Today we were exploring a different archipelago of French Polynesia and that was the Tuamotus with a total population of 16,880 residents living on 80 atolls. This area is 775 square kilometers in 20,000 square kilometers of water surface. Just a reminder, an atoll is a ring of coral that surrounds a lagoon in the center. It can be compared to a broken string of pearls, since the coral may not be connected all the way around. Rangiroa's coral ring is 142 miles around, and some of it is only accessed by boat. Rangiroa is the largest atoll here, the second largest in the world, with 2 main villages at Avatoru and Tiputa. A total of 2710 people live here. Both villages are located with wide passes from the ocean to the lagoon.
The most luxurious black pearls come from 98% of the pearl farms located here. This area is famous for its amazing dives where you can see grey and hammerhead sharks, manta rays, turtles, napoleons, and dolphins. Also not to be missed are the pink sands, Reef Island, Blue Lagoon and the reef Aquarium. There were a few tours here that were repeated two or three times during the day. One was a glass bottom boat ride for 1 hour and $89. There was a drive to the Gauguin Pearl Farm for 1 ½ hours and $30. Then there was a snorkel of the Aquarium at the Tiputa Pass for 1 hour and $110. We have been to the pearl farm the first time we walked this part of the atoll and did see how the special oysters were "seeded" and cultivated until they become ready to harvest. Very interesting to learn the process and understanding why they cost so much. Besides the water activities, you can also get unique tattoos here.
The Zaandam was at the opening to the Rangiroa atoll at 6:45am where we entered the lagoon at Tiputa Passe. We watched for possible dolphin sightings, but there were none today. It is written that this massive lagoon with 50 shades of blue and green waters is so big that the entire island of Tahiti can fit inside of it. Impressive.
We left the ship at 10am, right before open tenders were announced. We had been concerned about the tender drop-off point, which could have been on the Tiputa side where you cannot access the other side without taking a water taxi. This occurred a few times when another ship was anchored here. Today we were the only cruise ship here, so we got to tender to the "right" side. What we did not know was that since we were here last, maybe five or six years ago, a brand new tender landing had been built in the back of the Kia Ora Resort and Spa. What a major improvement. And we also noticed there were a larger number of new over-the-water- bungalows on the same property. Things must be looking up for tourism here. By dropping us off here, it saved walking an extra mile or more. The temperature was already 81 degrees with the humidity at 72 %. A nice breeze of 11.5 mph was much appreciated.
The Zaandam's shade and drink tents were set up as were a few tented tables of island souvenirs. We think we have about all of the seashell creations we need like forever. Many guests came over this far to swim and snorkel from a sandy beach here near the hotel. We took a left turn following the dirt road back out to the island's main road. Directly across this road was the Pacific Ocean side with a shallow reef separating the waves from the coral beds. Lots of cruise guests were there already in that water and walking the coral-laden beach. You definitely needed the correct footwear to walk or swim here.
We continued up the concrete road with little shade and four concrete bridges to cross on the way to the airport. We stopped at every single tree that provided some shade while we passed some older shoreline homes and new ones being built. No one was working on these homes today because it was Sunday. We did see some folks from the ship riding bikes that they had rented near the tender pier. It took us quite a while to arrive at their airport. By now, it was noontime, and the sun was shining high and hot in the sky. We knew that if the airport was open, we could cool down and sit for a bit in the open-air terminal. It was opened and from what we saw, people were waiting for an airplane to land. This airport is on a 300 meter wide runway called a land tongue. If there are no flights coming or going, it is locked up. Just as we got there, a small Air Tahiti airplane landed and the guests debarked, while the new guests boarded. The ones that got off immediately lit up cigarettes while the new passengers smoked until the final seconds before the flight. The plane took off as we made our way further down the road.
Our destination was the Hotel MaiTai Rangiroa about a 20-minute hike from the airport depending on how many trees we stopped under. We arrived to the hotel at 12:30pm and made our way down their driveway to the restaurant on the lagoon's edge. It was called The Blue Lagoon Restaurant. Appropriate. The bartender/waitress greeted us by saying if we were not guests of the hotel, we could not dine there. OMG, one of us was about to die from the heat and must have looked a fright, because once the waitress saw our disappointment, she changed her mind, and seated us near the opened window with a wonderful breeze. We told her we have never been turned away as a visiting guest at any MaiTai Hotel around the world, helping her to make an exception. I swear, I would have laid down on the floor and cried since there are no other places like this nearby. Even the closest small market was locked down today because it was Sunday.
Little by little, the hotel guests began to appear, some wearing skimpy swimsuits, going into the pool and jacuzzi. The Hinano beers never tasted so good. It took a total of five bottles of beer before we felt close to normal again. We shared a large ham, cheese and tomato panini with a pile of French fries at no extra charge. Ending the meal with our favorite French dessert of profiteroles was perfect.
Except it was time to move on if we wanted to take our time hiking back. All aboard and the last tender was 4:30pm,so we estimated that it might take close to 1 ½ hours to walk back in this heat. It was already 2pm, and the clock was ticking. It just so happened that two ladies who had eaten lunch near us, were checking out. They had arranged for a taxi/van to take them to the nearby airport. We happened to find their nice lady driver waiting outside the resort. We asked if we could get a ride back to the pier, and she suggested that we use the same taxi we had to get here. When we told her we had walked all the way, she seemed shocked and agreed readily to drive us back for $20. Well worth it to us, we climbed in and were on the way to the airport with the other ladies. We know we could have done the walk back, but in this heat, we preferred the ride more. When the ladies got out, they wished us well and actually apologized for the high heat today. They admitted they did not like it either as they lived in cooler Tahiti and Raiatea. Then four more people arrived from the last plane that landed, and we were on our way back to the Kia Ora Resort.
We could see a tenderboat pulling alongside, so we went directly to the new wooden pier and rode back sitting across from Cruise Director Clare. We had a nice conversation all the way back to the ship, all of us saying that we needed to take 20 showers to cool off. We asked Clare if she had been chosen as the Cruise Director on the 2026 Grand World Voyage, and she said no….it was a rumor that someone started on Facebook or something like that.
In our room by 3pm, we cooled down with sodas and a soak in the jacuzzi tub followed by photo work and report writing. The Captain came on with his daily talk saying that all were onboard and we would be sailing out of the lagoon by 5pm. We have 66 nautical miles to reach Fakarava tomorrow by 6:30am and will drop anchor by 7:30am. It might be a little cooler at 78 degrees with a small chance of rain. Hmmm, where have we heard that before? We have been in historical rains in Fakarava, so heavy we have never forgotten it. Time will tell….There was a nice sunset which we could see right from our veranda.
Dinner was a mixed bag once again. The Caesar salads looked really bad with brown romaine lettuce. It was so covered with dressing, we did not see it right away. Didn't they just get new deliveries in Papeete? So we stopped eating them, and showed Liberty, who agreed they were not right, offering to bring us another one. No we were happy with the chicken soup and pork and seafood spring roll. One of us ordered the spaghetti all 'Amatriciana with spicy tomato sauce, crisp pancetta and basil with parmesan cheese. The plate was so hot it could have melted through the table. However, the alternate chicken dinner was downright cold. Neither of our waiters were at the station, so we continued to eat the food. Finally Regie came by and we told him the chicken was cold. He offered to bring another plate, but we said no. Then one of the cooks came out of the kitchen to ask about the problem. She offered to bring another one. No thanks, but please inform the cook that the meal was not even lukewarm, but cold. Liberty came by and asked about it as well. He promised hot food from here on out. We shall see….. The dessert was fine with ice cold mint chip ice cream, and one peanut, brownie with vanilla ice cream sundae. Both cold as they should be.
A violinist by the name of Jocelyn Ng played classical and electric violin, promised to be an unforgettable experience. Sorry, but it will be forgettable for us since we were really tired from the heat today and needed to retire for the evening. One more atoll tomorrow……Fakarava.
Bill & Mary Ann
