Since leaving Moorea and arriving at Raiatea we have had absolutely awful weather, very very strong winds and rain on and off all day and night. Being at anchor has been incredibly unpleasant and uncomfortable and we have been stuck for anything to do as the rain keeps us pinned inside. Hotopu Bay was lovely and peaceful but we were struggling to keep ourselves entertained so we moved up to the North of Raiatea to Uturoa, Raiatea's busy port. We spent almost an hour motoring around trying to find somewhere to anchor, anywhere other than the one place that was available, out in the middle of the channel which was completely open to the 20-30 knot prevailing winds! Paul spent all night in the saloon on anchor watch but thankfully it all seemed to calm down during the night, only for it to build up again in the morning. We spent half an hour deliberating whether it was sensible to try and get into the dinghy and get ashore and eventually decided to go for it. The ride across actually wasn't too bad but the ride back across was like a comedy sketch, we were like drowned rats by the time we reached Jackamy, we had wave after wave smashing over the bow and showering us. 

As Uturoa is the second largest town in French Polynesia we were expecting a little more than what we found but we have since read in the guide book that it is one of those places where its utter lack of charm is actually quite charming. We however thought that it had been spoilt with huge modern buildings and tacky shops, it didn't have a Polynesian feel to it at all. In fact it was quite strange as there were an awful lot of Chinese people who lived there. We have found that there have been a lot of Chinese in French Polynesia and we haven't struggled to find chow mein on the menu at most of the islands but a large part of the population at Uturoa or possibly the whole of Raiatea are Chinese, more so than the other islands. We actually treated ourselves to a Chinese meal out and it was delicious, so that was nice.

The east coast is completely open to the trade winds so we've been looking for places to hide. Our stop at Uturoa didn't last long as there wasn't much to see or do other than stock up from the supermarket. As I mentioned, we were anchored out in the channel which couldn't have been any more open to the wind so the anchor was well and truely tested before we moved to Raiatea's sister island, Tahaa. Not before stopping off at the Gendermerie to check whether Amy needed to go back to Tahiti to check out. Paul and myself checked out at Tahiti and gave a provisional date for leaving French Polynesia but obviosuly as Amy was flying home she would have checked out at the airport. We were advised not to visit the Gendermerie at Moorea as it was a little too close to Tahiti and they may just say she had to go back to check out. So we decided Raiatea was a safe distance away and paid the police a visit. They weren't at all worried and simply said to check out when we leave from Bora Bora. All that worrying for nothing!

Tahaa is quieter and even lusher than Raiatea. It is little known by tourist operators and accessible only by boat. A coast road encircles most of the island but traffic is very light and there is no public transport. Vanilla cultivation and pearl farming dominate the island's economy. The main tourist attraction is the string of beautiful motu along the northern reef edge. Tahaa's easily navigable lagoon and safe yacht anchorages make it a favourite for visiting yachts. So, we made our way inside the lagoon to Haamene Bay to try and escape the wind. We chose this anchorage as the guide book states that "Baie Haamene is so secure that it is considered a hurricane hole". That quote was a little misleading as it turned out that the wind blew straight into the 3 mile deep bay, we were anchored right at the end trying to hide and there was still 20 plus knots blowing through.

In the morning we moved up to the Hibiscus Hotel which is located just inside the bay. We had read that there was a turtle sanctuary at the hotel that nurses turtles until they are fit to be set free again so we picked up a mooring buoy and made our way to shore in the choppy seas to check it out. We hadn't planned on being too long as we were going to make our way to the the other side of the island to try and find shelter. One bonus is that the rain seems to have subsided at long last! What happened next was truely spectacular, so much so that I'm going to dedicate a separate blog for the story, so check out the next blog if you want to know more!!