we get around

So Ardea is still anchored in Cook's Bay in Mo'orea, and she'll be there until the 18th or so when el capitán Connor returns from his trip back home in the states. I can't say that I mind staying in one anchorage for so long though, it has really proven to be a blessing. I have met so many new friends here in Cook's bay that I'm sure leaving will be hard.

Taylor and I went back to Tama tattoo, the shop where he got his wonderful piece of art, to give the artist a few beers and to show him the music of Sound Tribe Sector 9, which is now permanently represented on Taylor's back. There, we ran into another cruiser named Steve who's on s/v Sprit Guide; a 53' Amel.  Steve was getting a tattoo done as well,  and since I was there, he had me translate for him so that he could get exactly what he wanted: a shark inside a turtle representing the fact that he is now a shellback (he's traveled across the equator). We left him to get his painful tattoo and ended up meeting back up with him at the dinghy dock with his captain, Captain Billy. We got some beers with them both and captain Billy convinced us to come over to Spirit Guide the next day for some "pain killers." Don't worry y'all, I'm not doing heavy drugs. A pain killer is a type of drink, usually made in the Caribbean. Ingredient are: Pusser's rum, pineapple juice, coconut milk, mango juice and to top it off, freshly ground  nutmeg. Captain Billy made them stiff and we quickly went through a whole bottle of rum. He's very good at convincing, and he had us come back the following day to do some work for him since he's heading to the island of Ra'iatea to put the boat on the hard. We happily obliged and did a half days work for him, and found ourselves 100 american dollars richer. Woo! Enough to pay for beer for the next week. I'm seriously missing Rainier right now. Hey Gus, send me some!

Last night we took Steve over to the infamous Pétanque arena. Walking in my warning words were "you're going to be exhausted by the end of the night." I said this because I've been to the Pétanque party three times now and each time, I find myself inundated by the locals who speak minimal if any english, and french with a tahitian accent. Speaking French, I get exhausted trying to hold a conversation with the wonderful people of Mo'orea, I can only imagine what it's like for my friends who don't speak French. For me, it's entertaining to say the least...