Moving ashore

With NDS Evolution safely tied up to the dock at Marina Taina outside Papeete, the new crew for the onward journey has moved aboard.  Partly for training and partly to keep the boat in near-perfect condition, the first job for the crew is to empty every locker, inspect the contents, clean the locker, and then neatly restow everything again.  With every locker emptied, the boat is controlled chaos – it’s easier for us to move ashore rather than stay on the boat.

We moved into an Airbnb rental on the hillside just five minutes from the marina.  A small guesthouse next to a larger main house, the rental overlooks the marina itself, the reef that surrounds the island, and a view across the channel to the dramatic peaks of Moorea.

The neighborhood streets are a series of switchbacks that wind their way up the hill, and the views from nearly any point are spectacular.  It’s clear that we’re not in the US anymore – the houses are very nice but are generally much smaller than would be found in an equivalent neighborhood at home.

Most days around sunset we walk up the steep streets to marvel at the view of the sun setting over Moorea, interrupted only by friendly calls of bonsoir or ia orana.