Words can’t begin to describe the incredible beauty of the islands of Tahiti and Moorea! We arrived in Tahiti Friday morning, and went ashore to visit the colorful marketplace. The first floor was mostly fresh foods, and the second floor had a wide assortment of items to be purchased, from shell jewelry to beautiful pareos (sarongs). It was great fun browsing through the shops.
In the afternoon we took our first shore excursion – Tahiti by 4-Wheel Drive. I really lucked out when the tour guide asked if I’d like to sit up front because the back was just about full! I felt like I was getting a private tour! He was very interesting to talk to. He was a gemologist who had grown up in Bordeaux, France, and had come to Tahiti to work with black pearls. I got to use a little of my French, and enjoyed talking with him. The tour itself was really interesting! He took us way back into the mountains and little-traveled roads. As we drove, we frequently passed friendly Polynesians, who never failed to greet us with a smile and a wave. The waterfalls were spectacular, and the plant life was so colorful! We even saw our second drum tree, reminding us of our trip to the Amazon Rain Forest in Peru last year. After a brief stop for those who wanted a swim, we continued on to a reservoir, where the eels came to the surface to check us out. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing seldom-visited parts of Tahiti.
Early Saturday morning, we set sail for Moorea, a small island within sight of Tahiti, and we arrived there by about 8:00. The mountains recalled scenes from South Pacific, with their mysterious cloud-capped peaks. We’d been told that Bora Bora was Michener’s Bali Ha’i, but according to our tour guide, one of the mountain peaks was the one that was used in the 1958 film.
Today’s shore excursion was really a break from our typical excursions! We did a motu beach picnic and stingray feeding. As we pulled away, we were greeted by a humpback whale breaching just beyond the coral reef. Our guide explained that humpbacks seldom breach when they’re feeding, and these whales feed in Antarctica. He said that the humpbacks of the Northern Hemisphere and those of the Southern Hemisphere never intermingle – we thought maybe it was because of the opposite seasons. As we continued to the motu (islet) where we would swim and have our picnic, we were treated with absolutely spectacular hues of water – deep blues, aquas, sea greens, to name a few. We saw some black-tipped sharks swimming near some snorkelers, and we also got glimpses of dolphins near a resort. The most memorable experience was being able to “pet” the stingrays. I never would have guessed that they would be so soft! Our guide coaxed several of them over, and they took turns letting us pet them. When it was my turn, I got an added bonus. I was busy “petting” Jeannie, when suddenly the guide said, “I guess Maggie wants to get in on this too. You’re getting two for one!” They kind of climb up you and make these little slurping noises, and they have absolutely HUGE eyes! I also had my first taste of raw fish! It was a local dish made of fresh tuna, mixed with coconut milk, sea salt, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Like the cuy I’d tried in Peru, I can say I tried it, but that was about it! No thanks! Two of the Amsterdam cast members were on the tour today, so we got a chance to visit with them and find out about them. One was a dancer from Seattle, and the other was the lead female singer, whose home is near London. There are ten members in the cast, but we have yet to meet the dancer that claims Buffalo as her home. Having just met two girls today made tonight’s performance by the cast more interesting.
Our last few nights before arriving in French Polynesia afforded me a chance to do some great stargazing! The second of the two nights I went out, the Milky Way was absolutely breathtaking! The astronomer kept having to tell people who weren’t in the know, “That’s not a cloud, that’s the Milky Way!” I’ve never seen the stars so thick! But trying to identify constellations has been a challenge – they’re all backwards down here! For example, Cygnus seems to be flying in the wrong direction, and Lyra is opening the wrong way! Gone are the ever-present circumpolar stars of the Northern Hemisphere! It does make things particularly interesting!
For the past several days we’ve been treated to a different cable news station! We lost the CNN signal just a few days out of L.A., and we were without television news for several days. We were thrilled when the cruise director told us at the last HAL Chorale rehearsal that they’d contracted with the Internet Provider to get Fox News until they were able to pick up the CNN signal again near Cairns, Australia. Most of the people we’ve talked to seem very happy with the change! In fact, when the announcement was made, a cheer went up among the Chorale members!
A big thanks goes out to my DAR officers, especially Martha Hoffman, for taking over for me at the last DAR meeting. Thanks also to Angie Brannigan, who gave me a heads-up as to what we might enjoy seeing while here – you’re right, Angie, it was absolutely beautiful! We’re also wondering if either Cheryl or Dennis Paben has any big news for us???
Barb
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