We have several places that we love. We particularly like lonely anchorages, places where you will have a difficult time visiting unless you have a boat. At sea during long passages, we only have the clouds, the sea and some wildlife as companions.

French Polynesia - This is a wonderful area - white sand, French speaking Polynesians, several islands and atolls, Bastille Day celebrations and sexy Tahitians. It was a memorable experience for us because it was the first country to visit after crossing the Pacific Ocean from Mexico. This passage took us 22 days, crossing the equator to the South Pacific.

Suwarrow is one of the northern islands of Cooks. There are only 2 people living there who serve as "Port officials" and caretakers of this marine and wildlife reserve. The time we were there, there was a record number of over 20 boats at one time. The caretakers took us to the outer island to catch coconut crabs. This island is a nesting ground for birds. Our dogs just went crazy over them!

Vava'u in the Kingdom of Tonga is also another favourite cruising ground. There are several islands to visit, with names that are difficult to pronounce. Several expats have stayed and opened businesses there to cater to the cruising community and have wisely named the islands by numbers. Tongans are wonderful singers and the church is a must visit to hear them sing (without musical instruments).

Our favourite country - Western Samoa. Fairly recently, Samoa was given their independence by the British. We were impressed with their pride of their country. Each morning, you will hear the band marching and playing their national anthem while raising the flag. While it is a poor country, it is very clean. People cleaning and sweeping the yards and streets is a common sight. Cruisers are allowed tax free on diesel, cigarettes and booze before leaving the country. I must say that this was the cheapest diesel, wine, beer and cigarettes in our whole trip.

Seafood is plentiful. When we are anchored, it is common for the locals to approach us in their dugout canoes or boats to offer us fish, lobsters or fruits. Normally they do not want money for them, but trade them for clothes, videos, fishing supplies, ropes, etc.

Hover your mouse on the pictures above for explanations. Do visit our gallery - I have loaded some of our pictures in there.