We spend the weekend of July 14th in Tahaa, a small island north of Raiatea, one night off Motu Tau Tau to enjoy snorkeling in the beautiful coral garden, then a night in the quieter Bay of Hurepiti. We attend the very colorful Sunday mass with Polynesian songs and welcoming smiles. We return to Raiatea on Sunday evening hoping to see the fireworks, which in fact don’t happen this year. Perrine also has a medical appointment for the follow-up of her new pregnancy — we’re expecting a third deckhand for the month of January! Departure on Monday evening for Maupiti, 50 miles downwind at night with the full moon to light our way. After an hour, we decide to set the whisker pole, but the fitting fixed to the mast track breaks and Damien ends up catching the pole on the nose, paying for it with a stitch in his temple… The rest of the passage is pleasant and we even have to shorten sail so as not to arrive before dawn at the notoriously difficult Maupiti pass. We anchor for breakfast off the peaceful village of Vaiea in the island’s magnificent lagoon. Hikes, bike rides, runs, snorkeling with manta rays, Heiva evenings, kite-surfing lessons for Nina and Diane, and a fine troupe of children to play with the kids from the sailboats Vanille, Ambrym, and Mektoub — all on their way to Nouméa! A real crush on Maupiti, where we stay almost a week. After informing the town hall of our departure for Mopelia, a small atoll 100 miles to the West, very poorly served, we take on board Rio, who is heading back for the copra harvest, along with plenty of provisions for the twenty or so inhabitants of the small island. A service for which we are warmly thanked on our arrival — what a welcome! We are invited to share the meals of the island’s different families almost every day and always leave with our hands full of the day’s catch (red mullet, trevally, spiny lobsters, coconut crabs…). We are even invited to the picnic on motu Tavae, where many noddies, tropicbirds and boobies nest. The men go off to fish while the women and children gather the eggs, light the fire, and learn to weave plates from coconut leaves for lunch! More than a week in this little corner of paradise before continuing West, bound for Suwarrow, a national park belonging to the Cook Islands 560 miles away. We arrive on Sunday, August 4th in the late afternoon after a smooth downwind passage! The only small motu where landing is allowed is inhabited 6 months a year by 2 rangers, its only inhabitants. The fishing ban makes snorkeling far more interesting, with much bigger and less shy fish. 2 peaceful days and nights before continuing on to Wallis and Futuna! We plan to leave tomorrow, with the trade winds still steady to cover the 700 miles on the program. We hope to find a good enough connection on arrival to post a few photos!