Paradise...

Saturday 12th April

Well we are here in Paradise. It is so unbelievably beautiful. The sea is full of different shades of blue, the sand is pristine white coral and the temperature is low 30's. The brochures and postcards cannot do it justice, its that good.

We arrived through the pass and anchored, to my relief, at 11.30. 1st item on the agenda was treatment for my back, followed by a stunning swim in champagne style water, also probably 30 degrees.

There is a motor boat beside us about 250 feet long, dark blue in colour named Laurel. I wonder who has Hardy? The crew were washing the hull all morning and are now lined up in their white uniforms to await the owner I assume. I wonder would they polish up BlueFlyer if I asked nicely?

We are planning several excursions before leaving on Friday/Saturday. A dive is first on the list, Chantelle who we shadowed all the way here, has 2 crew on board, both of whom dive. He also has a compressor to fill the bottles. Next a visit to Polynesias only winery, perhaps a bottle or 2 to bring to Cairns? The Blue Lagoon and the Pink Sands, as well as the Pearl Farm all feature on the to do list. Not enough time! This is the 1st place so far that we both said we would re-visit in the future.

There is an airport here as well. It is very busy. There have been private and commercial flights in & out all day. I would say at least a dozen each way so far. The road is also busy with traffic all the time.

As we approached this morning it was very strange. There were no hills or volcanoes, just a line of palm trees growing out of the sea! Very odd. The sea was calm and the pass is well marked with buoys and markers, and a pair of transit lights to get you lined up properly. This is part of France after all. Despite that the people do admit to speaking some English! Tourism rules here.

Tonight we are having Chantelle over for Wahoo dinner made by Shin. There will be sushi and sashimi as well as something else. This is because one of our guests has not eaten Japanese style before and so we need to be sure.

If anyone gets the opportunity to come here, don't hesitate, just fly in.