Brighton World Naked Bike Ride.

Getting up early, Paul and I set off for Brighton in the hope of finding a Halfords shop so that we could get Paul's bicycle tyre fixed or replaced before we headed on to the world naked bike ride (WNBR).  After going around in circles we found Halfords - the shop had moved.  We offloaded Paul's bicycle and took it inside where one of the bicycle technicians was able to look at it straight away and got the tyre off.  He replaced it instead of repairing it.  Putting the new tyre back on fairly quick but putting the wheel itself, back on, was a bit of a nightmare and the poor chap struggled a bit.  He ended up having to get some help from his colleagues but eventually it was put back on.

We found a parking spot and cycled our way to the start point of the WNBR.  In an enclosed area of a park people were either getting painted or dressing up in 'fancy dress' outfits.  There was a good jovial atmosphere amongst the participants.  Once again we bumped into some people who attended the Amsterdam body painting day and a few who were at last year's naturist walks in Germany.  It was lovely to see them.

The ride itself, around Brighton, went well.  The weather was good and there were no hiccups along the way.  One lady was in a mobility wheelchair and was accompanied by 2 other women who cycled beside her.  Almost everyone who saw the WNBR group cycling through Brighton took in the 'sights' very well, even trying to take selfies of themselves with some participants as and when we stopped during the ride.   

At some stage we all stopped in a park where there was a small take-away kiosk selling, amongst other things, ice cream.  Should we or shouldn't we?  We caved in on the grounds that it was a nice sunny day.  By the time Paul got to the kiosk there was a long queue - it couldn't handle the crowd that had suddenly descended on them.  Paul eventually got us some ice cream - but only just in time for when the bike ride started rolling again.  So Paul and I had ice cream 'on the run'.  It was worth it though - delicious!

After winding its way through Brighton, the ride finished at a naturist beach, Black Rock.  There was a party afterwards but we didn't attend - we wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle for a bit of peace and quiet.  So, donning sarongs, we headed back to the car and then drove back to the campsite.  

All in all it was a great day.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My back is getting sunburnt and I've still got
yesterday's markings on my back from where the
sun tanned the areas around the paint.

Docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A walk along the waterfront.

View of Halifax, er the backside of another ship, from the
Maasdam's forward camera.

Paul was up during the wee hours of the morning because of the fog.  Fortunately for him, the clocks went forward 1 hour so his 'on the watch' time was cut short by an hour.  Although he didn't get much sleep, he was up and awake when the Maasdam docked in Halifax.  

It was a beautiful sunny day and, to me, the sun was a wonderful warm and welcoming sight.  Paul managed to get some time off the ship for a bit so we meandered along the waterfront.  Our aim was to go to the maritime museum but there was so much alterations going on around the waterfront that we decided not to go in.  There were small arts and craft stalls, food stalls, buskers - from guitar to violin and a piper, and on one of the piers there were hammocks for people to stretch on and relax.  On our way back to the ship Paul and I stopped off and got an ice cream from one of the stalls.  Maple syrup and pecan nut (yummy!) was one of the ice creams that we tried as we sat in the sun and watched life go by.  There were arts and craft stalls in the cruise terminal which we had a browse around before boarding the ship.

Our day was marred a bit because I was not feeling myself - just feeling very 'flat'.  I was also very tired and wanted to sleep so when we got back to the Maasdam I had a nap for 2 hours or so.  

A bit later on, after dinner, we are going to listen to one of the singers in the Crow's Nest.  It is her last night as a performer before her contract ends.  I think it is going to be a nice evening and we are doing something different for a change.

Our route to Sydney, Nova Scotia.

The Maasdam has set sail for Sydney and hopefully we will be able to dock this time.  Last time the wind was too strong, and with no tugboats to help her, the Maasdam had to turn around and head back out to sea.  Things are looking a bit more promising this time although mother nature can have a change in plans at any moment.

Farewell to Moorea.

This morning I could have murdered the rooster that woke me up at 4am.  I was so tired and wanted to sleep.  I knew we had to get up at a reasonable hour in order to tidy up our rented accommodation before we left but 4am, to me, is unreasonable....

During breakfast we fed the hen and her chicks one last time.  The previous day a bit of ham thrown to mum and her brood went down a treat but today a bit of leftover burger chicken didn't go down as enthusiastically as the ham.  This time the hen allowed other hens and roosters to come for a bite rather than chasing them off as usual.  We will miss our feathered friends.

On the way to the airport we made one last stop at an ice cream shop.  It became our favourite stop during our stay on the island and Sunday was the only day that we didn't go in case the shop was closed.  We said farewell to the ice cream shop owner whilst there, her smiling face turning a bit sad at the news that we were leaving.

At 1pm we boarded short flight to Papeete and were met at the small airport by a driver organised by Paul's company via the port agent.  On the way into the town centre it became apparent that we were being taken to the harbour.  There seemed that there was a misunderstanding about transport arrangements - our driver was told pick up Paul from the airport and take him to the harbour rather than a pre-arranged hotel.  The cruise ship only arrives late tonight or early tomorrow morning.  Paul ended up showing our driver the paperwork that he had, stating that the travel arrangements were from the airport to the hotel and then in the morning, at 9am, - hotel to the harbour.  She believed Paul after that.  Shame, it wasn't her fault.

Eventually we arrived at the Intercontinental Resort Tahiti (http://tahiti.intercontinental.com/), dropped our luggage off in the room and set off to explore the hotel and grounds.  The hotel/resort is beautiful.  I say no more.  We ended up going for a swim in one of the infinity pools and later on we got our mask, snorkel and fins and headed to the "lagoonarium" to do a bit of snorkelling.

We had dinner in one of the  hotel restaurants that looked out towards one of the swimming pools.  There was a bar next door that had live music which was pleasant to listen to as we had our meal.  The whole area was lit up when the sun went down and was very pretty.  The dining room staff encouraged us to stay for the show but we were tired and wanted to head to bed.

Tomorrow we join the Maasdam and Paul's work begins.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Mo'orea Airport (this was actually taken when we arrived on Mo'orea)

Pape'ete is somewhere down there.

Our luggage is being offloaded

 Intercontinental Resort Tahiti

 

 

Diving and island life.

Moorea Fun Dive dive sites

We did 2 dives on Saturday, back to back, with Moorea Fun Dive (http://www.moorea-fundive.com/en/).  The first being at 'Les Roses De Corail', second dive at 'Couloir des Raies' was in search of spotted rays but we didn't find them - they hang out in a particular channel because of the current but there was very little current on Saturday late morning.

Afterwards we drove along the coast and visited a market with arts and crafts but not much was happening.  It was lunch time so it wasn't busy and there were only a few stalls - v.  We also drove part way to Belvedere Lookout but from the other direction so we had a different view of the scenery.

After that we continued around the island and stopped at an ice cream shop. Yummy... Then onward to the house, stopping to get groceries on the way.

On Sunday we went to the beach and did a bit of snorkelling out near the edge of the reef; and then relaxed.  Paul read and I slept with the fan on full blast.

We have been disturbed by a rooster crowing during the wee hours of the morning - usually around 4am.  It is not a time for us humans to wake up even if he thinks the world needs to arise at the hour that he 'dictates'.  This morning I got up and went to the bedroom sliding door - and there he was, standing with his beak open and chest puffed up, ready to let rip full throttle again.  I told him, not very politely, to f@#! off.  Well, he did but started crowing either from next door or around the other side of the house 😠

Monday and today we did 4 more scuba, 2 dives back to back on both days, and they were very nice.  For those interested in diving, the sites were 'Eden Park', 'Rotui', 'Canyon' and ''La Virgule'.

The dives today had an unexpected 'twist' to the story.  There was a couple who were newly qualified divers (February this year) who had bought brand new diving gear but were clueless about it and they had also seemed to forgotten all they had learnt on their diving course.  They seemed to have egos with no sense.  The woman also had a fear of water/having her head under water.  (eh??!!)  Guests on either side of the boat were assigned a dive master who would join up with us in the water.  We were assigned to go with the newly qualified couple and a dive master.

There were many teething problems with the couple and in the end another dive master (Christian) got us to join his experienced group.  Just as well - the other couple didn't last long in the water and their dive was short.  Our dive at with Christian was about 46 minutes long and to a maximum depth of 25m.  My diving licence doesn't allow me to dive so deep but I was comfortable about it and as there were other very experienced divers, as well as the dive master and Paul.

 After a good surface interval during which time we had tea/coffee/water/biscuits we went to the next dive spot, 'La Virgule'.   The second dive went to about 20 metres for 57 minutes. Again we were 'invited' to join the other more experienced group - again the other couple weren't in the water for very long so we were glad we went with the other group.

Overall it was a nice day.  We saw 2 turtles, plenty of black tipped sharks and much more.  We weren't afraid of the sharks - they were curious, circling around us now and then but that was it.  Christian, our dive master, had a following of fish friends which was really sweet.  He didn't feed them at all, he was just surrounded by them, as if he was one of the shoal.  One fish even swam under Christian's belly and stayed there for ages.

During the dives today there were two very curious black tipped sharks which followed us and funnily enough they swam to where we were on the second dive site - their markings were very striking and one had a chunk taken out of its fin so we knew the sharks from the earlier dive.

Pre-booked dive packages (6, 10, etc., dives) work out much cheaper but we took each day as it came, not wanting to commit.  The owners of Moorea Fun Dive (Christian and Marie) took into consideration how many dives we had done with them, even though not a pre-booked package, and gave us a discount for our last dive.  It was kind of them and very unexpected.  Also each dive we did - they made sure it wasn't the same sites that we dived at.

On the topic of diving...  I'm quite a short woman - about 4ft 8in high.  Apart from the fact that diving

Dive finished, equipment rinsed off and people heading home

 tanks are heavy, most of them are quite long for my short body length (shoulders to bum).  Once the air tank is attached to the BCD (buoyancy control device) I invariably get helped to put the gear on because it is so heavy that I want to fall over backwards.  If I'm not helped, I am careful about how I sit the tank on the seat while putting on the BCD.  When it comes to trying to get onto the edge of the boat once again the weight on my back just about topples me over before I'm even ready.  I have to take into consideration that the tank is longer than my bum line so I have to heave myself up higher so that the tank clears the edge of the boat then I can lower myself onto the edge with the base of the tank hanging over the outside; and cling on to the ledge with my legs for dear life until I had my mask on my face and regulator in my mouth.  Generally Paul or one of the dive masters have had to help me onto the boat ledge properly so that I've not gone overboard before being ready.  (I've had shorter, dumpy, tanks and they are easier for me to work with but on these dives I've not been given a dumpy tank).  After our very first dive we did with Moorea Fun Dive, when we got to the shore, we  jumped to waist-high water and our was gear lowered over the side of the boat for us to carry it back to the office/gear point and rinse it off with salt water.  Unfortunately there were about 4 high-ish steps leading up from the beach to the office and I nearly fell over backwards going up the stairs.  Marie saw my predicament and rushed to help.  Since then one of the men in the diving group (either Paul or someone else) has been given my tank to carry (once detached from the BCD) and I've carried the BCD and octopus regulator.  I consider myself to be quite tough but sometimes I have to admit defeat.

Our time on Moorea is sadly coming to an end.  Tomorrow we fly back to Tahiti and will meet up with the Maasdam on Thursday.

VIDEOS

Paul goes overboard

Underwater

PHOTOGRAPHS

A bit of driving

Scuba diving

Can you see the fish?  It is so well camouflaged!

Dive master, Christian

Heading up to the surface