Category Archives: Daily Lime

Matt at Tiki Village

Magical Moments in Mo’orea

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As we were waiting for a weather window, we encountered many magical moments in Oponohu Bay, Mo’orea.  We are anchored on a sandy shelf about 2 to 3 meters deep between the reef and the island.  Late one afternoon we spotted two huge nurse sharks (about 3 meters long) just hanging out next to Sugar Shack. We think they were nurse sharks, but they could have been lemon sharks.

One night, just before sunset, the clouds rolled across the caldera and provided this beautiful photo.

Oponohu Bay, Mo'orea

Oponohu Bay, Mo’orea

We had the most enchanting sunset another night.  It started out with a little beauty and then blossomed into this firey red across the entire sky and reflecting onto the water.  None of these photos were enhanced or tweaked…just nature’s beauty.

Some of these photos needed to be shown as stand alone images.

And this has no filters or changes – just pure magic.

Even the rain brings magical moments

It is not always sunshine and rainbows in French Polynesia.  It does rain a lot which is good because it feeds new life into the land, mountains, trees, and flowers.  But sometimes it is a torrential downpour which keeps you holed up in you boat.

I actually got cold and snuggled up.

But the huge rains brought several beautiful waterfalls – just magical.

And another pretty sunset.

Underwater Tiki Garden

Across the channel is a shallow anchorage called Tiki Village.  Matt and I have anchored here several times and never knew there was a tiki museum nearby (we also did not know this anchorage was called “Tiki Villiage”).  Our friends Steve and Lili on Liward took us over there to explore this amazing underwater museum.

The legend has it that when the missionaries came to Mo’orea they built a protestant church right on the Marae, their sacred grounds. The missionaries forced the locals to either destroy or toss their monuments / tikis in the ocean.  But the inhabitants outsmarted them.  They strategically placed the tikis underwater, clustered together directly across from the church in the village of Papetoai.

Church built on the Mo'orea marae

Church built on the Mo’orea marae

There are 7 tikis gently laid in 3 meters of crystal-clear water.  And despite the efforts by the missionaries, the Tahitian culture is very much alive today.

We found all 7 tikis, but some were hard to distinguish.  They are just starting to get growth which is fascinating.  This one we could not figure out – or should I say, I could not figure out.  Lili pointed to what she thought was his head and face…I just don’t see it.

I love this tiki called “the twins”

The Twins Tiki

The Twins Tiki

Matt liked it too and gave me a smile hidden behind his bubbles (he took his mask off).

I think this tiki is a woman, but what do you think?  It actually looks more like a mermaid, but either way female.

This was a great tiki with little growth.

This is my favorite tiki.  I love how the soft coral grew right at his head giving him hair.  And do you see the fish at his head too?  This tiki is a man sitting down while holding a bowl in his hands.

This magical man brought shivers to me as I explored his carvings.

Another difficult one to decipher.

The final tiki had three carvings on it.  Not sure you can see all 3 faces, but they were wonderful.

It was magical to find these tikis knowing their history.  It brought shivers to me as I examined them.  I hope they are honored for decades to come.

Super good times with our friends Josh and Rachel (“Agape) and Steve and Lili (“Liward).

Fruit shopping on the side of the road…don’t you love the pretty decor?

The Opunohu Anchorage at sunset

Opunohu Anchorage

Opunohu Anchorage

View facing the mountains from the same anchorage

Events from this blog occurred during the first week of November, 2020.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.

Manutea: 22 Alcoholic Drinks from Fruit

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Missy and Yanell, our friends on “Hoodoo” take us on a hike to Manutea Rotui Juice Factory and Distillery on Mo’orea.  Walking along the road which parallels the bay, we arrive at the Manutea factory 2.4 miles later.  There is a self-tour and a gift shop with free tastings.

Manutea Tahiti

Manutea Tahiti

This unique facility is geared toward finding “pleasures of the mouth.”  They harvest six different fruits: pineapple, guava, papaya, grapefruit, mango, and noni for a variety of alcoholic beverages.  These fresh fruits and the sugar cane are harvested throughout the leeward islands (Society archipelago), but mainly on Mo’orea.  Over 200 people or 60 families are employed to produce and harvest the fruit and sugar cane each year.

The sugar cane, freshly cut by hand is crushed on the plantation the same day (without adding water) before it is fermented.  These suave notes characterize the Manutea agricultural rhum.  The harvest period is usually from August to October, when the cane reaches full maturity.

The team believes their beverages offer tropical flavors unlike any other and are a true expression of the land.  They have been rewarded with ISO certifications in 2006, 2009.

Touring Manutea Juice Factory

The Manutea factory was producing, bottling, and packaging juice during our self-tour.  I must admit that I have not had the opportunity to be in different factories. I was mesmerized watching the sleek machines.  From expanding the juice box, to filling, capping, and packaging.

Juice factory

Juice factory

This factory produces 11 different types of juices under the “Rotui” brand.  We have purchased mango, pineapple, and mixed fruits before. But we tasted a new peach flavor that rocked!

We then made our way to the rhum distillery.  It was not in operation during our visit, but it was impressive none the less.

Seven types of agricultural rhum are distilled at this factory, including (3) aged rhums.  Matt and I, and in fact most Americans, Europeans, and Canadians prefer “rum” which is made from maple syrup as opposed to sugar cane because it is smoother and not as harsh.  They are typically less concentrated as well (lighter proof).

In addition to the rhum, Manutea Tahiti produces (2) white wines (one with a pineapple taste and one dry), champaign, (3) premixed Tahiti drinks (fruit flavored with rhum, dark rhum, and tequila), (7) liqueurs, and (2) Vahine cream liqueurs.

Taste Test

The sampling was amusing.  The lady wanted us in and out to get a larger group in.  Since it was covid they had to wait for us.  So, we tasted 8 shots in 6 minutes.  Wowza!  She started off with the sweet white wine with a touch of pineapple.  Sounds super weird, but it was delicious!  We moved on to the champaign, then the new Tahiti Drink with tequila (which we bought).  Next was Mo’orea Coco (which would be great over vanilla ice cream), then the 60 proof rhum and finally the 80 proof.  Yikes!  Luckily, she ended the tasting with a shot of the new peach flavored tea and then a shot of pure mango pure.  We wobbled out of there.  Lucky for us we had a 2.4 mile walk back to the dinghy.

Juice factory and distillery http://manuteatahiti.com/

Events from this blog occurred on 2 November, 2020.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.

Passport and Visa Mess

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The pandemic changed our sail plan.  Not a hard ship or terrible thing, but a change none the less.  We had planned on going west toward New Zealand via Cook Islands, Tonga, and Fiji. However, all of these countries are closed so we will stay in French Polynesia for another year.  Yeah.  With that decision made, we had to get to work on renewing our long-stay visas (Carte de Sejure) and updating Matt’s passport.

Our current long-stay visas do not expire until 11 April 2021.  So, why are we preparing documentation in October of 2020?  Well, let me tell you.  The Haute Commissionaire will not allow us to submit our renewal application prior to 2 months before our expiry date ( which would be 11 February 2021).  However, we will be in Gambiers at that time.  Which leaves us in a pickle as there are no facilities to submit our application in the Gambiers. Not a big deal, we just hired Tahiti Crew to be our agent and assist us with the submission process.

Visa Prep Work

Several documents have to be original including two applications per person, the attestation, and confirmation of documents.  We are trying to avoid having to fly paperwork to Tahiti so we are opting to turn some of it in early.  This included:

  • (1) 9000xpf ($90) stamp
  • Signed Assistance in Obtaining the Carte de Sejur
  • (2) Completed original applications for both of us
  • Completed attestation: one each Christine and Matt
  • Photo copy of each passport (signature/photo page, and visa) Christine and Matt
  • (2) copies each of current residence permit (Carte du Sejure) Christine and Matt
  • Copy of Current Boat Registration (expires 30 April 2024)
  • Copy of tax returns (proving marriage)
  • Copy of Customs Declaration (green form)

In early February, we will have to email the rest of the paperwork which includes proof of health coverage and 3 months of financials for both Matt and I.

During this application process I realized that Matt’s passport expires June 2021.  Oh crapola!  The Haute Commissionaire will not accept our long-stay visa application if either one of the passports expire during the requested period.  Stop everything and move on to the next fire.

Passport Renewal Outside of the U.S.

Wouldn’t you know it, Matt’s passport expires soon.  After some research, we figure out which form we need to complete.  Lucky for us, Matt qualifies for mail in renewal.  His passport was issued within the last 15 years, is still “active” and is in good condition.  But, how do we do this from French Polynesia?  A quick call to the U.S. Consulate puts me at ease.  We schedule a meeting and head to the office.

Christopher Kozely is the U.S. Consulate in French Polynesia.  We had met him when we arrived last year (he notarized our power of attorney to sell our house).  We showed up with the completed application, passport photo, and money.  It was so easy.  We benefited greatly going through the U.S. Consulate.  Right now, it takes the states 6 months to renew passports with limited staff due to covid.  However, Christopher said Matt’s passport will be returned within 2 months.

In addition, we did not have to give up his current passport.  We were a little freaked out of possibility of not having Matt’s passport while being in a foreign country during a pandemic.  But, lucky for us, we get to keep it.  And the icing on the cake – there were no additional fees to go through the U.S. Consulate!  The only thing we paid was the $110 fee that is standard for passport renewals.

Processing a Passport Renewal from FP

So, how does it work to renew a United States passport from French Polynesia (FP)?  First you must qualify, like we did, for passport renewal by mail.  Then we took the standard passport photo (always so beautiful), along with the completed DS-82 form to the U.S. Consulate.

The Consulate verifies the information, scans the current passport, attaches the photo, watches you sign the application, takes the passport fee money, and stamps it.  He then sends it to Fiji via mail pouch.  Fiji, what, why?  The office in French Poly is small and uses the Fiji office as the main U.S. Consulate hub.  The Fijian official scans all of the information and sends it securely via web server directly to Washington.  This process takes about 3 weeks.  Washington produces the passports and sends them back to Fiji.  Once Fiji has a certain number of passports (we could not find out what that number was), they send them to French Poly via mail pouch.  The entire process takes approximately 6-8 weeks.

Sounds easy peasy.  But one small problem.  When our passport returns back to Tahiti, we will be in Gambiers (over 800nm away).  Crap. We can’t get the new passport without canceling the old one (which will be with us in Gambiers).  So, what do we do?  Once Christopher receives the new passport, he will email us.  We will then send the old passport via Air Tahiti along with 700xpf for return fees.  He will receive Matt’s passport, cancel it, scan the cancelled passport to Washington, and send the old and new passport back to us via Air Tahiti (at our expense of course).   Hopefully we will have it in our hot little hand before the end of the year!

Global Entry

We also checked the status of Matt’s Global Entry as we assumed it was tied to his passport.  Good news, it was not.  He renewed it in 2016 and it does not expire until May 2022!

Long-Stay Visa

Once we have Matt’s new passport, we will have to scan the appropriate pages and provide the new passport number, issue date, and expiry date to Tahiti Crew to update his long-stay visa application.  Should be easy, but I really dislike relying on other people to update the application when so much is at risk.

On or about 11 February 2021, Tahiti Crew will gather the original documents we submitted in October 2020, the emailed documents sent in January 2021, and Matt’s updated passport information.  They will then submit all of our paperwork to the Haute Commissionaire’s office.

It takes about 2 months for the Haute Commissionaire to process our long-stay visa renewal – during normal circumstances.  Since they are operating on a reduced staff, we are not sure how long it will take.  But we will follow protocol and get everything in as required and hope for the best.

Events from this blog occurred over the last week of October 2020.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.