Cargo Ship

Yesterday I dropped off and waved good bye to friends that are moving

to Raiatea which is another island about 2h with the boat (3 if you go

with the cargo ship) from Bora Bora.

They took the cargo ship Taporo VII as they needed to ship over their

car as well. The boat takes only about 12 passengers, and there are no

luxury, such as chairs, on board but it's a cheap alternative to the

ferry boat. The car was packed from floor to ceiling, and only left

space for the driver to squeeze in!

We arrived in the middle of unloading the ship with random goods for

the people of Bora Bora. The interesting thing is that if there are no

ship, there will be no goods in Bora Bora. Let's just say, 1 week of

bad weather where the ships can't get here, and the grocery stores,

hotels, restaurants etc will not receive anything! I can tell you,

the grocery store gets empty fast!

Anyway, I was watching them unload and load the ship and I have to say

the guys were very fast and efficient! A few things amazed me though

while I was watching.

If you as a private person or a company are expecting anything to be

delivered, you better be there when the boat arrives! I'm not sure

about the organization, but I'm sure they got one. But there seem not

to be any kind of security. I mean, I could probably pick up anything

and walk off, as people are allowed to be where the goods are dropped

off! You would assumed that you have some kind of proof that you are

expecting something and that someone would check it off before you get

to take it! I didn't see anything of that! There must be a lot of

things "disappearing"!

Another thing that amazed me was when they were loading a small

truck on the boat. One like this!

They drove it up on a rectangular "base", and secured the truck with logs of wood 

behind and in front of the tires(!) and then they put 4 chains 

(one in each corner of the base) and lifted it up on the deck!

Wow!! Seriously!?! Pieces of wood, that's it?! But hey, it seemed to work!

Now I'm planning a trip to Raiatea, with Coco of course! 

They say they have painted lines on the road over there! 

How exiting! LOL!

Cheers my friends!

Camilla