And we are in !

“Ah, vous parlez français ! Et vous êtes belges? Encore mieux.” Never before have we experienced such a warm welcome from the authorities. Getting our French Polynesian entrance stamp was a breeze, thanks in part to their user-friendly website “demarches-simplifiees.fr,” where we had already submitted a file called “Déclaration d’entrée et de sortie de navire de plaisance” the moment we departed from Ensenada, already a month ago. We truthfully declared the liters of beer, wine, and liquor we were carrying with us, and it didn’t seem to bother them at all. With our passports stamped, we stepped back into the sunshine, “en route vers de nouvelles aventures”.

Speaking of new adventures, yesterday, My Captain morphed into Zorro. High up in the mast once again to finally complete the necessary repairs, he noticed that “Gavotte,” one of our boat neighbors, was adrift and heading for the pebbled beach with nobody on board. Immediately, My Captain jumped to the rescue. This involved pulling “Gavotte” away from imminent danger with our dinghy, using the experience he gained in British Columbia. Then Reinhold, the captain from “Mare”, returned from his shopping expedition and immediately joined the action. Together, My Captain and Reinhold used their dinghies to push the runaway vessel out of harm’s way until it was safe enough to jump on board, start the engines, and reset the anchor. Mission accomplished. Later that night, we all celebrated this happy ending on board “Gavotte” with rum and international sister-and-brotherhood. And a flute.

So, let’s get ready to go get our good old friend Maxime from Atuona airport. He has been on his way since 04:15 this morning, March 31st to arrive in Papeete for two overnight stays -processing a 11,5 hour jetlag- and then another 4 hour connection flight to Hiva Oa. Friendship is love.