Our port for the day was Huahine that consist of two islands. One is Huahine Nui at 60 kilometers around and Huahine Iti at 35 kilometers around. The total land surface is 74 square miles. A single lagoon separates the two islands, although lagoons and motus also surround both islands. A bridge connects the two islands from the Bay of Maroe, where the ship dropped anchor. The highest peak is Mt. Turi at 2200 feet, and the southern peaks include Mt. Pohue Rahi at 1515 feet in elevation. This volcanic island is only 105 miles from Tahiti.
Huahine has 8 villages with people who live a very rural lifestyle. The coral atolls ringing the lagoon are planted with cantaloupes and watermelons. Also grown here are taro, yams, bananas, cucumbers and seasonal fruit. There are 6075 inhabitants, and the main village is Fare. Supposedly everyone knows each other. Considered off the beaten path, it is far from the hustle and bustle of Tahiti. The town of Fare has a nonchalant attitude as if time has stopped here. Although we recall the locals were friendly, we got the impression they were happy to welcome us, but just as happy to see us leave.
There were some tours here such as the sacred sights and legends or the pearl farm, marae, and vanilla plantation visit for 3 ½ hours and $110. A 4x4 drive to the mountains or a coral garden snorkel were 3 to 3 ½ hours for $120. And a lagoon cruise and motu beach visit was &170 for 3 ½ hours.
We were not alone in the lagoon today. Instead of another cruise ship, we had whales in the waters near the ship. How exciting was that? We had gone to breakfast as always, then headed back to the room to do some computer work. In no hurry to go ashore, we happened to be looking out our window and spotted something big in the water. There were at least two humpback whales – one a female and the other a baby. They were surface feeding, and blowing their spouts so loud, we could hear them from our veranda. The female would be here from Antarctica having come over 4300 miles to the warm waters of Polynesia to have her calf. They are commonly seen in Polynesia from August to November. The female would have an 11 month gestation period. The calf would measure 13 feet and weigh 1760 pounds at birth. That is one BIG baby. What a treat for us to see them today. The youngster was the most active with diving, rolling, and following the mom. Every now and then, the female would breach, but do shallow dives. A few times she did spy hopping by popping up and looking around. Then they seemed to disappear for a while.
Open tenders were announced before 10am, just about when some light rain showers appeared. And here we thought the day would be sunny with blue skies. It had begun that way early on but turned on a dime. We could see the showers coming over the tops of the mountain range across on Huahine Nui and knew it would hit us. That was when we got on the tender boat by 11am. There were guests already coming back from town by that time. The ride over to shore took us to a covered bus stop, since town was at least a half hour drive "over the river and through the woods" to reach Fare. We had a 20 minute wait for the next school bus to arrive. Lucky for all of us, the rain had briefly stopped. And it did give the guests something to do with some tables of souvenirs set up. The prices were fair here we thought.
The ride to town in the bus made for small kids took around about a half hour to reach Fare. Once we were dropped off in the center of town, we walked from one end to the other, checking out the wooden pier and the tropical fish under it, as well as the big hut where some vendors were selling island jewelry. An interisland ferry had just arrived to drop off and pick up people going to Tahiti. And there were a few other boats in the tiny harbor, but obviously this is not suitable for cruise ships to drop anchor offshore. The townspeople were out and about shopping for groceries and buying produce off of street vendors. The main street was full of small eateries as well as some fast food stands. There were typical stores you might find in any little village such as a supermarket, pharmacy, bakery, clothes and toy shops. There was one large restaurant/bar called Huahine Yacht Club. It was basically open-air with only one waitress that we could see. Every table had customers by noontime, so we did not stay for lunch. They seemed to be a primarily seafood place, and to be honest, that was all we could smell. And this was exactly what we expected because the same thing happened last year. The only difference today was that by 1pm, it began to rain really good right before we got back on the bus.
And by the time we got out of Fare, the sky opened up and drove the rain sideways. The people on the bus had dropped the plastic windows because it was so darned hot and sticky, but they pulled them up quickly when the rain soaked them in seconds. For once, we were glad we had been forced to sit in the center aisle on a skinny board made for kids. We did not get as wet. And we could be wrong, but we think the bus driver sped up around the hairpin turns on the road just to make us all laugh or scream. We heard a lot of both. We have to admit, this ride was more fun than going to town.
Back at the tender pier, we lined up and stayed under the big ship umbrellas. We also had our own umbrellas knowing we had to bring them rain or shine. They did help until we had to close them to get into the tender boat. Not one person was dry by the time the boat was full. We were back safely on the ship by 2pm and ready for our Lido lunch. The salad bar fixings were shy on the romaine lettuce because they mixed it with shredded cabbage. It was good for a change. The ship will be getting a big delivery when we reach Papeete in a few days. We hope to see better lettuce and the return of some berries for breakfast.
While sitting at the window in the Lido, we saw the whales once again. They were quite close to the aft of the ship this time, so after lunch, we went back to our room to watch them from the veranda. Once again, they put on a good show and we did get some more photos.
Captain Smit came on with his update talk. He said the navigation team had enjoyed watching the whales play in the lagoon most of the day, and also added they figured there were more than just two of them. He apologized for the wet and rainy day, like he had any say over that. He was also going to open the bow for the folks to go outside during our sail away, mentioning that nobody wearing flip-flops would be allowed out there. Too dangerous and slippery, shoes were a must. A local lady in a very small outboard motorboat tried to scare the whales away from the ship all by herself. She must have been concerned for their safety. The female whale, her baby, and another adult stayed about 50 feet away from the ship as we slowly sailed out of the pass. Her waving and yelling at them did nothing.
We only have 95 nautical miles to reach the island of Moorea tomorrow by 7am. The speed to arrive on time will be 7 knots, so we expect some rolling tonight. There was a 1.4 meter swell and the temperature tomorrow will be 80 degrees. He advised us to expect some rain. No kidding……
The sun seemed to drop from the sky quickly, but all we got to see were the clouds changing colors. The island blocked the sunset. Dinner time was good with a bowl of chicken noodle soup and one Caesar salad. A small salad with very little romaine lettuce. Small is better than none at all. Our entrees were one prime rib meal and one Club Orange pork belly plate. We had mentioned to Maitre'd Pulung yesterday that Wednesday is usually pork belly day, but there was a different entrée in its place. Lo and behold, it turned up on tonight's menu. A coincidence? We think not. Desserts were one scoop of strawberry sorbet and the haupia coconut pudding that is not a pudding but a cake with custard filling.
The entertainer this evening was Jon Stringer, a grown up boy with a unique brand of high energy and physical comedy. He guaranteed a good laughing workout. The movie in the Wajang was Jersey Boys. Wonder if they still serve popcorn?
Rain or shine…..Moorea here we come.
Bill & Mary Ann
