We finally found a decent internet connection today and spent over three hours uploading pictures. We would have spent more time since we only updated through May 5th, but the battery in the computer died. We might be able to go back tomorrow morning and finish since our next leg requires that we leave in the afternoon for an early morning arrival after about three to three and a half days (depending on wind). It’s not just us. Everyone we’ve met has been frustrated by the lack of connectivity in French Poly. It’s the good news/bad news syndrome. One the one hand it’s great that it’s so primitive and therefore relaxing, but on the other hand we want to share the pictures from the adventure and the internet that is here is usually only capable of the barest of text connections. Think early 1990s AOL.

The photos we managed to upload barely do the beauty of this place justice. On some of them it’s worth it to “click” to see it a bit bigger, but it’s so hard to capture the beauty and grandeur here. It’s all so “big”. You put on the wide angle lens to bring it all in and the steepness and height disappears. And the colors are phenomenal, buy the light is so bright, the contrast is hard to impossible to control except mere minutes before sunrise and after sunset. In any case, we hope you enjoy seeing some of what we’ve been doing.

Not much else to report today, we’re getting antsy to get going again. We would have been to the Tuamotus by now if the broken alternator had not put us in here during a holiday weekend (we still don’t know what holiday they celebrated) where we couldn’t supply or refuel.

Hopefully tomorrow night will find us blogging from sea again, so we’ll see you then.

P.S. A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHOUT-OUT TO MY DAUGHTER KELLY WHO IS TURNING 21 TOMORROW! Wish I were there to help celebrate, but I know she’s got some great plans with both family and friends. So Happy Birthday Kelly. For anyone who reads this who knows her, please tell her the same! Thanks!!