During breakfast this morning, we heard some chatter among the Pinnacle Grill waiters concerning phone cards they had bought onshore last night. Attempting to use them, they found that their cell phones had gone haywire with incorrect data. Some of the fellows were late to work, because the time had changed to another zone and their wake-up alarms did not go off. Whatever happened to good old fashioned watches and alarm clocks. Maybe they are going extinct, but they are still dependable.
And guess what? It wasn’t raining. Would be a great time for a walk in town. On our way out, we stopped to see Shiv in his Housekeeping Office. Always nice visiting with him, although on this ship, the meetings have been too far in between due to his location on deck one. We are all experiencing the internet failure, as Shiv and all of the staff had no computer success either since 1pm yesterday. It is crippling and there is no promise of when it will be fixed. We are not even sure they know what caused the failure yet. Another problem we saw were the several buckets in the hallway catching dripping water leaks. That sure reminded us of the problems they had with leaks on the Amsterdam. Later on, we heard that the Casino had the worst of the leaks and it was traveling down to the lower decks.
Today would have been the better one for the ship’s tours that we forgot to mention yesterday. Briefly, they are a west or east coast drive around the island or a tour to see the islands treasures. The most rigorous was the 4x4 drive up into the mountains, and a lagoon swim. The best bet would be a ride around the island with a stop for lunch. The excursions ranged from $100 to $210 per person. More than likely we suspect some of these tours had been cancelled due to the heavy downpour.
Leaving the ship at 9am, we were not allowed to turn right out of the gate to access the Paofai Park walkway. Why, we all asked, since we had gone this way yesterday? Even one fellow with us had gone off the ship earlier, and did in fact walk out this way, and now the guards are saying no. It did not take us long to figure out why. There was a handful of local hawkers selling tours to the folks from the ship. We had no choice but to pass by them, taking this longer way out of the dock area. Some people challenged the guards but the answer was still NO. In a way, it worked out better for us since we crossed the boulevard and headed up a different main street. There was no use going to the marketplace because our good buddy had just come from there having bought a handful of tropical flowers. The market was closed when she left.
Boy, what a difference a day makes. It was like a ghost town this morning. Everything was closed with a few exceptions because it was Sunday. The churches would be opened as well as a few cafes and the pharmacies. This walk did give us the chance to see a part of the downtown area to photograph many of the local murals that had been painted on the walls of big buildings. We could call it the “walk of the graffiti”.
And guess what? It wasn’t raining. Would be a great time for a walk in town. On our way out, we stopped to see Shiv in his Housekeeping Office. Always nice visiting with him, although on this ship, the meetings have been too far in between due to his location on deck one. We are all experiencing the internet failure, as Shiv and all of the staff had no computer success either since 1pm yesterday. It is crippling and there is no promise of when it will be fixed. We are not even sure they know what caused the failure yet. Another problem we saw were the several buckets in the hallway catching dripping water leaks. That sure reminded us of the problems they had with leaks on the Amsterdam. Later on, we heard that the Casino had the worst of the leaks and it was traveling down to the lower decks.
Today would have been the better one for the ship’s tours that we forgot to mention yesterday. Briefly, they are a west or east coast drive around the island or a tour to see the islands treasures. The most rigorous was the 4x4 drive up into the mountains, and a lagoon swim. The best bet would be a ride around the island with a stop for lunch. The excursions ranged from $100 to $210 per person. More than likely we suspect some of these tours had been cancelled due to the heavy downpour.
Leaving the ship at 9am, we were not allowed to turn right out of the gate to access the Paofai Park walkway. Why, we all asked, since we had gone this way yesterday? Even one fellow with us had gone off the ship earlier, and did in fact walk out this way, and now the guards are saying no. It did not take us long to figure out why. There was a handful of local hawkers selling tours to the folks from the ship. We had no choice but to pass by them, taking this longer way out of the dock area. Some people challenged the guards but the answer was still NO. In a way, it worked out better for us since we crossed the boulevard and headed up a different main street. There was no use going to the marketplace because our good buddy had just come from there having bought a handful of tropical flowers. The market was closed when she left.
Boy, what a difference a day makes. It was like a ghost town this morning. Everything was closed with a few exceptions because it was Sunday. The churches would be opened as well as a few cafes and the pharmacies. This walk did give us the chance to see a part of the downtown area to photograph many of the local murals that had been painted on the walls of big buildings. We could call it the “walk of the graffiti”.
We could hear singing coming from a small church nearby. It was Protestant and the people were sitting all the way to the front doors. Further down the street, we heard more music coming from Notre Dame Cathedral, where we discovered that a baptism was in progress. That group was singing also. Passing McDonalds, we saw that they were opened for business, although no where near as crowded as yesterday. Further down this street we crossed the boulevard and entered Paofai Park to walk the gardens and waterfront.
Turning left, we made it all the way to the end where the Maison de la Culture and the big theater is located. This has to be the place that can seat up to 6000 people. From reading the flyers, it looks like a Tahitian performance is expected to take place here December 3rd. Turning around, we headed back to the ship and made a visit to the Ocean Bar for beers. We will miss the have-it-all perk on the world cruise, even though we have barely used it to the full advantage.
For a change, we had some sun on the veranda until about 2pm. Then the dark clouds came over, and the rain came back with a vengeance. Our newly-cleaned veranda was flooded haflway to the door. So much for the better day, even though the sun had lasted longer today. Good time for lunch, we ordered room service salads and one sandwich. And a few cookies. By 4:30pm, Captain Frank came on the speakers to give his usual talk. He apologized for the inclement weather, (as if he could change it), and apologized for having some of yesterday’s tours cancelled. After sailing the night in fairly rough seas, we will be in Fakarava tomorrow with much of the same weather. Then he addressed the internet shut down, and made an attempt to explain what happened. Bottom line, it failed to work, but he assured us it was being worked on. When it will be up and running….who knows? Finally, he mentioned the current Covid situation. Our numbers had been down, but since arriving to Tahiti, they have gone up slightly. He never mentions numbers, so we do not have a clue how many folks are involved. Few, we are hoping.
Turning left, we made it all the way to the end where the Maison de la Culture and the big theater is located. This has to be the place that can seat up to 6000 people. From reading the flyers, it looks like a Tahitian performance is expected to take place here December 3rd. Turning around, we headed back to the ship and made a visit to the Ocean Bar for beers. We will miss the have-it-all perk on the world cruise, even though we have barely used it to the full advantage.
For a change, we had some sun on the veranda until about 2pm. Then the dark clouds came over, and the rain came back with a vengeance. Our newly-cleaned veranda was flooded haflway to the door. So much for the better day, even though the sun had lasted longer today. Good time for lunch, we ordered room service salads and one sandwich. And a few cookies. By 4:30pm, Captain Frank came on the speakers to give his usual talk. He apologized for the inclement weather, (as if he could change it), and apologized for having some of yesterday’s tours cancelled. After sailing the night in fairly rough seas, we will be in Fakarava tomorrow with much of the same weather. Then he addressed the internet shut down, and made an attempt to explain what happened. Bottom line, it failed to work, but he assured us it was being worked on. When it will be up and running….who knows? Finally, he mentioned the current Covid situation. Our numbers had been down, but since arriving to Tahiti, they have gone up slightly. He never mentions numbers, so we do not have a clue how many folks are involved. Few, we are hoping.
The ship was on her way out of the harbor, when we spotted the Norwegian Spirit arriving to take our spot, we assume. The sun was just going down behind a mass of clouds, but we did capture a brief sunset. Now we are headed towards a different archipelago – The Tuamotus, which are all coral atolls. Much different from the islands we have been visiting, these are coral rings with huge lagoons in the center.
Anyway, dinner time came about quick, and we headed back to the dining room for one shrimp appetizer with a Caesar salad, and a bowl of udon soup. Mains were one moonfish plate and one of veal meatballs with spaghetti, a favorite for one of us. Both were quite tasty, and we cleaned our plates, leaving no room for dessert.
The entertainer of the evening was Tom Crosbie, an international man of memory. That is different for a change.
Bill & Mary Ann
Anyway, dinner time came about quick, and we headed back to the dining room for one shrimp appetizer with a Caesar salad, and a bowl of udon soup. Mains were one moonfish plate and one of veal meatballs with spaghetti, a favorite for one of us. Both were quite tasty, and we cleaned our plates, leaving no room for dessert.
The entertainer of the evening was Tom Crosbie, an international man of memory. That is different for a change.
Bill & Mary Ann
