The island of Moorea is considered the sister island of Tahiti. Located a short distance from Tahiti, this island can be seen in its entirety if there are no clouds or rain. The population is 18,332 people who work primarily in the tourist industry. This island has a shore line of 37 miles with breathtaking scenery, mysterious mountains, nautical activities, and unforgettable excursions either booked through the ship or purchased at the tender pier. There are little if few traffic jams like you might see in Papeete. It is nature at its best.
The highest peak is Mont Tohiea at 3959 feet in elevation. Many hiking paths are in the center of the island, but it is recommended to use a guide. The Belvedere Viewpoint at 790 feet high has a view of both Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay, a must see. We have been up there numerous times while on tours. Speaking of tours, one of us failed to look ahead of time to jot down what was available. By the time we realized we missed them, all of the tours had been erased from the system. From our past experiences, we can safely say the tours were mostly the same ones offered in Bora Bora. Most of them are about the water and the lagoon.
Having saved the French Polynesian booklets titled Travel Guide they used to make available in the info centers was a wise move. We're not sure they are being printed anymore. At least we never ran into any of them in all of the Polynesian ports we have visited. Anyway, they have been most helpful with basic statistics, geography, and history of each island, as well as listing hotels and restaurants. Even taxis. Today we read in the Moorea section that buses are operating from both the East and West coasts taking folks to the ferry terminal. The price for the ride is 300 francs and half that for children. Google says there is no public transportation, so now we are not sure they are still operating. Several years ago, we took a ferry ride from Papeete to Moorea with our host and spent the day there. And we did take a bus back to the ferry terminal for the fun ride back to Tahiti.
Leaving Papeete at 5:30am, the Zaandam sailed into the Opunohu Bay before 7am and dropped anchor before 8am. Two other small cruise ships sailed into Cook's Bay around the same time. Now you might think Captain James Cook first anchored in Cook's Bay, but in reality, he anchored in Opunohu Bay in 1777. Both bays are stunning and are located on the north end of the island, which is shaped like a butterfly. Here's another tidbit of an amusing story about the name Moorea. There is an ancient legend that that tells a story of a yellow lizard born by a resident of a village. He gave his name to the island. So "Moo'rea" actually means yellow lizard.
Open tenders were announced by 9:30am, and we went off after 10am. It was going to be another hot day with temps in the low 80's and the humidity high at 85%. The breeze at 14.6 mph helped keep us cool, but so did the rain which fell most of the day....off and on. There was no wait for the tender boat, and we were on our way within minutes. We were about halfway to the pier, when a deep swell hit us sideways and some equipment they were bringing over fell on the floor with a bang. We instantly thought of friends Howie and Denise who were in a tender that landed on a coral reef a few years ago. They had to be rescued by another tour boat. We were lucky today since we did make it to shore without any more problems.
But we were in for a very sad moment when we went directly to the table where a sweet elderly Tahitian lady always greeted us with her handmade seashell jewelry collection. We have not missed a stop here without buying one of her necklaces and earrings. Even though she spoke little English and we spoke little French, we had a way of communicating just fine. The fact that she remembered us was next to amazing, considering the number of ships that stop here.
In her chair was a lady that sure looked like her, but younger. We asked where the elderly lady was today, and she answered, saying she was no longer with us. With that said, she motioned her fingers like a bird flying into the sky. She looked so much like her because she was her daughter and she did speak English well. We shared the story of our meetings over the years and all of the lovely necklaces and earrings we had bought. Of course, we did buy a new one day, and the daughter added a pair of complimentary earrings. Then she asked us to take a selfie photo with her and also thanked us for our condolences. The nice jewelry lady passed away in July of this year at the age of 83. We never knew her name but will forever remember the big smile we got when she saw us getting off of the tender boat.
Up at the corner, we took a right turn and headed in the direction we always take. We did not get too far before running into friends Mike and Nancy who were out for a short stroll in the village. While we were chatting, a misty rain began to fall, turning heavier. So we all whipped out the umbrellas and continued on our way. The rain always comes down the mountains to the shore in waves, then stops for a while. The one bad thing was that without the sun, the photos were not as stunning as they usually are. On the positive side, the drizzle cooled us off. And around every turn in the road, there was a nice breeze.
We took our sweet time passing many seaside houses with dogs in the yards. Many of them were running loose and barking at the passersby. Every dog has the same look like there was one male dog on the island servicing every female. We are never sure if they are friendly or not, so no eye contact is the way to go. Taking a break at the one bus stand along the road, we shared the seat with a young shaggy dog who barely moved when we sat down. The poor thing was full of fleas, so we did not linger very long.
Stopping under every tree that provided some shade, we did notice a nice breeze that cooled us off. The further up the road we got, the less it rained. And we did remember to bring umbrellas. There is an incline at one point of the road, and at the top was the Intercontinental Resort, that has since closed. It used to be a really nice place to have lunch, where many folks used their beach. The swimming pool was only for guests which was fine. Storms have taken their toll on this property and it is falling apart now.
Directly across the road from this resort is a restaurant that used to be called Holy Steak. We always jokingly called it Holy Cow. However, it has changed owners and is now called Holy Delices. We did check online to see their hours and days opened. We were most happy to see they were opened for lunch at noontime. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the young waitress remembered us from last spring while we were on the world cruise. She even recalled what we ordered which was the same as we ordered today. Two Hinano beers, a cheeseburger with fries, and an extra side of fries. It was definitely a good move to hike up the steep driveway to be seated on their patio overlooking the lagoon with all of the boat activity. Dessert was also shared - our last chance of having profiteroles. Sitting on this balcony for over an hour was sheer bliss in the breeze.
Thinking maybe we could get a taxi back to the pier never happened. We estimate the walk was about 2 miles to Papeotai. And that's when the rain began to fall again. We took refuge under the roof of a bus stop along with another couple who had ventured this far. We had a nice talk with them, then decided this shower was not going to stop. So we headed back to the pier, boarded a waiting tender, and were back to the ship by 4pm. Even with umbrellas, we were completely soaked and changed to dry clothes right away.
We accomplished some good internet work before dinner at 7:30pm. The Zaandam left the Opunohu Bay around 7pm without any sail away talk. The sunset was behind the mountains, so there was just color in the clouds.
It was Dutch Night with the dress code - a touch of orange in the title. Starters were one bay shrimp cocktail, and Westland salads. One of us had the pea soup as an appetizer, but the other had the bowl of hardy soup for his entree. The other entree was roasted chicken, and when the waiter brought it, he said it looked like half a turkey it was so huge. I could only finish ¼ off it.
There was an Orange Party tonight in the Lido Poolside starting at 8:30pm. Half the upper dining room emptied out to go to it. Not us, as we were exhausted from a day of hiking. The entertainment tonight was a young lady Irina Guskova with a performance of diversity. She did classical music as well as cinema. She ended with Celtic jigs to rock country. Sounds good to us.
Tomorrow we look forward to a simple day at sea. Followed by a stop in Fakarava.
Bill & Mary Ann
