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Bora Bora, French Polynesia
I think I have hit the wall.
It is getting harder and harder,
bordering at times on the impossible, to write these journal
entries. I guess I am sort of burned out. Or maybe it is just
memory overload. Gosh! We have been in so many places, seen
so many things, said "Hello" and "Thank You" in so many different
languages, converted so many different currencies…whew! I
know, I know, what you are thinking; "Oh, poor, poor baby.
Complaining?! After this trip-of-a-lifetime?! You've got to
be kidding! Grow up!"
Yes, you're right. I have no
basis for true complaint. But can't I just unload a little
on you, faithful readers? Cut me a little slack; I need it.
So, where were we? Oh yeah. Bora
Bora. As you've read, we arrived there after dark following
a very long day of flying. The next day, Tuesday, December
18, we arose after a night of dead-to-the-world sleeping in
our garden view room. Although all of the rooms at our hotel,
the Sofitel Marara, are lovely bungalows, we realized that
ours, being in about the third row away from the beach, hemmed
in by palm trees, was not where we wanted to be. After breakfast
in the main building, under its huge thatched roof, we looked
around the grounds and decided that it would be worth it to
upgrade into one of the bungalows mounted on pilings out over
the water. Remember our new name? "World Flight 2001 - The
Rain Maker?" Yes, again the rain is following us. Because
of that and also how tired we are, we realize that most of
our stay on Bora Bora will be spent in our room, sleeping,
reading, and writing these @#$% journals. Why not at least
spend the time in a room that we really like? So, yes, we
arranged for the move and were very happy that we did.
Since it did rain a lot and since
we had lots of journal writing to do, the great bulk of our
time was spent in Room #61. By the way, this room was about
the farthest possible room from the dining/reception area.
We got our exercise merely walking to and from meals! Our
room had a deck looking out oo the lagoon and included a set
of wooden steps right down into the water. On the first day
there, I donned the mask and snorkel that was provided in
the room and entered the water right from our bungalow. The
water temperature was nice, but not as nice as in Fiji or
Cairns. The snorkeling was good, but not nearly as
good as on the Great Barrier Reef off of Cairns.
The humidity? Wow! My swim suit
never really did dry out after that one swim, even though
it was being aired on the deck for three days!
We had asked Universal Aviation
to keep an eye on the winds between Tahiti and Hawaii and
to let us know if any particular day looked great for our
next long legs. If so, we would be willing to leave earlier
than planned. In light of this, Pat and Ashley invited Pam
and me to a "last meal together" dinner at their lovely hotel,
the Hotel Bora Bora, for Tuesday night instead of Wednesday,
in case we decided to leave early.
Pam and I took a taxi to their
hotel and met them in the bar at about 6:00 p.m., to enjoy
the sunset. But wait. Sunset? What's that? We haven't seen
a good one in a long time because of our rain-making prowess,
and this night was no exception. Of course, it got dark. But
sunset? Nah. Not really.
The meal was delicious in their
lovely, tropical, dining room setting: Open air with thatched
roof and huge chandelier made of shells, with a ukulele trio
playing in the background. Actually, it was kinda in the foreground.
I commented that this music, for one night or two, was great.
But a steady diet of it? No thanks!
All of us were filled with deep
feelings on this night. Although World Flight 2001 had a sizeable
distance yet to go, most of our trip was behind us and, because
P & A would be staying on Lanai in Hawaii while Pam and I
would be in Honolulu - coordinating on the installation of
the ferry fuel tanking system - this would probably be our
last dinner as a foursome. My words felt very inadequate to
express to our employers and friends what an honor and blessing
it has been for them to select and use Pam and me as their
crew during this awesome adventure. Using Pat's Lafitte Rothschild
wine as a medium for toasting, we clinked our glasses as I
offered a toast that went something like this:
"We have learned many new things
during our world flight adventure together, and one of the
things we have learned is the power of dreams. The Aboriginal
people of Australia refer to the Dreamtime, predating human
history, when their gods brought life to earth. Dreams have
been powerful motivators for men of all ages, from Alexander
the Great to Captain James Cook to Neil Armstrong, to others.
Like most of us, Pat Gallagher had a dream. A dream to fly
around the world in his own airplane. But, unlike most of
us, he also had the strength of will, like Alexander and
Cook and Armstrong, to make it happen. That we, Pam and
I, have been able to participate in making this dream come
true is a miracle and blessing for which we will always
be extremely grateful. Here's to you, our dear Pat, and
to the power of your dream. Thank you for letting us share
it with you!"
The next day, Wednesday, was
again spotted with rain. In fact, Tuesday night was so windy
and stormy in our thatched-roof bungalow that Pam had trouble
sleeping. Nevertheless, it was a fine day for more relaxation
and journal writing in the room above the lagoon. After lunch,
we took the hotel's shuttle bus to the main village on the
island, Vaitape, because we heard that there was an internet
café there and Pam and I were having "E-mail withdrawal."
Sure enough, through the drizzly rain, we found the place
and were able to log on to Compuserve and AOL to see what
we had been missing. Thanks to all of you who write us. It
means a lot!
Thursday was another day of lounging
around the Sofitel Marara before catching a 1:30 p.m. shuttle
bus into Vaitape that connected with the 2:10 p.m. shuttle
boat back to the airport. We had decided that it made sense
to return to Tahiti now, instead of trying to cram too many
stops into an already long day of scheduled flying on Friday.
Even though it meant one more pack-and-unpack day, it was
well worth it in the overall scheme of things. As you know,
Pam and I have been wearing pilot uniforms for most of our
international flying - it really makes it easier to get through
airports and the security concerns - but being in white shirt
and black pants in the heat and humidity of the tropics is
not the most pleasant thing I have ever worn.
At the airport, Air Tahiti is
our on-site handling agent and they are helpful and rather
casual. Get out to the ramp? No problem! Just walk through
the baggage claim area, don't worry about security. As we
prepare the airplane for departure, a large, belligerent crab
- Was he one of the same group that welcomed us to Bora Bora?
- kept nuzzling up to our luggage, like it wanted to hitch
a ride.
Pat and Ashley arrive and we
are soon airborne, with Pam flying the short hop back to the
main island, Tahiti. IFR, clouds, not a whole lot to see.
We had hopes of circling Bora Bora and seeing an aerial view
of this gorgeous island that is totally surrounded by a huge
lagoon, but it was not to be, not with today's weather.
Back at Faaa - that's the little
town where the airport sits on Tahiti - Rick, another great
Air Tahiti agent, gets P & A off to the hotel quickly while
Pam and I stay around to oversee fueling and to check out
a couple of airplane items. In an attempt to restore heading
information to our Stormscope information before we departed
from Bora Bora (it had been gone since our compass problem
cropped up), I made some other functions of the Avidyne Multifunction
Display even worse. Dang! However, after three or four trial-and-error
attempts, I finally hit upon the correct combinations of settings
and all MFD functions are restored perfectly. Wish it were
the same with the autopilot!
Remember the "little" glitch
that cropped up a few legs ago with the autopilot, how the
pitch command control would work only in the down, not up,
position? And how the AP had disconnected during the descent
into Bora Bora whenever I tried the down position of this
switch? Well, the problem didn't cure itself. Just the opposite.
It has gotten worse, and now, whenever we engage the AP, it
wants to keep pitching up, up, up. It appears that the pitch
command switch has failed with a permanent "Up" command in
it.
At the airport on Tahiti, before
heading off to the hotel, I verify this. I can hear a distinct
"click" inside the switch when I move it to the Down position,
but there is no click when I move it to the Up position. I
disconnect the dzeus fasteners and remove the control from
the pedestal, even take off its cover plate, but it is quickly
apparent that any attempt at repair is well beyond my capability.
The bundle of wires leaving the cannon plug is too big to
make any educated attempt at finding the shorted one and disconnecting
it. The bottom line? We will have no autopilot tomorrow for
our long legs to Hawaii. We are going to earn our pay as pilots,
not mere autopilot operators.
Pam and I finally leave the airport
and catch a taxi for a short, ten minute ride to the Sofital
Maeva Beach hotel where both couples are staying. Pam picked
it because it is close to the airport and because our hotel
on Bora Bora was a member of the same chain and could make
easy reservations. It is a fine spot, and we have a room on
an upper floor, room number 734, with a great view of the
ocean and the hotel's swimming pool below.
After a quick dinner in the thatched
roof (again) restaurant downstairs, we hit the bed early to
rest up, as best we can, for our long, autopilot-less flights
tomorrow. The flight planning and weather fax from Universal
shows that forecast winds will allow us to leave on schedule…a
headwind, but not too strong. We plan for a 7:00 a.m. takeoff
and agree to meet P & A at 6:00 in the lobby.
Tahiti? Bora Bora? Great places.
Although English is understood everywhere, it is obvious that
French is the colonial culture. For the tropics, give me Cairns.
Better yet, give me Hawaii. But could I recommend French Polynesia?
Without reservation! Just don't plan to be there when "The
Rain Maker" is in the area! …
Ahhh! Just right! |
Bora Bora Activity Center |
Check-Out Day |
Sofitel Marara Hotel |
Take me away with you! |
The Little Tower that Could! |
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