Logbook: Maupiti

Maupiti, how we love thee, let us count the ways.

It is with regret that we tore ourselves away from Maupiti. We climbed the peaks, snorkeled and dived the depths, kited across the water, met up with old friends and made new friends we will remember. I felt like we had stepped out of time, to a place where not only was no one else in a hurry, but we weren’t in a hurry either.

Fairly quickly into our stay I felt immersed in the everyday routine of the island. Gradually as people started to recognize us, their already warm greetings grew into smiles, assistance and invitations. We became part of the local kiteboarding gang, roving around the small island by boat or by car, searching out the corner with the best wind, barbequing fish on the beach.

I was so relaxed in Maupiti. Even everyday chores became part of an amusing “island time” game. It’s hard to be stressed about getting chores done when you are on a dinghy ride, in water like this, with views like these, in the sunshine. Very difficult to be grumpy when everyone is smiling and saying hello to you on the street.

We would walk to all 4 stores to see which one had milk, which had pasta sauce, and then return to the stores again to buy what we wanted. People helped us find ways to exchange money (no ATMs here), gravity fill our propane tank, and repair a kite. We wrote “eggs” on our calendar on Monday because that is when the store would have them. We woke up early for a morning walk (ok, Carol did) so we could buy fresh baguettes, croissants and pain chocolat. An entire day might pass with a baguette run, a dinghy ride to a swimming spot, a bit of cleaning the boat, showers, and then happy hour on another boat.

Just writing about Maupiti makes me want to go back. So many places in the world to enjoy…