On our last day in Rangiroa Kirsten, Alyssa and Teyauna were invited to a Relief Society Tahitian Song and Dance rehearsal. The ladies of this local organization are preparing a mini-Heiva. Heiva is a large music and dance festival in Tahiti in July and the local residents are planning a mini version for the island. They had a enjoyable time learning some of the cultural songs and dances of the islands and indicated that it was a really good replacement workout as they had missed out on Jaeden’s P90X workout in the morning.

While they were dancing I went with my friend William who was kind enough to drive me into Avatoru again to get some gas for our dingy. This past weekend we used the dingy so much zipping across the pass, doing drift snorkeling and swimming with dolphins that we used up our entire reserve of fuel on the dingy in four days. I had wanted to take the kids swimming with the dolphins again today but by the time we got back to the boat it was already 1pm and the optimal time to exit the pass was 2 to 3 pm as the tides were shifting.

As a result we had to say goodbye to Juanita and William who were so kind and helpful to us while we were on Rangiroa. It was a sad goodbye yet happy that we have kindled a new friendship with some incredible people with a strong faith and determination.

We pulled up anchor around 2:30 pm. It was hard to move on. Rangiroa has so many wonderful memories for our family now in the two different times we have visited. Not only is the blue lagoon paradise so incredible and pleasing to look at, but the people are of a sincere and humble nature that makes you want to just be a better person yourself. As we pulled out of Tiputa pass in slack tide the waves were starting to roll in pretty strong. We hit some 10 foot swells as we exited which was nothing compared to what one can experience if they don’t properly time their exit from Rangiroa. Rangiroa is so large however that it won’t be until around midnight that we will round the channel of where this island looks out to Tikehau and say goodbye for good as we move toward Tahiti. As one chapter in our voyage comes to a close more are about to be opened up to us.