"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 25 Moorea, French Polynesia January 24, 2016 Sunday Partly cloudy & 83 degrees Part # 1 80 Pictures

Sent: Monday, January 25, 2016 9:06:58 AM
Subject: Report # 25 Moorea, French Polynesia January 24, 2016 Sunday Partly cloudy & 83 degrees Part # 1 80 Pictures

Report # 25 Moorea, French Polynesia January 24, 2016 Sunday Partly cloudy & 83 degrees Part # 1

What a better way to spend a birthday than visiting a piece of paradise, Moorea in French Polynesia? Well that's what one of us did for their birthday today. Around 5 or 6am, the ship literally floated over to the small island of Moorea from Tahiti, where we had spent the night. The garden island of Moorea is a mere 12 miles from Papeete, accessible by a ferry that takes about 30 minutes from the harbor. It is 80 square miles, and houses a population of 17,434 people. The tallest peak is Mt. Tohiea at 3657 feet. The main crops grown are copra and pineapples. Although we did see bananas, mangoes, and breadfruit grown in everyone's front yards.

The main attraction is Cook's Bay, named after Captain Cook in 1777 on his third journey here. Equally as scenic is Opunohu Bay, where artists prefer to use the natural light and shadows in their paintings. Both of these bays can be viewed from Belvedere Point. It does help to have a clear day, such as today, because if you came to see the views during the rainy season, like we did once, we could see nothing from that vista point.

The biggest draw here is the water and all related activities involving the reef. Black-tipped sharks and sting rays can be seen while swimming in the translucent waters. Every tropical fish you can imagine can be seen here among the coral beds. We have done a dozen tours over the years to swim with these creatures. Passengers could have booked some of these tours yesterday in Papeete. For example, a swimming tour for over 2 hours cost $50 per person. If you wanted to add lunch to that, it would set you back another $10. Not so bad. Sight-seeing tours started at $40, with the most expensive being individual ATV drives for $150. Because today was a Sunday, the juice factory and agricultural school were closed. The tours went ahead anyway.

An overnight excursion was offered from Papeete, where you took the ferry, and came to Moorea to spend a night at either a garden bungalow ($799 pp) or an over-the-water hut ($949 pp). That also included dinner and breakfast. Good grief, it should. We know of many couples who have done this on their own, and saved a ton of money. If you need help or prefer to do things in groups, then the organized tours from the ship are good for you.

Remember when the first tender port came along on this trip, and the hallways and stairwells were jammed with folks waiting to get over to shore? Well someone, probably Henk M, came up with a great idea. For the first 15 minutes of the tender service, let the "have to be first" folks go over in the first boat. After that, the tender ticket process kicks in, except for the 4 & 5 star Mariners and suite folks. In most ports, what are you going to do before the village or town wakes up?

We were in no hurry to go to shore. Breakfast in the dining room was quiet with excellent service. Probably counted a dozen people in there at 8:30am. We did not head over to shore until 10:30am, knowing that we would walk to lunch, taking our sweet time. We rode over with Jan and Dick, who recently had one of their new bikes fixed in the ship's shop. It had suffered some severe damage during the shipping from their home to Ft. Lauderdale. The guys who work behind the scenes on the ship can fix anything. Always good to know.

Although the itinerary had Cook's Bay as our place of anchorage today, we were re-positioned to Opunohu Bay. We always go to this bay with HAL. Actually, it has been fixed up quite nicely. All of the vendors are under a solid roof now, selling their treasures. We found the elderly lady who is always there with her unique collection of seashell jewelry. She remembered us from last fall, when we had purchased a necklace from her. Today, she pointed out a new creation, and we bought it. She once again added a pair of shell earrings to match the necklace for free. These same type of necklaces were being sold in Bougainville Park yesterday, but cost twice the amount. We knew that, and decided to wait until today. Glad we did.

There is a small church located at this tender dropoff. For the first time that we can remember, a service was just ending. We were drawn there with the sound of the music and singing coming from inside. A group of ukulele players were singing to the top of their lungs as the congregation filed out the doors. All the moms, grandmas, and young girls had on their Sunday best, including their straw hats. That's what nice about these visits. Sometimes you come across something special like this, and you never forget it.

Following the coastal road, we walked past the village and several small homes until we reached our destination, the Intercontinental Moorea Resort and Spa. We'd guess it may be about 3 miles one way. The sun had been out, but the clouds helped to keep the temperature down a tad. Stopping along the way to take some photos added time to our hike, but that was the intention. The kids were out and about, swimming and frolicking in the shallow banks off of the roadside. There are no real stretches of sandy beach here. Coral is everywhere, as are holes made by the land crabs. You had to be watchful for those holes, or you could end up with a twisted ankle. We saw few birds today like we normally do. Got us wondering if rain was coming. It might since we forgot to bring umbrellas. Sudden showers can occur at any time, even though the wettest time of year we think is in December. Judging from the lush green fields and hillsides, we suspect that it did rain plenty a month ago.

We finally arrived to the hotel in time for a leisurely lunch. This complex has numerous bungalows….garden, beach, premium, and over-the-water units. There are 49 lanai rooms also. The patio restaurant is the perfect place to spend some time while dining. Yes, it is expensive, but how often are we in Moorea to enjoy the scenery of the reef and the island? We ordered hamburgers with skinny French fries, as well as several Hinano beers, of course. The crispy fries were as good as the burgers, which were made from ground steak. They also serve a basket of freshly baked French rolls, which we shared the crumbs with a number of games chickens under our feet. Reminded us of our birds at home.

Time had flown by all too quickly, and we had to begin our hike back. It never did rain, but the wind had stopped and it became quite muggy. We had just mentioned the fact that we had not seen Henk and Christel riding their bike today. Lo and behold, here they came around the turn, singing happy birthday as they flew past us. Again, another sweet memory. It's like the "great escape" for them, even though it doesn't last long. Must relieve the stress of the job for both of them. While we had gone over to the stoop overlooking the lagoon, they had doubled back to the pier. When we got back to the pier around 3pm, they were eating fresh coconut meat right from the husk, a real treat.

While we waited for the next boat, we watched the little kids swimming with a big dog near the landing. Sure looked inviting, but we did not wear swimsuits today. Many folks did come over to swim, but few found any beachfront to enter the water. There is no wave action, because there are coral beds completely around the island. The waves do break out where the reefs end. That's where the sharks and rays are, in the deeper waters near the coral reefs. We read somewhere that it is the time of year for the hammerhead sharks to frequent these waters. No way would we swim with those.

The sail away was held on the aft deck, and was well-attended. Fish nuggets were passed around, and some guests were drinking something blue. Must have been the drink of the day…..Blue Lagoon ($6.50). Speaking of drinks, we noticed that Happy Hour in the Ocean Bar and Crows Nest was also at 6 to 7pm this evening. We fought to get that added everyday on last year's cruise, and it worked. This year, we believe it has only happened a few times.

Dinner for us this evening was in the Pinnacle Grill for a birthday treat. We discovered that the menus were printed in nicer folders, and included some extra-priced items. For instance, you can add a small lobster for $10 extra, or order a large lobster for $20 in addition to the regular price of $29.00. The new monster steak is $59. more. We would definitely have to share that meal, but not tonight. We ordered the lamb chops with a shared baked potato. Large mushrooms were shared as well. Gosh they were good. We saved a little room for dessert of cheesecake and lemon brulee. There goes the 6 miles we hiked today. We'll have to walk another 6 miles tomorrow, but it was worth it.

Looking forward to a lazy day at sea tomorrow.

Bill & Mary Ann

The view of Opunohu Bay