Motu Mahaea (Taha’a): French Polynesia Photo Journals
Photo journal from this idyllic motu (island) just off Taha’a on July 1, 2019. We sailed there and anchored in the shallow sandbar.
Snorkeling in chop | French Polynesia sailing blog
Snorkeling in this chop. Photos taken on a Go Pro Hero 3 by Ian and Nerelle. Leeward islands, French Polynesia. Summer 2019.
Another French Polynesia sailing photo blog
Ah French Polynesia… you gave us so many great memories. Here’s yet another photo blog from our sailing adventures on Raiatea & Taha’a.
Sailing French Polynesia | Part 2
Sailing with Ian, Rick, and Polly around Taha’a. We anchored in the shallow lagoon off of Motu Tautau… in like, 8 inches of water!
We chartered a sailboat in French Polynesia!
We’ve been waiting for this vacation all year. Actually since last year! Traveling French Polynesia is way better on a sailboat.
Relaxing in Raiatea | French Polynesia blogs
Days of rest and relaxation for me and my Moffitt family in Raiatea. We soaked up the sights, and prepped for our sailing adventure to follow.
DIY Upcycled Tahiti-Inspired 2-Piece Outfit
My best friend was doing a closet clean out, and said I could keep whatever I wanted.
This bright red puletasi skirt, a hand-me-down from her mom, stuck out among the pile, and the color and print reminded me vividly of French Polynesia.
During that amazing trip last year, I actually really wanted to get a lavalava with pretty much this exact color/tropical print, but I couldn’t find it anywhere except on the beautiful dancers at the Heiva i Tahiti.
So I was stoked to get this skirt, and continue its life cycle in slow fashion.
It took me a while to figure out what I should do with it, but I loved the simplicity of what the skirt was before and decided to keep the structure of the skirt, only shortening it to use the rest of the fabric as a stretchy tube top.
It was a quick and easy upcycle project, but I loved the end result!
Life Lately: Back from travels and trying to catch up
Hello hello!
It hasn’t been too long since I last blogged, but a lot has happened, that’s for sure.
One of my recent life highlights is the 3-week travel around French Polynesia with Ian and his parents. I started blogging about it, but I have a bunch more to update on! We visited 4 islands in 3 weeks, and spent 5 days sailing around Raiatea and Taha’a. It was an epic vacation-slash-engagement-moon!
I got back from that trip in early July, and was home for just a week before embarking on a different kind of adventure, sailing on the research vessel E/V Nautilus! I also just returned from that trip earlier this week. It was actually a work trip that both Ian and I got to be a part of (me, from the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, and him, from the National Park Service in American Samoa). That was a super cool thing to be a part of, and I’m so excited to share some photos and takeaways from that experience soon.
Other life updates that I don’t remember mentioning yet:
I got a new camera! Well, I actually got it a few months ago right around my work trip in April but I don’t recall mentioning it yet. It’s a Sony A7III and it’s name is “Three” (don’t ask lol). I used to be a Canon shooter, and I hesitated a lot before finally deciding to switch to Sony’s mirrorless system. My thoughts on mirrorless? I’m a huge fan. It’s so much more compact which is great for traveling, the build-quality is great and feels sturdy, and the focus and clarity is impressive. I got a silicone rubber skin for Three and it makes it feel more rugged and weatherproof which I like.
We also got a drone – the DJI Mavic Air. It was a bit of an impulse purchase because I was preparing for our sailing trip in French Polynesia, and convinced Ian we needed to get one (because when else are we going to be sailing in French Polynesia, and don’t we want to get some cool aerial photos?!). Hahah, turns out we only used it a couple times while we were in French Polynesia because the tradewinds were extra strong and we didn’t want to risk losing the drone. I’m too much of a wuss to lose another drone, and now Ian’s really the only drone pilot.
And other than that, I’m still snapping away. I’ve done a few photo shoots in the last couple of month: a portrait session with Mareike, and some lifestyle-product shoots with Pacific Elegance. I’ll try to upload them soon. But for now, I’m binge-watching Versailles, reading Siddhartha, and trying to get my motivation back on track!
Hindsight in 2020 (Looking back at 2019)
The end of a decade and the beginning of a new year are a good time to reflect upon one’s life. I’m slowly combing through my journals and photo archives.
Back in Tahiti and shopping for pearls
Back in Tahiti after our 5-day sailing adventure. Shopping at the Pape’ete Marche and the Tahiti Pearl Market, and catching the ferry to Mo’orea.
I knocked out while ian did the laundry and brought all the warm clothes from the dryer and dropped it on my back and gave me a big hug. It was sooooo comfy and coooozy.
(the day we got back home/bed from our epic trip to French Polynesia)
Another busy weekend, but it’s the last busy one for a tiny little bit while we vacation in French Polynesia!!! We leave later this week and we’re stokedddd! Ian’s halfway already packed while I just have a packing list lol, but still – we’re so excited! We haven’t been this excited to go on a trip in so long. We always love traveling, but it’s just more fun when you’re going together and going to meet up with awesome people.
On another note, this weekend has also been a sweet time for family gathering. We celebrated my dad’s birthday and Father’s Day by spending time together, talking stories, and eating a ton of yummy homemade filipino food.
This is just a photo I took of one of my many spider plant babies that have grown a lot in the last couple months.