We were surprised by the number of boats we met that crossed the Pacific and made French Polynesia their western-most destination, heading north through the Line Islands to Hawaii, and back to the west coast of the United States. Dominic has a pal he went to sailing school with who departed San Francisco in December and just left Maui to return home.

Our first was in Tahanea. We were strolling on the exposed side of a motu, where the sand gave way to weather beaten coral filled with tide pools, and Dominic’s foot must have gotten too far underneath an overhang, because an eel came leaping out and slithered away.

Dominic and I are spending today and tomorrow getting ready for a five to six day passage to Suwarrow. Suwarrow is a remote atoll in the Cook Islands, about 650 nuatical miles northwest of our current location in Bora Bora. It’s a national park and nature preserve, only inhabited by two rangers during the winter months, and reputed to having amazing wildlife on land and underwater.

We didn’t step on land until yesterday, our fourth day in Bora Bora. Instead, we relaxed on the boat and enjoyed the water from the comfort of our swim step. We explored in the dinghy, ducking behind motus and between passes, weaving in and out of the thatched-roof bungalows housing honeymooners on the island.

Picassofish, Teardrop butterflyfish, Moustache triggerfish, and a Bird wrasse or two—we spent yesterday morning soaring with them all through the coral garden in Tahaa. There is a shallow ravine in the coral that runs from the ocean reef into the lagoon, and the current is so strong that all the snorkeler can do is strike a Superman-pose, ride the wave, and try not to collide with coral or get too close to a Moray eel.

We got luckier with the weather yesterday than we dare hoped to dream. Around noon, as we approached the anchorage on the eastern side of the island, the great sailor in the sky furled in the clouds revealing dazzling sunshine. We rejoiced!

Check out all that sunshine! Dominic took this photo while we were hiking in Moorea last week.At the moment we're in Patio, the north-most village on the island Tahaa, and going on 72 hours of overcast, drizzly weather. We left Huahine on Saturday, catching 18 knots of wind from the back end of a passing squall and spending our first hour underway on a smooth beam reach. We went for a misty hike in Haamene Bay on Sunday, and are making our way around the north coast of the island.

We were reticent at first, with the shaky anchorage and overcast weather, but Huahine has managed to seduce us. We had comfortable, lightly cloudy skies yesterday, so Dominic and I and our pal Jan aboard Phoebe hiked the ridge behind our anchorage in Avea Bay. It was a short hike, about two and half hours total, but despite Wednesday’s rain the trail was dry and in good condition.

The Southern Pacific Convergence Zone hovered over Huahine yesterday, making things rainy and overcast, but providing a full spectrum of rainbows to enjoy: double rainbows, 180-degree arc rainbows, rainbows that mirrored against the surface of the water. The clouds started to part in the afternoon, so once Dominic was done looking for leprechauns and pots of gold and I completed my Judy Garland impressions, we hopped in the dinghy, found some coral, another stingray or two, and called it a pretty mellow day.

In case you were wondering what some of the male dancers looked like…the men in the corps generally had an equivalent costume to the ladies, sometimes a full grass skirt, sometimes a piece of fabric tide into shorts, always showcasing the tattoos. The men had very different movements than what we saw in the Marquesas (and no animal skulls incorporated into their costumes). We’re not sure if it’s a regional difference or just different dances we saw, but in Tahiti, their motions were based upon a knee knocking movement, where they would squat and thigh-master their legs together in time with the drum beat. The male soloists did so quite libidinally, pausing to smirk and rock their hips forward and back, causing the Polynesian ladies in the audience to shriek with delight.

Moorea was hard to leave. The vistas were gorgeous, the anchorages protected, and there was certainly an adventure or two yet to come. But as we had just over two weeks left on our visas and excellent sailing conditions, Dominic and I raised the hook Saturday as the sun set and sailed to Huahine.

We got up close and personal with a storm of stingrays while in Moorea. We hopped in the dinghy bright and early Thursday morning, traveling two miles from our anchorage in Opunohu Bay to pick up two new friends, Trevor and Gabby, whom we met hiking the day before and were staying at the Intercontinental Hotel. Stingray City was another half mile down the pass, and when we arrived there were already two groups of guided tours there enjoying the fun.

On Tuesday, we moved to Oponohu Bay, adding variety to our vista and situating ourselves near the road to the Belvedere scenic view point. Wednesday morning, we set out under partly cloudy skies to undertake the five kilometer hike up the mountain.