Fifteen people on a boat for a week. How does that work? 

See the three long horizontal black windows along the hull? Those are the guest cabins, three in each hull. 

I spend a lot of time on the bridge for the best views and breezes. I was already on the verge of queasy as we sailed the heaving South Pacific from Bora Bora to Raiatea when they served a lunch of oiled raw fish, couscous, and kale salad.  One look was all it took to send me scampering back up to the bridge without an appetite, Irene not far behind me.

The built-in chaise lounge behind the table is a favorite reading spot, but also where Miti sleeps. We’re all jealous since it is probably the coolest spot on the boat as we stifle away in our cabins belowdecks at night.

Amazingly, we all fit! It seems there is plenty of room to spread out, or gather in groups to chat. Everyone is polite, good natured, and social; important when you have to spend a week living in relatively close quarters.

However, about a half to a third of the time we are not on the boat. We’re snorkeling, swimming, enjoying a beach, going on a tour, visiting a village, and what not. 

There is a rhythm to our days:
6:30 Awake (sunrise)
7:00 Breakfast
8:00 Sail, snorkel, tour, or beach
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Sail, snorkel, tour, or beach
4:00 Tea and cookies/cakes
4:30 Relax
6:00 Anchor in a quiet cove or leeward lagoon (sunset)
7:00 Dinner
10:00 Generator is turned off, and most people are already in their cabins and headed to sleep. 

By day four we are starting to bond. Before dinner the Italian couple Paula and Enrico treated us to a champagne toast. Prior to dessert, we fed the sharks and rays, and afterward the newlywed couple Vanessa and Michael from Switzerland entertained us with their origami skills while we talked about sea creatures great and small.

Did you know that sea cucumbers often have pearl fish living inside them?

There is no Bali Ha’i or Honey Bun, but plenty of enchanted evenings during a week on a boat in French Polynesia’s Society Islands, sailing around Ra’iatea, Taha’a, Huahine, and Bora Bora. 

Day 1

We settle into our en suite cabins and enjoy a lunch of delicious raw fish salad with jasmine rice. Our crew is the cockeyed optimist Captain Apira, two mates Miti and Melanie, and ten new friends from Switzerland, France, and Italy. We sail to our first snorkle off Taha’a, a drift in swift current down a coral canyon crammed with colorful creatures. After dinner, the mates catch red fish for breakfast while we lay on the bridge gasping at millions of stars.

Day 2

We hoist the mainsail for a morning’s broad reach to Bora Bora’s electric teal lagoon. The first outing is a swim with schools of sharks, both lemon and black-tipped reef. Apres lunch, we dinghy out to snorkel with sting rays, and I opt for the ¾ mile open water swim back to the catamaran. A short sail and it is back in the water, this time for giant moray eels and schools of gorgeous fish. It is like swimming in a busy fish tank. Chill winds shorten the stargazing, but with an app we excitedly identify Jupiter, Saturn, and our very first view of the Southern Cross. Poofy and tangled, I wash that salt right outa my hair.

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Day 3

Though most of the logistics and happy talk is in French, we understand enough to know we must be ready for a 0700 swim to look for manta rays that did not materialize. Undaunted, we sail to a private motu (low islet) for snorkeling, kayaking, and beach time. There is nothing like a day surrounded by that amazing blue water. At evening’s anchor I swim a mile or so across the lagoon, earning the hearty dinner that is being prepared.

Our three days in Vancouver were marked by convenience, by how easy it is to get around and do what you want. Downtown is easily accessible on foot and by bike, and we explored not only from one side to the other, but also from tip to top.

Day 1
Kayaking False Creek with Ecomarine Tours, then biking around Stanley Park and Gastown.

Day 2
Rain, so a visit to the Art Gallery and Science Museum, and exploring China Town.

Day 3
Grouse Mountain and a tour of Howe Sound

Food
In order to both prepare for and recover from all of this adventure, copious amounts of seafood and sushi were consumed. The sushi here is the best I’ve ever had, especially at Sushi Jin on Nelson Street.

Health food abounds as well in Vancouver. Besides my favorite breakfast bowl place, there are plenty of paleo, keto, gluten-free, local, fresh veg, and otherwise healthy options available. Head to the Public Market on Granville Island to ogle gorgeous produce and heaps of salmon.

The past few weekends, I’ve hit the local trails to condition the legs and tush. I’m lucky to be surrounded by great options right outside my front door, including the Arlington Loop (21 miles), Crescent Trail (to Bethesda and back, 26 miles), and the Mt. Vernon Trail (to Mt. Vernon and back, 31 miles).

When I realized we would be released from work early on July 3, I saw a perfect chance to get in two rides back-to-back.

I cycled to work, then left at 2pm to head up the C&O Canal to White’s Ferry, in operation since 1781. The towpath was mostly shady that time of day, but I finally got some 90-degree temps and higher humidity. After four hours of solid pedaling, with a few stops for photos and water, the ferry ride was a fun respite.

The legs and bum grew weary the last few miles, not to mention gritty. But, I had a deadline: my friend James was meeting me at Melt Gourmet Cheeseburgers in Leesburg. There was impetus to push through despite the discomfort. Food motivated, anyone? After a quick (and unfortunately COLD!) shower, good company and dinner were welcome rewards.

I had the tasty burger-of-the-month, which was a shrimp burger. We traded bites, and his Paris burger (beef, brie, caramelized onions, and spinach) was excellent. Belly full after 54 miles, I slept like a rock.

I did not wake up with refreshed legs: I had pushed too hard the day before. The first hour coming home on the W&OD trail felt…bad.

Thankfully, though, things picked up in the second hour. I finished strong after 36 miles, which made 90 miles total for this little training jaunt.

What fun! I will definitely do this loop again to earn a fancy burger, though I will give myself more time on the C&O and also remember to pack a hand towel.

“A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.”
-Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Most people get stuck on the “bicycling for a month” part.

Nevermind that it’s Southeast Asia in August: the subtropical heat and humidity will be…challenging. A friend from Da Lat warned that my sink laundry won’t dry overnight, so no doubt it will be waving like flags from the bike as I pedal along. Training/conditioning will mean going out for long rides in the mid-day DC heat.

But the bigger question remains, “How far are you cycling?” Here are projections based on the itineraries.

Total miles: 800

Average daily distance: 37 miles

Total elevation gain: 17,000 feet

Total days from Hanoi to Bangkok: 26

Days in the saddle: 21

Rest days: 5 (three of those traveling by boat)

Longest day: 60 miles

Which also happens to be the steepest day: 2,050 ft elevation gain

Shortest day: 10 miles (sightseeing in Hue)

This opportunity: priceless