Hi
from Clare, 7-2017 The Final Night of Heiva Monday 31st July 2017
DANCE
THE NIGHT AWAY
As
mentioned in our last Blog, we had tickets for Saturday night, the
last dance concert of the Heiva Festival 2017. We saw four dance
performances, that is the second and third place winners in two
different categories. Each performance lasted one hour and all four
were excellent. I managed to sneak a few photos for you but it was
difficult to photograph the moving dancers without blurring.
The
Friday evening concert showcased the first place dance winners and
the first place singing winners in both categories. As luck would
have it we saw the winning dance troupe competing on the first night
we attended a concert. We came away that night thinking surely they
would win. We had no way of knowing the standard, all we were
acknowledging was their excellence.
We
didn’t attend the Sports Day but some of our friends said the
javelin throwing was terrific. The target was a coconut some distance
away up on a pole and the coconut was banded like a dart board. The
bulls eye was the top of the coconut. They also had a stone lifting
competition and the winner lifted 160 kilos. My friend said he
lifted it up onto his shoulders without problems. She also commented
that his muscley body was a very nice bit of Eye Candy.
So
the Heiva Festival has been a wonderful experience for us. We are
grateful to have had the opportunity to see the Polynesian people
celebrating their Maohi culture. They are gifted with a wonderful
sense of rhythm and theatre. Much to our disappointment the nightly
drumming practice in the anchorage has stopped, all is quiet. Elvis
has left the building, so to speak. However early next year they
will start practising again to achieve excellence for the 136th
Heiva Festival in July.
BACK
TO REALITY
So
hopefully today is Andrew’s last dental appointment to have his
crown fitted to a back tooth on his right lower jaw. Last week after
the temporary was fitted Andrew was experiencing pain on the left
side of his face. He emailed the dentist who saw him that day during
her lunch hour. She x Rayed the left side of his face, determined
that there was nothing wrong with his teeth and said he most probably
had an infection in his sinus. She then gave Andrew a script for an
antibiotic which has fixed the problem. This emergency consultation
including the x Ray cost $50; pretty impressive.
THE
ROAD LESS TRAVELLED
The
dentist is situated in the city of Papeete and we are anchored some
five miles away at the Tahiti Yacht Club. We can go to the city by
dinghy if the water is not too rough. A few weeks ago I was wearing
a pedometer on one such trip. The dinghy was bouncing up and down
and by the end of the trip according to my pedometer I had walked
eight thousand steps. However today, because the water is rough,
Andrew has borrowed a bicycle from our Aussie mate Roger on Ednbal.
He did the same last week and said he only got yelled at once by
another cyclist sharing the same footpath. The roadway is far too
hectic, they don’t have many traffic lights but plenty of
pedestrian crossings. The motorists are very good and put their
hazard lights on to acknowledge that you are entering the crossing
and that they will stop. In the beginning for us it was a leap of
faith but it works well and with must less interruption to the
traffic flow. The public bus is another story, it has no timetable.
It arrives when it arrives and leaves the terminus when it is full.
You may wait five minutes but you may wait half an hour. There are
no buses Saturday afternoon, Sunday or any day after dark. This
sounds like a very laid back Polynesian approach to me:).
SO
WHAT’S NEXT
We
have a pot luck dinner ashore tonight with the other boats in the
anchorage. It has been quite windy for the past two days and so most
of us have stayed on our boats. It will be nice to go ashore and
have a bit of a break.
As
soon as the winds drops we will set off to Moorea and explore the
eastern end of the island. We are looking forward to getting away
from the city and finding a peaceful bay. We are all primed and
ready to polish the boat. All we need is no interruptions.
Love
Candy xx
