Tonga tour and sea day(day 9/10)

     A relaxing day in Tonga.  This island is not as developed, but is very clean and the homes are brightly decorated.  We were bussed to a resort for some quiet snorkeling. The views were very nice!  At the end of the day, we saw a beautiful sailboat and enjoyed a restful evening.

Sea days (day 6/7/8)

     We enjoyed the sail away from the cook islands despite not being able to see the sunset.  The ship changed the time at 2 am (back one hr and ahead a day)  This change in time meant we skipped Friday September 13, 2019 causing several discussions about the process of the time change as we were slated to cross the international dateline within the night.  Ironically we still have not crossed the international date line.  In the meantime, we've enjoyed rest, shows, music, and games.

Aitutaki lagoon (day 4/5)

     We enjoyed a much needed sea day yesterday as getting up early for tours and spending the majority of the day in the strong South Pacific sun leaves us happily tuckered out (luckily we have not gotten sun burned).  We woke up to the pleasant sound of waves crashing against the natural reef and another spectacular location with water of the most amazing blues and greens.   Our tour this day was private and after catching the first tender to Aitutaki, we were shuttled to the 20 person boat.  Once the captain and other guests arrived, we got underway and made our first stop where there were several big fish (giant travellie) snacking on the bread the guides through out.  The water was a little cooler than previous days and jewelry was removed before getting into the water as the fish will bite at the jewelry.   The snorkeling was very nice here, and we saw very huge clams all around us as we snorkeled.  

     Our next stop took us to some of the oldest brain coral in the island (estimated over 1000 yrs old).  Linda saw a big brown and blue fish with neon purple spots.  We then went to honeymoon beach and walked across the crystal clear waters to arrive on a private island for an authentic barbecue lunch.  Our last stop took us through a large maze of regular and brain coral, ending at  a black rock sticking out of the water.  We finally made our way to the island adjacent to one foot island and walked from the island to one foot island.  We got our passports stamped, walked around the island, and snorkeled around the boat.  We left one foot island and returned to the marina to buy coconut oil and board the tender back to the ship. We finished the day with music by the Rhodes brothers who were spectacular!

Bora Bora Blues (day 3)

     We made it Bora Bora around 9 PM and sat in the bay until morning.   We woke to very beautiful sunrise and the most amazing shades of blue all around us.   The waves broke gently and beautifully at the reef rather than at the shore.  We boarded the tender for our lagoon tour.  Onboard the traditional boat, we traveled to our first stop, where we swam with the reef and lemon sharks, while our guides fed and free dove with the sharks.  The water was very clear and we could see all the way down 250 feet to the bottom of the ocean floor. We then made a bonus stop to see a manta ray.  This was an amazing creature about 15 feet across,  gently swimming in lazy circles below us.  Next, we snorkeled at another coral reef where the stingray, reef sharks, and fish hang out.   Our last stop was a coral garden where we saw a variety of fish and an humongous moray eel about 12 feet long.  The current was very strong and we snorkeled from a line off the boat.  The waves at each stop were very pleasant and according to the guides is the best waves for surfing.   They hold an annual competition for surfing.

Once back on land, we did a little shopping and then headed back to the ship. After a bit of time in the pool, we cleaned up and attended the mentalist show at the piano bar. He was quite entertaining!

Motu Mahana (day 2)

     We got off to an early start for our drift snorkel today.  We jumped off the marina deck onto tethered floating boats.  On our way out to the snorkel site, we could see Bora Bora. The guide pointed it out at 2 o'clock and one of our tour mates asked why they had to wait until 2 PM as they were going to be on the boat at 2 PM - it was too funny!  We docked and walked over to our snorkeling site, put on our fins and headed down the current to see a variety of fish and a octopus.  We did this area, but different paths each time, always seeing wonderful sites. The coral was very shallow (low clearance between the water surface and the coral) which made great viewing, but we got scraped up a little.  Rob because people kept stopping and Linda because she was dragged across a narrow opening in the coral. 

After our snorkeling tour, we were taken to the private motu (island) where la gaugins and les gauguines had several treats in store. They performed traditional music and dance just at the edge of the water, squeezed fresh coconut oil for our hair, and made traditional headpieces from palm fronds.  After lunch at the barbecue, we walked up the beach and snorkeled down seeing sea anemones and clown fish.  On our tender back, we met most of the ships entertainers. It was great getting to know them and hearing their stories.  Back on the ship, there was a gorgeous sunset and then dinner with new friends.

Mo'orea photo tour (day 1)

     The ship took the long (haha) journey over to Mo'orea shortly after midnight sailing around the island until 7 AM then the ship headed to Cooks' bay.  We met our tour mates around 8:15 AM after breakfast and headed to the tenders.  Fun fact, every stop on the cruise uses the tender except Tahiti and Fiji.  On the photo tour, we visited some of the most scenic points on the island, including Belvedere point, Magic Mountain, and a Vanilla farm with a floral Garden. Our guide was phenomenal at helping with photo settings and composure. The views and hopefully our photos are stunning!  After returning to the ship and a great dinner, we were treated to a Polynesian dance show and Rob was chosen to participate.

Paul Gauguin float away

  Today we woke up to a beautiful day in Mo'orea and enjoyed our breakfast overlooking the beach.  We took the ferry over to Tahiti and found a tour of the island while we waited for our boarding time.  The tour took us to a waterfall, beach, Papeete, and the Tahiti countryside.   We finished the tour next to the dock where we board our ship.  We grabbed some lunch and enjoyed the sounds of the city.