At Sea 10/5/08

At SEA Sunday 10/5/08

Our passports were collected by the room steward on Oct.4, 2008. The Immigration authorities of French Polynesia requested to see all of them. We were given a receipt and the passports will be returned after our last port in French Polynesia, Moorea. The French Polynesian Immigration Officials will board in Bora Bora and plan to stamp our passports.

We crossed the Equator- latitude 0- on Saturday October 4th. We passed from the Northern Hemisphere into the Southern Hemisphere...There is a tradition that all sailors who cross the Equator for the first time during a nautical voyage must go through a ceremony. This concept goes back to the middle ages. Those who have not crossed before are called “Pollywogs”. After crossing the Equator we are now “Trusty Shellbacks” I’m sure that most of the passengers were on the top decks to see the activity. It was impressive to see so many there. They had King Neptune and various costumed characters.

Saturday night was formal. We dressed up and had Chateaubriand for dinner. Wayne was offered a second plate and he said Yes! We ate with a couple from Toronto. They had emigrated from England 40 years ago. Wayne had a great time talking Soccer.

I decided to try my hand at oil painting. I made oil rubbings of two small Polynesian children. The result was not great but I had a lot of fun doing it. I also tried ceramics and painted my version of a tropical fish from our snorkeling in Kona, Hawaii. The crewman in charge of the ceramics said he will paint a fish with my pattern and colors and use it as a sample.

It has been very windy today. I walked a mile on the promenade deck and it was wet from the mist. I felt like a sail with the wind at my back. It is 82 degrees with clear sunny skies and with a wind speed of 40 miles per hour. The ocean has some waves with some white caps. The two main pools are closed. The waves from the pools splash about 4 feet high... Our balcony is sheltered and has a great panoramic view. It has particles of salt that have evaporated on it.

Our Snorkeling meeting gave us some pointers for Bora Bora. Le Truck is the local bus. It runs on island time. We will see Motus as we swim and sail around the island. The Motus are reefs that are along side the island. They are owned by various entities. In between the motus the ocean has strong currents. We are advised not to swim in between. We can expect to see the black tipped shark. It is friendly. We will also see the Garden Fish (snake). As you look across the ocean they will look like wavy fields of grain. If we step on the black spiny urchin, the barb can stay in our skin for one year. When we are looking for the beach, we say Oui est La Plage(sp)? Most of the beaches are privately owned, many by hotels, and have security guards. There is a grocery- variety store next door to the church. It is called Achu –just remember Ah-Ah Chew! The weather at 82 is warm. We were told that it will feel much warmer on the island.
What an adventure!