Our home for more than four months…I thought we will never leave! The local name is very appropriate, its very far away from everything and it’s a bit of heaven with extremely turquoise water and green mountains with waterfalls, amazingly beautiful! 
The capital is Uturea, the second biggest city in the Society Islands (the first is Papetee of course…). It consist of one main street, a commercial hub and this is the administrative headquarters for the Leewards Islands. You can find restaurants, snack bars, boutiques here, but don’t expect much... If you want to buy fresh veggies, or local crafts, pearls I suggest to visit the Uturoa public market, for provisioning the Champion supermarket and the only ATM machine is here also..Dont forget to have cash on you always as they very rarely accept cards... The local money is CFP (Pacific franc) and now 1$ was 85 CPF. And you should learn French at least the basic (or maori, if you wish…)
Our arrival in june wasn’t how we have planned..On the way from Penhryn not far from Raiatea thanks to the squalls and lots of miles sailing upwind in the past we have lost the mast. 
As our diesel level was low we had to call for help, one of our friend who was already waiting for us arranged a diesel delivery by a French Navy boat (Merci beaucoup!), and made it possible to motor till the Apooiti Marina, the base of the Moorings Yacht Charters and not too far from the Carrenage, the best boatyard to do repairs on the Society Islands (after Tahiti, of course).
The same day we met Dominique Gouche the boss of the Carrenage and by the way a very important person in City Hall responsible for the police, fire department and power sources. He is a very nice person, very helpful but don’t forget if you want to do repairs, they are on island time here also!! As we didn’t speak French he arranged a teacher for us, his mother, Claudine, who is 77 years old and all her life has been a sailor – believe or not she is still teaching navigation and sailing! She has been places like we did and got dismasted too, and had 3 kids raised on board doing charters meanwhile, amazing stories... It was kind of expensive like everything else in French Polynesia but don’t even try to compare the prices to the States nor Europe, you save some tears for yourself...
The first Saturday we walked to town to look for a pub, have a few drinks and meet with locals, but we found the city dead... Nobody was on the streets, everything was closed. The only local disco, Le Zenith has been shut by our new friend, Dominique because of some trouble the locals made (as I mentioned before, they don’t really drink, there is a reason why…) So we realized very fast we have to found other activities here than barhopping... The best place we found to have a drink and a decent dinner was the Raiatea Lodge (www.raiateahotel.com) owned by Oliver a funny French guy – he has book swaps too and internet if you buy at least a coffee. And the best duck I had in my life! Pricy but worth it at least once.
So our second best option to pass time till the mast and sails, riggings etc. will arrive were the outdoor activities, first of all diving! This was the first time since we have installed the onboard compressor and got some tanks to enjoy the advantages of them. We dove almost every day, taking amazing pictures. My favorite side was the one with blacktip reefsharks just outside of the reef, in front of the Carrenage boatyard.
That boatyard is a very popular stop in the circumnavigators as there is a little chance you wont have anything to repair on the way (again, be ready its not cheap but you don’t have any other option do you?) and its also a good place to meet other sailors sharing the same passion to sail around the world, 
like Larry and Kim (www.svmagenta.com) on Magenta, Jan and Rich on Slip Away (www.SlipAway.net) or doctor Robert Watson (www.changingspots.net) with who we had some fun onboard nights with dancing and red wine included :) I was kind of sad when I saw him and everybody else leaving as the cyclonseason was arriving upon us – but we still didn’t have the mast on. So long, Dr. Watson, hope to sail with you one day! So again we had to find other options to entertain ourselves so we went around the island, motoring. Raiatea has the only navigable river in French Polynesia – the Faaroa. We took our dinghy first to explore hoping to get deep in the rainforest, but as it was the dry season, the river got shallow fast... No problem (aita pe’ape’a as we heard lot of times...) we have a kayak, so we kayaked up till we could, very nice – it’s a must once you are in Raiatea! The same with climbing the Mt. Tapioi (294m), but be careful, wait for a cloudy, windy day to do it, its not an easy walk but the view worth every drop of your sweat, breathtaking!! 
I have to say the best view you can get is from an airplane, as Captain Tamas took lessons from a local flying club on a small two seater, from a very funny guy, instructor and expilot Louis, 70 years old and looking for a wife. One day I had a chance to go too for an hour, unbelievable colors of the reefs, it was amazing! You can see the pictures in our photo gallery.
Not long after our arrival was the Heiva festival “The Celebration of Life” - it takes place more than 125 years every July, and also a must, if you want to know more about the traditions in French Polynesia! Music, dancing, singing and sporting events have always held an important place in Polynesian communities, in ancient times, they were essential components of religious and political ceremonies. 
Dance was one of the most sophisticated and ritualized art forms performed in groups or individually. More than just a simple festival, Heiva I Tahiti has become the symbol of the Polynesian culture and an iconic event for a people proud of their heritage.
The dances are unique creations, for which the dancers train for six months or more. Text music, choreography and costumes are based on a historical or legendary theme. Live music and singing accompany the dancers. Since its creation, the Heiva I Tahiti, has also been a showcase for traditional sports and games. The traditional sporting events are based on ancient athletic activities and include; a stone lifting competition, a javelin- throwing event, outrigger canoe races, a copra preparing competition, and a fruit carrying competition.
The same day of our leaving to Tonga was the opening day of the world famous outrigger competition, Hawaiki Nui Va’a. It started in 1983, when Edouard Maamaatuaiahutapu gave birth to a race connect the islands of Huahine, Raiatea, Tahaa, Bora Bora and later on Tahiti. It’s a 4 day festival, with lots of eating, partying and of course kayaking – next time we will definitely stay!
Just a note: this year in the end of October on one of the island of the Marquesas a local ate a German sailor…So I am kind of happy to set sail to Tonga and than New Zealand instead of the Marquesas, although I will miss out on the Tuamotus, the best diving on earth (but not much else to do...), well hope to see you in the next round!
Once again, Mauru’uru for everything, Raiatea!
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