Our son Dan’s visit at the end of July in Moorea

It is always with great anticipation of an unforgettable experience but with some trepidation for fear something may go awry, that we await a family member who has gone to all the expense and time away from their very important and active lives back home to visit us in a faraway land. 

And so it was for our son Dan’s visit at the end of July to French Polynesia.  To make this visit happen, Dan had to wrench himself away from his full time job, his full time university studies, his epic whitewater kayaking adventures, and his home where different roommates were both moving in and out while he was gone. When he returned to Seattle, without even stopping at home, he was off to a northern Canada river gorge called the Stikine that has been described as the Mount Everest of whitewater kayaking challenges.  Not to mention, he had to spend a fortune on airplane tickets, and transport a suitcase full of parts and supplies to us.

But as it turned out, Dan gets the award for being our best live-aboard boat guest ever.  He was just so full of excitement and anticipation of such a good time, that nothing would stop him.  He was smiling continuously.  When we got to our first crystal clear, 80 degree water anchorage, we had barely set the anchor when he dove in, happy as a clam (you know, clams really do have a great smile, especially the iridescent blue lipped clams.  Did you know that?  We can find them everywhere here.)

So began his ten day visit with us.  We rented a car for the day so we could pick him up at the airport, which was a good thing because his plane was delayed so he didn’t get in until nearly midnight.  We took him to an Italian restaurant the evening of his first full day in Papeete, Tahiti, and to the last Heiva performance of the season that night.  Heiva is a dance, singing and music competition held throughout all of the French Polynesian islands every year, the winners of which compete in Tahiti every July.  The costumes and the Polynesian dancing are spectacular, the best in Polynesia.  

Knowing Dan wanted to commune with the sea, we sailed out of Papeete the next day and headed for Moorea.  Unfortunately, the seas were big, on the beam, and uncomfortable, so Dan didn’t feel so good on the way there.  We knew for sure something was amiss when he refused a cold beer!  But once we got to Moorea, he sprang to life. We intentionally first headed directly for the best snorkeling spot we had found on the island, on the barrier reef near the Sofitel Resort on the East side of the island.  With the excuse of having to check the security of the mooring ball to which Cool Change was attached, Rick and Dan jumped into the effervescent aqua-colored water with their snorkeling gear on. From that moment forward, we could hardly keep Dan out of the water. 

Dan and Rick with their snorkeling gear

Over the next eight days, we anchored in four different locations, three of which offered excellent snorkeling opportunities.  We had sunset cocktails and/or dinner in several of the shoreline resorts, we went shopping in search of baguettes, Brie and cocktail ice, we cooked dinner on the boat as well, we each rented a scooter and circumnavigated the island, we ate homemade ice cream at the Agricultural college, we took a self-guided tour of our favorite local rum and juice factory, we took a short hike up a steep drive to a botanical garden with our friends from another boat called Little Wing, we petted sting rays and swam with sharks, and we watched the movie Jaws on our in-boat movie projection screen.  We snorkeled and snorkeled and snorkeled until our fingers shriveled.  Dan drove the boat in and out of passes, did all the heavy lifting in preparing the boat to sail, like lifting the dinghy into the deck, caught on quickly with knots and procedures, and generally made our lives much simpler.  The last evening, we dinghied to the lovely Manava Resort for a buffet dinner and Polynesian dance show to celebrate Dan and Rick’s birthdays.  The last morning before we headed back to Tahiti, Dan dove off the pulpit and swam one last time in the warm clear water with his dad.  And Dan was at the helm much of the 15 miles sailing back to Tahiti, not a trace of queasiness apparent on his smiling face.

Dan at the Sofitel Resort

Dan driving the boat

Great snorkeling near Sofitel Resort

Dan driving again

Some more great snorkeling

Visiting the Manutea Rum and Rotui Fruit Juice factory. The juice is named after the Rotui mountain peak that lies between Cook’s Bay and Opanohu Bay on Moorea.

Dan and Cindy enjoying fresh made ice cream at the agricultural college during our scooter tour of Moorea

Our visit to the botanical garden with Joe and Annie, a couple from Rhode Island who are cruising in their boat Little Wing

Swimming in shallow water with sting rays so friendly they rub up against you, and small black tip sharks that keep their distance. It is a tourist boat destination, but we arrived by our dinghy

Dan enjoying the botanical garden

Dan and Rick scouting for bommies on the bow

Dan enjoying his Hinano beer at the Moorea Beach Cafe.

Our last night in Moorea, we enjoyed a buffet dinner and Polynesian dance show at the Manava Resort, a short dinghy ride from our anchorage

Inifinity pool overlooking the lagoon at the Manava Resort. Nice place, huh?

Dan and Rick floating in the clear warm lagoon water the morning of our departure from Moorea. Are you sure you can’t stay a few more days, Dan?

Even with all this activity, we had time to talk.  We talked about the universe, about family, about kayaking, about our life and future in Polynesia and about Dan’s life and future in the States.  Dan and Rick had their share of the Tahitian beer Hinano (ok, maybe a little more than their share), and I enjoyed my Chardonnay, while we all also enjoyed Cool Change’s special rum punch and Rick’s inevitable order of pommes frites everywhere we went.  I was blown away by the fact that Dan manages to read for his personal benefit on top of all the other stuff he is doing, and not just by reading diversionary suspense novels either – while on his trip with us he was reading Sapiens.  Not light reading.  And then he started talking about how they are discovering that aptitude for certain abilities can be passed down through the genes in as little as one generation, and about discoveries concerning the expanding size of the universe, and all kinds of other scientific discoveries that gave me hope for the future of our species on this planet.  It was an encouraging and positive vision of the future from a thoughtful, bright and compassionate member the next generation.  While Dan and I still have some differences of opinion about feminist issues because of our vastly different experiences, I think we made some headway on this visit.  (I confessed the logic of the argument that if a woman had an unequivocal right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy, then a man might also have the one-time right to elect simultaneously, child support or not).  By a twist of fate, I am fortunate to call Dan my son.  Rick, certainly, can take more credit than I can, as his birth father, although by the age of 35, Dan’s relationship with me, I feel, is more like a friend than a parent, and Rick’s relationship with Dan is more like a mentor than a judge.  Dan is his own man, and what a man he has become.  We love you, Dan.

Father and son, smiling after having found Baguettes and Brie at the grocery store in Cook’s Bay