#54 NOW May 28, 2005 1545 Tahiti Time = UTC -10 hours Temperature 82 degrees and Sunny Anchored in Matavai Bay next to Point Venus (S17’29.93 W149’29.83) Greetings, Two hundred and thirty eight years ago, Captain Wallis aboard his ship the Dolphin was the first European to discover Tahiti. A couple of years later Captain Cook, aboard the Endeavour sailed into Matavai Bay and was met by hundreds of islanders paddling out in their canoes. Two days ago Captain Rick, aboard Done Dreamin’ sailed into Matavai Bay and was met by no one. But alas, this is still a wonderful island with friendly people, a land of plenty where sailors can rest up after long excursions around the Pacific. On June 3, 1769, Captain Cook observed the transit of the planet Venus across the sun. From this, they were hoping to calculate the distance to the sun. The location where this observation was taken is known today as Point Venus, which makes up the Northeastern part of Matavai Bay. Yesterday, I took the kayak ashore and visited this historic place that is now a lovely park. There is an operating lighthouse built in 1867 under the direction of Robert Louis Stevenson’s father. Commemorative monuments and plaques, and an old anchor pulled out of the bay, adorn the park. Much to the delight of the sailors, the native women were very friendly. One book that I read recently said they would bestow their favors for some cut glass or even a nail. In fact, Captain Wallis had to discipline his crew for taking so many nails out of the ship that its structural integrity was beginning to be in doubt. Hum… Come to think of it, I have a few extra nails sitting around. While in Papeete, I did some grocery shopping. French Polynesia has a reputation for being expensive. Eggs were $4.00 a dozen, tomatoes $1.10 each (medium size), paper towels $4.00 per roll, and a telephone call back to the United States $1.05 per minute. As is the case in most parts of the world the U.S. dollar has lost its buying power, and foreign travel has become very expensive. Fortunately, I still have a good supply of most things that I bought in the US and Mexico. One thing that has not changed is the use of out-rigger canoes. This morning as I looked out over the Bay I saw dozens of large canoes paddled with great skill and speed. It appears that on weekends they have races around the Bay by various teams. Although the modern day canoes are made of fiberglass, they still add to the beauty and ambiance of the bay. Tomorrow, I plan to continue my circumnavigation in a clockwise direction around the island. I am sure there are other bays that will be just as lush and beautiful. However, few could match Matavai for its past historical significance—what a joy it has been, to drop my anchor into a little bit of history. Life is a Cruise, Larry Larry Rick Done Dreamin' Nordhavn 40 #33 Site: http://gricknet.homedns.org/ Email: <mailto:donedream@pacbell.net>donedream@pacbell.net