Well, here we are in the final stretch of this legendary trip. The Zaandam arrived to the port of Uturoa, Raiatea French Polynesia. The country of French Polynesia is divided into five archipelagos. The Society Islands, the largest, are split into two groups. The Windward and Leeward Islands consist of nine high islands and five atolls. The Tuamotu and Gambier archipelagos include the low islands and all of the atolls. The Australes have five inhabited islands, while the Marquesas' have twelve high islands without lagoons. Finally, there are 280,000 inhabitants in a total of 118 islands with a maritime surface of 5.5 million square kilometers. Incredibly massive.
Raiatea is part of the Leeward Islands, with the capital of Uturoa being the second administrative center after Tahiti. There are lagoons, mountains, and a navigable river and maraes on this island of 238 square kilometers. It is also the nautical base for the yachties. Their lagoon spans from Raiatea to the nearby island of Taha 'a where you can snorkel, kayak, and fish. Although not the oldest of the islands, the Polynesian natives date back over 1000 years. The Marae of Taputapuatea is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017. It is famous for political, ceremonial, funeral, and religious events and is considered very sacred grounds.
We just missed the Hawaiki Nui Va'a which is the famous international outrigger canoe race. Also the annual Tahiti Pearl Regatta takes place in May.
Nearby Taha 'a is sort of a bonus island because it is included in some of the ship's tours. A much smaller island, it is 88 square kilometers with 5235 natives living in 8 villages. There are guest houses, vanilla and pearl farms, coconut groves as well as sugar cane plantations. Vanilla beans grow on vines, but the flowers have to be pollinated by hand. The Polynesian variety produces the most strong-tasting and powerfully fragrant beans. They are rich in oil and shinier than other vanilla beans. The sugar cane here was imported decades ago from New Guinea. It was discovered that when used for rum production, it was well-received. These days it is produced for local sales, which are booming.
And there were some ship tours today. The sacred island by le truck was $90 for 3 ½ hours. Kayaking the Faaroa River and a beach break was 3 hours for $100. Highlights of Raiatea was 3 ½ hours for $130. Three excursions were 3 or more hours for $140. They included the Anapa Pearl Farm and snorkel, a reef discovery swim, and land and sea of Taha'a. Three more tours were 3 plus hours for $170. They were a cultural tour, coral gardens drift snorkel, and a taste of vanilla and a Taha'a motu picnic. Sounds like fun. We have done at least four of these excursions on past visits.
The ship was docked today by 8am, although the sail in started around 6:30am. Only one of us was awake at that time and also got some pictures of the sunrise. Once again, we stayed onboard until around 11am, getting a lot of computer work done. One thing for sure…… although it looked like rain with cloudy skies and some sun, it was wicked humid. Hardly a breeze was blowing, so we put off the morning walk a bit later. We got to hear the one- hour crew drill take place, which is done quite often. Nice to see how well the crew and officers are trained to handle a variety of possible emergencies. Unknown to all of us, that would be put to the test later on.
There was a big chance of rain, so we packed the umbrellas, but never needed them of course. The dock area is right in the center of town, but we saved that for the way back. We turned right and headed down the road passing the marina where many folks were lined up to board the vessels for either snorkeling or heading to a beach on a motu. It appeared that many independent guests had pre-booked these types of tours here today.
We reached the gas station, then went on to a grassy area where a much larger marina was located. Directly across the road was a Protestant Church, which was not opened to the public. Further up, we turned into the staging area for the canoe races and other nautical events. There were nicely painted cement benches and tables as well as restrooms. On one side of this park-like area was open waters of the lagoon and the other side had a deep pool-like place to swim with ladders to get in and out of the water. Most of the locals were here today. This island is located very close to Bora Bora, which we could clearly see in the distance. And that will be our stop for tomorrow. We spent some relaxing time taking in the views and cooling off in some shade. We did bring water, but the thought of cold beer sure sounded a whole lot better.
So we turned around, and headed back to town. We stopped and went inside the local St. Andre Church, an 18th century Catholic church. It became Saint Andre parish in 1796. Next we went to the local two story marketplace where produce is sold, as well as flowers and fast food such as baguettes, paninis and even pizza. The second level has a variety of seashell and pearl jewelry and island clothing. One item in particular was on our list which was a vanilla bean woven bracelet. Already owning one for 4 years, it has dried out and a replacement was in order. Now I smell like dessert. Outside next to the market was a tentful of more souvenirs, many of which we already own.
It was lunch time, so we headed for the restaurant directly across from the ship. It has changed hands since the last time we were here, so we hoped they still offered pizza. Yes, they did and we ordered a pepperoni pizza with two draft beers. Thank goodness it is an open-air café where a breeze from the ocean helped cool us off. The pizza was actually better than we remembered. They are not afraid to use a lot of sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. The crust was more like French bread, which we love. We shared a dish of vanilla ice cream with three macaroons and some nutty candy bits over the top with whipped cream.
We walked through the tourist building where we found a newer brochure of the islands. Also did some window shopping in the few huts that were opened near the ship. These palapa-type huts are in dire need of re-roofing since they are mostly covered with plastic to keep the rain out. Only half of them were in good enough shape to be opened.
We were back on the ship with a very steep, but short gangway by 3:30pm. We had totally forgotten that we needed to pick up our passports in the elevator lobby on our deck. After Captain Smit delivered his talk, we headed for deck six forward to watch the sailing out of the lagoon and passing by Taha'a. It was getting dark fast, but we still were able to get some neat pictures on the way out. We stayed out there until well after 6:30pm. By the way, our carpet was shampooed while we were out and about today.
Dinnertime followed cocktails after 7:30pm. Tonight's themed dinner was Prost Bavarian cuisine, which was nice for a change. Some of the items were foreign to us, but Sarif, our waiter did his best explaining them. One appetizer was a small shredded potato dish, while the other appetizer was a bowl of Italian wedding soup. Good and hot. Caesar salads followed, the entrees of a braised beef stew-like dish called Rheinische Sauerbraten, and one Weiner Schnitzel with a little dish of mac and cheese to taste. Desserts were one bee sting cake with sides of vanilla ice cream. We shared that.
Annie Frances was back on the stage for another concert, and the movie shown in the Wajang was Shakespeare in Love. And the surprise excitement happened at 2:40am, but more on that in tomorrow's report…………..
Bill & Mary Ann
