Rangiroa is the second-largest atoll in the world, surpassed only by Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. Although it is considered the most touristy of the islands in the Tuomotus, the atoll retains a quiet atmosphere and lacks much in the way of development, aside from a few upper-end resorts. The atoll surrounds a huge lagoon that is a stunning shade of blue. The visibility in the water is excellent, as illustrated by the fact that I am able to see my anchor despite a depth of 40 feet. Our first few days in Rangiroa were relaxing. Bud and Kathy of Invictus IV took Anna and me to a coral reef known as the aquarium and we enjoyed some of the best snorkeling that I have ever experienced. A variety of colorful fish of all shapes and sizes would swim right up to us in water. We saw several sharks, moray eels, and an assortment of odd-looking sea creatures. Surprisingly, after a spectacular display of marine life while snorkeling in the aquarium, our attempt to drift snorkel through the pass resulted in a disappointing lack of interesting fish. As with most of the Tuomotus, watersports are the main activity. Ashore, there is little in the way of entertainment. On Tuesday, we walked and hitchhiked the roughly five miles into the main village of Avatoru. Upon reaching the center of town, we enjoyed an ice cream from one of the three convenience stores that serve as grocery stores and headed back for the anchorage. In the evening, we accompanied Bud and Kathy to a traditional Polynesian dance performance at the Kia Ora Resort, which dominates the waterfront of the anchorage. The Kia Ora Resort caters primarily to honeymooners from Europe, so it is difficult to blend in considering my lack of effeminate clothes, my excess of hair, and, mainly, my lack of a wife. On Saturday, we went to the bar of the Kia Ora to sample the signature drink, a Mai Tai. While tasty, the drink set us back $13 and I spent as long as possible nursing the pricey mixed drink. Being occupied mainly by honeymooners, most guests spend their evenings in their rooms, but some flamboyant Italians did venture out to the bar. Still glowing from their recent marriage the couples commandeered the dance floor and broke into a salsa despite the elevator music playing at low volume in the bar. It would be interesting to skip forward five years to see these same couples sitting sullenly in some bar in Milan quietly sipping their drinks while the husband laments how much weight his wife has gained in five years of marriage and the wife recounts the unfulfilled ambitions of the now middle manager that is her husband. The show was similar to the one we endured in Ua Pou. If I have learned anything from attending two of these performances, it is that there is always an audience participation segment at the end when dancers pull tourists out of the crowd. Armed with this knowledge, I have made sure to remain in the back row and avoid eye contact when the public ridicule stage begins. As far as I could tell, the main difference between the two performances was the audience: in Ua Pou, the pasty-white American tourists were burdened with unwieldy cameras whereas in Rangiroa the pasty-white European tourists were burdened by the very effeminate Capri pants that are apparently quite the rage for men in Europe right now. The highlight of the week was the arrival of my cousin, Eric, and his friend, Nick. They both are students at The Ohio State University and are visiting Audentes for three weeks during their summer vacation. Those longtime readers might remember that Eric lived with my family when I worked in Atlanta last summer and his presence was directly responsible for my attempting to eat two gallons of ice cream in two hours, my dancing with some SEC girl in front of a couple of hundred people in Florida, and my running through a sewer under I-85 as part of the Atlanta Hash House Harriers. I look forward to bumbling my way through the rest of French Polynesia with them. After two days of beautiful weather during which the lagoon was as calm as a millpond and the surface resembled a sheet of glass, the weather took a turn for the worse on Wednesday. The wind increased to 20 knots and the choppy waves made the anchorage uncomfortable. Even the snorkeling suffered as the sand kicked up by the waves reduced visibility. Driving the dinghy to the airport to pick up Eric and Nick on Friday, I was pasted by passing showers and 30-knot gusts that made the tranquil lagoon of Rangiroa more closely resemble Lake Erie. Due to the inclement weather, boats that had planned to leave for Tahiti are stuck in the lagoon since the pass has become too tumultuous, even during slack tide. The main task for the week was finding a suitable location to watch the World Cup soccer matches on television. After much searching, the best that I could come up with was sneaking into the lounge of the posh Kia Ora Resort. Since the games kick off at 6:00 AM, a stealth mission was required to sneak past the surly woman at the reception desk and then to lay low in the corner of the lounge. Despite the challenges involved, I was able to watch a few games, including the ugly U.S. match against the former Czechoslovakia. For those readers unfamiliar with soccer, a strong national soccer team does not necessarily translate into world domination on the political, economic, or cultural stage. In fact, the better a country’s national team, the more irrelevant the country normally is when it comes to affairs of the world. If soccer did reflect the current international order, the U.S. would probably be on top, the E.U. would need to consider itself as one nation to be allowed to join, Japan would have an aging team past its prime, China would be a young, up-and-coming team, and India would field more players than was allowed. Of course, if the World Cup truly reflected global politics, the U.S. would most certainly win since they wouldn’t invite any other countries to join. However, the supremacy of a soccer team holds a closer correlation to the quality of that nation’s beer. Thus, the U.S. is pretty weak and this was evident as they got manhandled by the Czech Republic. Following a full week of snorkeling, reading, and relaxing in Rangiroa, we prepared to head for Tahiti. Unfortunately, the heavy weather was unrelenting and we joined the group of boats eagerly awaiting a weather window. Despite a dour forecast, a group of boats have decided to brave the elements by departing on Wednesday afternoon and we plan to be among these valiant voyagers. Eric and Nick are looking forward to their first offshore sailing experience and the strong winds should make for a memorable experience.