Noumea

Greetings everyone, How is everyone. We would love to hear how people are and what everyone is doing, so feel free to drop us a line at zayasail@gmail.com

We arrived in Noumea, New Caledonia in late November. It’s defiantly a city, as even the French will tell you how French the city is. It is interesting because the native ethnic population, the Kanacks are seeking independence from France. France does not want to give up New Caledonia easily because of the money generated from the nickel mines and other businesses. It makes for an interesting cultureral dynamic The downtown itself is very pretty with a large park which boasts a fair every Thursday night with live music, food, and crafts from locals who hail from many other overseas French departments and territories and throughout the world. We found people from Reunion for JP to speak Creole with.

Upon further exploration we found the beaches and beach front cafes which has a striking resemblance to the French Riviera I am told. We saw part of the world championships in kite surfing the other day which is quite impressive watching people literally fly through the air. We also learned that there is a nude gay beaches in the area. We were just going for a walk to get a better view of the ocean, when we learned we could get a view of “other things”. Well, we saw the nudity, and later learned about its sexual orientation.

We are now officially staying in a marina which is wonderful because we have easy access to town and can move about independently. No more braving the weather or the sea conditions in the dinghy or having to coordinate when we go into town. It also means neighbors which is something we are not used to. We had been spoiled in Baltimore being at the marina because people were rarely on their boats.

I am posting pictures and will coon begin to show you our travels over the last few months!

Our address is:

Sara Berman or Jean Philippe Chabot
Capitainerie de Port Moselle/Voilier Zaya
B.P. 2960
98846 Nouméa Cedex