(well, it was really only suppose to be 5 days)
The northern coast line of Moorea, French Polynesia. Pretty awesome, eh?
Leaving the city of Papeete on Tahiti(the big island) and heading for the island of Moorea.
Arriving in the Harbor (got real acquainted with this place on the morning we were "suppose" to leave).
We ventured back to the island of Tahiti the next morning for a 20 mile Fun-Roll.
Making new skate pals..........
Ilene, Laurel, Michelle, Maribeth(my skate buddy from Tucson), and yours truly
Local school children & yet, more skate pals.....(check out the French-boys' nipple rings). The guy in the white hair is Allen, 89 years old!! Did I mention he in-line skates??? What an inspiration!
Registration. "WOW!" What a cool race number......viva Los-Wages!
This is the start for the Advanced skaters - that's me sporting the blue & white jersey.
Early in the race, before the rain. That's me pullin' the pack - in good form, too! Hey, who are all those people?? This picture appeared in the local Tahiti News paper.
Photo Finish! Both Maribeth & I placed Second in our Age Divisions in Advanced!!
See that umbrella behind me? It started raining about 20 or 30 minutes into the race, making the course slick. Skating in the rain is another beast. I'm grateful my bearing held out till the end of the race-they were so trashed I junked 'em afterwards.
Post Race Syndrome strikes again.........cool Bungalow, don't ya think?
Awards Ceremony. That's Margo (from NY) who placed 1st, and Debbie( from CA) came in 3rd in our age division. That's me on the left(2nd place for Womens Advanced 35-39). My first time ever on the awards platform....the shell medals were way cool.
This is how one really skates island style......swimsuits n' skates!
More Beach Bladin' Fun........
Here's the Gecko that lived in our Bungalow - check out the hand carved trim board.
The scenery was spectacular......that was when you could actually see it.
We encountered an afternoon shower every day. Eventually the tropical storm that rolled in literally kept us prisoners of paradise(sigh...). We were detained for 3+ extra days due to the storm. The Harbor Master had closed the harbors the first day due to high seas(we missed our flights home). After that it became a logistics problem of getting 150 skaters off the island and onto flights back to the US. The skies eventually cleared and I got in another 2 days of awesome fun skates on the island before leaving.
Check out that storm rolling in.......
Puppies in Paradise. There are lots of dogs on Moorea - all very friendly canines.
I leave you now with a sunset over the South Pacific.
"manuia!"(meaning 'good health')
This trip really energized me about skating and life(are those actually inseparable?). Anyway, I had a wonderful time and met lots of fun people with the same passion for blading. I'm looking forward to going back to skate the islands next year!
As always,
Kimberly
Hope you enjoyed the photo book. There are lots of Moorea Race Photos and stories that can be seen at the following sites:
http://www.snapsite.com/guests/sk8ctrl/public/html/home.html
4 March 1999, Knuechterlein@worlnet.att.net