Hey folks. I’m back in town after a week and a half sailing around French Polynesia’s Leeward Islands. And aside from a couple of hours of choppy sailing and a bout of seasickness that I thought might never end, the trip was truly awesome: eating lots and lots of fresh papaya … swimming around in giant bathtub lagoons off wild specks of far flung land … spotting dolphins … ogling tikis … contemplating all the many different shades of blue … I had a bona fide blast in the tropical breeze.
Commissioned by City AM, I was in the South Pacific to cover the Tahiti Pearl Regatta – and, to be sure, I’ll post a heads up here on the blog when that piece gets published. Island hopping with a bunch of yachtsmen and women from all over the globe revealed a whole new world of possibilities to a landlubber like me. I’d never really been sailing before – only a few hours excursion before this opportunity. I loved it.
I spent most of my time on the “media boat” (a hired catamaran from Tahiti Yacht Charter with a cool captain and lovely hostess), but when I wasn’t at sea I was lounging at the Intercontinental Resort Tahiti. Lush. Scenic. Luxurious. Yearningly returnable. My first night at the resort was in an over-the-water bungalow (yeah, one of those!), giggling at my good fortune and being lulled to sleep by the sound of lapping waves just a few feet beneath my massive bed (replete with its own “pillow menu”).
French Polynesia is a long way away, but honestly I think that is much of its appeal. I was somewhere else, not expediently reached or easily cancelled out. I was having an adventure. Tahiti and her islands would make an ideal honeymoon destination, a great place for getting-away-from-it-all, and a smart location for reconnecting with whomever in your life you feel you’ve drifted too far away from. It certainly was an idyllic setting for a regatta and a much appreciated spot to visit on commission.
Anyway, keep a weather eye out for more stories from my experience with the Tahiti Pearl Regatta. Until then, you can see all my photos from the trip here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tikichris/sets/72157633494126905/
For more information on Tahiti and her islands visit www.tahiti-tourisme.co.uk.
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