  It was a little more difficult than we first thought with 7 kids in tow and we soon realized that the hike was going to be a little more lengthy than we anticipated.  Knowing the kids weren't going to last, we decided to hitchhike to get to the mouth of the trail. After a few failed attempts, this lovely family saw us in peril (they mainly saw all the children) and pulled over and offered a ride to the start of the hike.

Once we got to the mouth of the canyon, we quickly realized that this wasn't going to be an easy hike, yet we knew we were now invested.  "Maima and Frederick" soon became our very best friends because there was no way that Maima was going to just drop us off seeing our situation.  Instead, what was just supposed to be a trip for them to the grocery store to buy a local newspaper, turned into a trip up the mountain to let us take in the view.  We all laughed because there was no way that we would have made it to the top since it was a good 4 kilometers up, and our small children were already getting tired.
DSCN1410
The next day proved to be fun because Sue issued an invitation for "Island Night" on Amara.  That was enough to get the kids more than excited.  Their costumes went on for hours before the official night began... because who can resist a little island wear?


IMG 3014
My sister and her family, ready for the festivities to begin.IMG 3018
Lily all decked out for Island Night.
IMG 3022
This special night calls for pulling out the fine china.
IMG 3024
There is always a kids table for the littles.
IMG 3026
The next day, we went on a hike to see the three waterfalls that was a "must see" in our guide books.  Instead, we found ourselves halfway up the mountain, stuck in a bamboo forest and it was getting dark quick.

We never saw those waterfalls, but it did make for a good memory in trying to get there and getting lost while realizing we had gone off the path somehow.  Of course, when that happens in my family, instead of us getting scared, the jokes start to come out.  I never get too nervous about getting lost because Martin has an impeccable sense of direction and truthfully, he knew where we were the entire time.  The problem is, we left the map to the waterfalls on the table back on Amara, so it had turned into a guessing game.  So, instead of finding the waterfalls, we chalked it all up to making a fun memory.
DSCN1451

Monday, July 22, 2013

All is Not Calm

DSCN9443
I can't help but think that my blog today is going to be similar to other cruisers blogs because we are all experiencing a lot of the same weather.  It's a cool 80 degrees.  That would seem idyllic to most, but add in 25-28 knot winds, some pretty good rainfall and then, to me, it doesn't seem so paradisiacal.
I have to keep reminding myself that this is winter time in the southern hemisphere.  The days are the shorter and the winds are at their strongest outside of typhoon season.
DSCN9444
Amara has done an amazing job in shielding us from the cold, rain and wind.
DSCN1374
I couldn't help but think of the story of the Odyssey and how it relates to Amara as of late.  Like Odysseus, I feel like we are getting blown across the sea, with Poseidon on our tail.  Although we never actually received a leather bag full of all the winds from Aeolus, it does feel like someone has opened the bag prematurely and we are stuck in a windstorm that we'd like to break free from.  Then throw in a few showers here and there.  I have yet to hear the sirens calling and there are no Trojans in sight… thank heavens!  All I can think is, "Hold on until Thursday" since the weather report says the worst is over by then.

Unlike Odysseus, we are still on course and it won't take us ten years to get to our destination (unless we choose for it to).  It's hardly fair to compare our "waiting out the storm" to Odysseus' Odyssey, but I can say that I understand Homer and his story a bit more as each day unfolds on this big blue sea. It really is about the journey and joy of discovery.  Even better, I have been able to enjoy it all with my family.
DSCN1439
Monday, we ended up in Ta'ha' in hopes to wait out a few windstorms. Even in unfavorable weather, it really hasn't reduced our desire in having fun.  We are still able to go snorkeling or diving everyday.  We are just making the best of it and hope the sun will show her face soon enough and blow out that pesky old wind.
DSCN1444
This past week, we also stopped in Huahine and took some time out to enjoy the beach for a few days.
DSCN1415
The sun was out all day.  It was just those gusts of wind, mixed with pelting sand that cut our stay at the beach short.  Luckily, the beach was right in front of a lovely new resort and we decided to seek refuge in the restaurant where we enjoyed a great lunch as a family.
DSCN1419
In fact, it was so good, and well, let's face it, I love a nice resort, that we took Sue and David out that evening for dinner there as well.

After a day on the beach, we went to go see the famous stingrays.  We were a little caught off guard by how quickly they come up to you.  They are just like little kitty cats coming up to you for a nuzzle.  The little kids were a little caught off guard at first, but they quickly jumped in to give it a try.
DSCN1380
DSCN1393
DSCN1382
DSCN1405
If anyone ever makes it to Huahine, this is a definite must.  Luckily, since we had our own dinghy, we just drove out to where all the paying customers were.  Again, another advantage to having your own boat.  It really was something that we'll talk about for years to come.

Like Odysseus, our journey continues...

Back in Paradise

Today is Sunday, July 21 and it is 5:00 am.  I find that this has been the only time where my thoughts are my own, especially since we have my sister and her family on board.  I have written out a few posts and noticed that these next few posts will be more like photo logs.  Hopefully, I can steal some more time next week to write about our sailing plans and some observations that I have made along the way.  The kind of stuff I really like to blog about.

However, right now I have readers sending me emails asking, "Where are you?"  So I write quickly before my 11 guests wake.  Because once they do, it will be about making our guests feel welcome, fed and entertained (all of which we have had great success with already).

The only downside to currently being in paradise is that it has been a cool 90 degrees with 12-18 knot winds at times here in the Society Islands.  As I type, the wind is blowing so hard that AMARA is more like a ride at the county fair than the strong vessel that she usually is.  Her body seems to roll with the waves and is being pushed by the winds in circles, giving me a 360 degree view every time the wind picks up and swings AMARA around.  In fact, our sail from Moorea to Huahine yesterday brought us up to 30-knot winds all night.  My sister and her family asked for adventure and well, we are giving it to them.  The wind should die down next week by the time we get to Bora Bora, but before then, and like I said—it's still a warm 90 degrees out so I am hardly complaining.
******************************************************
DSCN1165
Saturday, July 13

Martin and I arrived in Tahiti late Thursday evening and hit the ground running (as usual) but this time with an incentive.  My sister, Courtney, and her family were coming the following Monday to meet us and join us on AMARA for our journey from Tahiti, to Moorea (10 miles from Tahiti), then on to Huahine (90 miles from Moorea) then on to Fa'a and lastly, to Bora Bora.

Before they came, we knew that their was lots that needed to get done before they came, i.e.,  food shopping, possible purchase more pearls, and, of course, we couldn't miss out on another opportunity to dive to the bottom of the ocean and feed the sharks!  Oh, and there were a few minor boat repairs that needed fixing but we had our priorities!

The first day after our arrival, we went to the Heiva festival where we saw spear tossing, coconut shredding (copra), stone lifting and my favorite, music and dancing.
DSCN1078
The men preparing for the spear tossing.
DSCN1111 1
Looks like they are still a good aim after all these centuries.
DSCN1106 1
The aftermath.
DSCN1151
Now for the dancing.
DSCN1184
We were so lucky to have been here in order to get so much of the cultures of the Society Islands under one roof.

We even got to meet Miss Tahiti and Miss Papeete.
DSCN1142
After the Hieva festival, we got in our dinghy and headed for the harbor where the canoeing races were going to take place.  We got there just in time to watch them take off at the start of the race.
DSCN1265
DSCN1229
We had the advantage compared to the people on shore because we could follow them from behind in our dinghy which made us feel even more a part of the race.
DSCN1236
After the races, we headed for the grocery store to do our last bit of shopping before my sister and her family came to town.  We had Sue go ahead and do all the shopping and then we met her later to bring the carts back to the marina where we could load them into the dinghy.  It's quite the sight seeing three grocery carts going down the main street towards the marina next to all the traffic.
DSCN1316
DSCN1324
After the shopping adventure, we were ready for my family to arrive and couldn't wait for them to arrive on Monday.