Out and About in Maupiti

We have been having a wonderful time here in Maupiti.  We are anchored with our friends from Fata Morgana, Moby and Excalibur.  Getting baguettes here requires a very early morning trip to the town bakery, so the advantage of being with other boats is that each boat takes a turn to get the baguettes for all the boats, and delivers them to the boat!  When it was our turn, Dave put his alarm clock on (for 6:00am) so he would be up in time!!  We haven't done that since we left!  Just setting it the night before brought back memories of our "working days"!   

Baguette delivery - cruising style!  Ivo from Fata Morgana delivering our baguettes one morning.

On one of the mornings we all agreed to meet at the dinghy dock at 8:00am, so we could climb Mount Tiriano, the highest peak here on Maupiti.  There were 6 adults and 6 kids and it was quite a climb!  The kids all did a great job, even climbing some rock faces using the ropes provided!

5 of the 6 kids getting ready to climb the mountain:  Victor (12) from Moby, Gaby, Arthur (8; Moby), Benjamin and Maya (12; Fata Morgana).  Missing from this picture is little Anna, all of 4 years old, also from Moby.

The reward when we finally reached the top (about 1,100ft up), was the most spectacular views we've ever seen!    

The spectacular view of Passe Onoiau from the top of Mt Tiriano

Cool Runnings crew at the top of Mt. Tiriano - 1,100 ft up!

The 3 boat families (Moby, Fata Morgana and Cool Runnings) at the top of Mt. Tiriano

We love this picture of Gaby with the view reflected in her glasses!

We had 360 degree views of the island, and I wish I could post all the pictures I took!  This one shows the anchorage.   Cool Runnings is second from the right.

Beautiful Maupiti anchorage

Getting down was almost as difficult as getting up!  (Although it did seem to go a lot faster!!).  We counted this as Benjamin and Gaby's PE lesson...for the week!

Gaby on the way down using the ropes provided

Ben descending the mountain

The next day we took our bikes and circumnavigated the island by land.  Most of the these islands have a ring road that runs all the way around, and other than one hill we had to climb, it was a nice, flat ride, and a wonderful way to see the town, the people and the beauty of the island from the land instead of the water for a change.

We came across this incredible wall made almost entirely of coral and shells.  It was a cemetery, but it was locked when we cycled past.  It did have 2 cute dogs that squeezed in and out of a gap in the gate, and we named them the Guardians of the Gate!

Gaby with the Guardians of the Gate

A close up of the design of the coral and shell wall

On we went around the island, taking in beautiful view after beautiful view.

Ben stops to smile for the camera

Gaby, Ben and Dave take a rest at the top of the hill before the easy free wheel down!

The Cool Runnings bike gang (minus one member!)

At the beach!

Circumnavigating the island by bike

We will now move the boat to a different anchorage, where we hope to snorkel with Manta Rays in the morning.  We can't pick up internet there, so this is our last chance to post, google and email!  We won't have internet for a while after this, so any blog updates may be from our iridium satellite until we reach a destination that allows us to pick up some WiFi again (likely Cook Islands)!

In the next couple of days we will sail about 100 miles to the last of the Society Islands, Mopelia.  This is one of the most remote islands we'll visit.  There are only a couple of people living there, and the only contact they have with the outside world are cruisers, and a supply ship that comes twice A YEAR! We look forward to visiting the last of the Societies.  

Leaving the Society Islands marks a new chapter in our journey as we make our way across the Pacific towards New Zealand via Tonga, stopping in the Cook Islands, Palmerston Atoll and Niue along the way.  We will leave behind these beautiful islands, but take with us countless wonderful memories of the time spent here. In addition, we have met some wonderful new boat friends that have kids aboard, and are on the same journey and quest as us. We have so enjoyed the continuing ever slower pace, and that, together with having the boat back to ourselves, has completely recharged our batteries.

Au Revoir and merci, Îles de la Société!