I Have a Cold in Paradise and Jim Got Hit by a Car

TAHITI, French Polynesia

Day 68 – 73

I have a cold.

Jim is fine - but he got hit by a car.

This is not what I had in mind.

This is a sarcastic whiny post and I'm not changing it...

but the photos prove it's not ALL bad!

As I write this entry I am reminded of the first few months we were cruising in Mexico. We arrived before Christmas in 2008 and by February of 2009 I was in tears. I told Jim that no matter how hard I tried that I felt isolated and was having trouble connecting with people. We ventured on and by April we met so many wonderful couples and families and single handers, ...

and we had friends with grown children, little and big children and no children at all. It was enchanting – the sea life and the cruiser life.

Carolyne and cruising kids swimming in Tahiti

Cute cruising girls!

Carolyne took this photo in Apataki

Black pearls - only $2,000US

Black pearls - $3,000US

We had so looked forward to Tahiti!

Meeting new people and solving our boat instrument issues...

I wish I could tell you that we are having the time of lives...

that Tahiti is everything we thought it would be...

that we have been going to parties and pot lucks and enjoying hilarious conversations with friends...

that we have connected...

that we found reasonably priced replacement parts for our Raymarine C80...

But that would be a big, fat lie.

I have hesitated writing – hoping that things would change.

Tahiti has been a huge disappointment.

We have wasted days and days... attempting boat repairs.

We started by hiring a repairman to come to the boat and solve our electrical issues, which he couldn't...

taking the bus downtown Papeete multiple days visiting all the chandleries (thrice) and Assytem and Ocean 2000, Ace Hardware...

and we actually did find the exact display that we needed –

just the display and nothing else...

at a price of $4,000US!

I wish I could say that we haven't been so tired and discouraged when we returned to the boat...

that I didn't get sick with a nasty head cold (which has put me in a very snotty mood...haha)...

that we are down to a mere 16 days left in French Polynesia and we have to get to Bora Bora to check out...

without radar...

without a depth sounder...

without wind speed and direction...

and with the loss of all those instruments and our enthusiasm and my constantly honking red chapped nose, we just didn't think that jumping through more hoops to make it to the inconvenient Puddlejump Party (starting downtown Papeete where we're not and ending on the island of Moorea in a crowded anchorage) would be anything more than added stress to the tick-tock-tick-tock of our remaining time here and finding a solution to our instrument problems.

So we continued our search for a remedy to the boat.

And if it isn't already obvious that we are in the wrong place at the wrong time...

Jim gets hit by a car.

You heard me right!

Thankfully, it wasn't serious. But the car hit his leg and he was thrown on top of the hood. The driver was mortified and very remorseful. Luckily, Jim wasn't hurt... the driver had only just accelerated so didn't “collide with him” going very fast. She was very worried and Jim assured her he was okay and he and Carolyne continued their search for boat parts. And then at last...

a Raymarine part, discontinued, new in the box and only $100US. A depth sounder that also gives us wind speed and direction! We still have no radar, but we are partially cured!!

Why didn't we ship the part we needed repaired to the Raymarine facility in Australia you ask? Because French Polynesia has a new regulation requiring one to hire an agent at a cost of roughly $200US... even if your part only costs $20US. That doesn't include the cost of shipping... or the cost of the repair. And there is still the timeline factor... and we are running out of time.

As for me... I had one very fun day in Papeete when I took Carolyne and Cassidy (sv Lil' Explorers) to visit the shops and local amusements. We did have to hit the chandleries first, but after lunchtime we had fun window shopping and visiting the large market. The girls bought little presents for family and we had lunch at a snack van we found along the way.

I also discovered a real self-serve washing machine facility at the marina. The cost is $9US per load, but all of our clothes were clean-clean-clean for a mere $30US.

And another positive note... we did NOT get holed by the large red ketch that broke off its mooring at 2am last night - but hit the bungalows right behind us instead!!

No, I am not kidding!