During our time quarantined at anchor, we only made brief weekly trips to shore for provisions. So, once the inter-island travel restriction was lifted (and after we’d gotten plenty of waves in Tahiti), we decided to sail back to Mo’orea to stretch our legs.
The hiking on Mo’orea’s north coast is epic (as we’ve mentioned before). It might sound strange, but after such a long period of not being allowed on shore, all we wanted to do was walk. We wandered the dirt roads criss-crossing the pineapple plantations, willingly getting lost in the magical Opunohu Valley. We followed trails up through the jungle to vistas where we ate picnics of baguettes and brie and drank coffee from our thermos. We had a completely new appreciation for such a beautifully simple thing as being able to walk freely on land.
We were also looking forward to welcoming our first guest aboard Aldebaran. Elaine flew out from the States despite all the red tape that surrounds travel in the time of covid, and on top of that she sherpa-ed (let’s pretend that’s a verb) a new wind vane and new starter motor. We joked that before she came we didn’t know
which way the wind was blowing and we didn’t know how to start our engine (did we?). We spent a few days relaxing in Cook’s Bay soaking up the majestic scenery and swimming off the boat. We checked out the local distillery that produces a variety of rums as well as fresh
juices. We took a day sail to the next bay over, Opunohu, and snorkeled with sting rays and sharks. Most importantly, we kept a close eye on the tricky weather pattern in hopes of sailing to Huahine, one of the leeward islands within the Societies.