June 29, 2012

Journal notes:

• Farewell, Eric
• The bus stop beggar
• The bus ride (and subsequent hike) to the zoo
• Leaving New Caledonia

Pictures:

Peacock

Peacock

Peacock

White-throated pigeon

Barn owl

Pacific flying fox
It's a fruit bat, and thus has no echolocation

Parakeets and budgerigars (budgees)

Short-billed Corella

Eclectus parrot

Sulphur-crested cockatoo
They are quite common in northern Australia, and are terribly noisy when you're trying to sleep in a tent.

Wrinkled hornbill

Royal parrot

Galah
I thought this was something special until I drove through central Australia.
They are everywhere, and in huge flocks.

Rainbow lorikeet

Peregrine Falcon.
The fastest animal in the world, it divebombs its prey from above, reaching speeds in excess of 200mph

Kagu.  It is native to New Caledonia and is listed as an endangered species

Farm animals - goat and deer

A better shot of the deer

Spiders in the trees above the walkway

These protest signs were hung on the way back to the shipyard.  Although the island is no longer a French colony, I believe there may still be some discrimination against the native population.

June 28, 2012

Journal summary:

• Noumea, New Caledonia
• Noumea Museum
• St. Joseph's Cathedral
• La Table
• Tjibaou Cultural Center
• Olympic Celebration
• I finally get my hammock

Pictures:

Tjibaou Cultural Center

Jean-Marie Tjibaou

June 27, 2012

I wake at 0530 to discover I've made it to the bed okay.  From the taste in my mouth, it seems the rum decided to make a second appearance last night.  I'm glad I don't remember it.  I brush my teeth and then crawl back into the bed, tossing and turning and maybe half sleeping, until around 1030.  Giving up, I shower and dress, brushing my teeth again for good measure.

The rest of the day is pretty much a blur.  I feel much better after lunch, but still very tired. I sit out on the deck for a while, before being driven inside by a light rain shower.  I study the Noumea information some more before dinner.  After dinner, I do a bit of programming before going to bed.  Nothing particularly remarkable.

June 26, 2012

Journal notes:

• Noumea in two days.  We will have a shore crane this time
• I make sweet tea for the first time since leaving the South
• I discover the red binder with tourist maps.  Gee, that might have been useful to know about.
• The second engineer's stories
• "Sarah"
• The Romanian seaman, buying toys for his children
• The Romanian seaman's unplanned family reunion in Brazil
• Bounty rum - good stuff
• This entry has some explicit language in it.  If you wish to read it, but without the swearing, you have some options, depending on your browser:
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• This entry also has some "sailors' stories," which some may find inappropriate.  I have included them in the interest of providing an accurate depiction of life at sea.

June 25, 2012

Summary:

• Lautoka by day, not quite so bad
• Searching in vain for a hammock
• Poor Eric

Pictures:

Fishing boat - maybe Chinese?

Harvey and the Harvey Fresh sign

Yarrrrr

Lautoka waterfront

The market

June 24, 2012

Journal notes:

• The crane is still broken
• We arrive in Lautoka
• Eric and I go exploring, and are disappointed at what we see

Pictures:

Sunset outside Lautoka

Lautoka harbor

June 22, 2012

Journal notes:

• The crane is still broken
• We pass Bu Island
• Dinner discussion of home ownership, and Harvey's cottage
• Talking with the crew on the bridge

Pictures:

Bu Island

Reeferman

Electrician, chief engineer, and reeferman

It's a long way from the top of the crane to the deck,
and there are wind and waves to deal with.

June 21, 2012

Journal notes:

• I don't like the lounge chair
• One of the cranes is broken
• Getting to know the captain

Pictures:

Chief Engineer and Electrician working on the #2 crane

June 20, 2012

Journal notes:

• New schedule for our arrival in Fiji
• There be whales here!
• Frog legs for dinner?

June 19, 2012

Very sore today.  I popped the blisters on my heels from yesterday, drained them, and applied Neosporin.  I slept all day, except for taking pictures of our departure from Tahiti, and lunch and dinner.  I could barely walk due to the pain in my feet and legs.  At dinner, Harvey said we have 5 days to Fiji (counting the one day we lose when we cross the International Date Line).  I am glad.  Hopefully, my feet will be recovered by then.

It turns out that Eric is not a photojournalist, as I had originally suspected, but is also in the financial sector.  His company, he explained, is responsible for issuing new bank notes to French departments (territories) and taking home the old, worn out notes to be destroyed.  He told us a story at dinner about a man who had worked for the company some years ago.  Rather than destroying the old notes, the man laundered them by buying lottery tickets.  He made off with a large sum of money before he was finally caught and sent to prison.

Pictures:

Papeete

Smoooooooooooooch

Faa'a International Airport

Seaweed

Grounded sailboat

Ferry returning from Mo'orea

Mo'orea

Tahiti

Mo'orea