Monday, September 16, 2019

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.





Friday, September 13, 2019

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.




Thursday, September 12, 2019

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!






Tuesday, September 10, 2019

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!





Monday, September 9, 2019

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.




Sunday, September 8, 2019

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.





Saturday, September 7, 2019

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.







Friday, September 6, 2019

Mo'orea day five

  We got up at 7 AM, which is considered sleeping in for us as we normally have woken up at 5:30 AM or 6 AM most days.  We enjoyed the "magic breakfast" at the blue pineapple overlooking the water at Cook's bay.  We then went snorkeling at the public beach near the airport and saw a lot of fish and a sting ray giving a lift to a fish.  The current was strong as well today.  We hiked up the beach near the entrance into the main waterway.   We then drifted down the beach only stopping to swim back up near the breakers.   We enjoyed a leisurely afternoon near the water to take in the sights, sounds, and activity of the lagoon out back of the Airbnb.  Tomorrow we head back to Tahiti and board our ship to cruise over to Fiji. We will have limited internet,  but will post whenever we can during the cruise.




Mo'orea supplemental photos (001)

  We included these pictures and video in the appropriate day as well.  We included the same photos and video to make it easier to find rather than having to go back and look at the original posting.  I know what you are thinking and yes that is Linda with the whale.












Thursday, September 5, 2019

Mo'orea day four

  We started the day pretty early, enough early enough to see the sunrise.  We decided to drive to our tour this morning rather than share the shuttle with the other people at the Airbnb.  We stopped at the local pastry shop and got some breakfast on the go.  We made it to our tour in time and shared the tour with three other people.  Two of the three celebrated their 10th anniversary and the other was a professional photographer.   We trekked out to swim with the whales.  Our first stop led us to a mother and her calf.  They were curious and played all around us.  At one point they came underneath Rob about 3 feet below.  Our next stop took a while, but it was worth it!  By the time we arrived at our next stop, Linda was greeted by a mother whale while Rob snapped the photo.   We will get it formatted for the blog and post it when we have time.  The same whale shook Rob's hand as it passed by.  We finished the tour snorkeling with sting rays and black tip reef sharks.  After the tour we sought out lunch only to settle for peanut butter and strawberry jam on crackers.   The restaurants were closed and didn't open until 5 PM.  We made a quick stop before heading up to Belvedere point.  We had great weather this trip up the mountain side.  We grabbed some photos of the overlook and headed.back down the mountain.  While we started dinner, we took time to enjoy the sunset.  Tomorrow  more snorkeling weather permitting.











Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Mo'orea day three

We woke early this morning and prepared French toast, scrambled eggs, pineapple, and bananas for breakfast.   We scouted a few snorkel gear shops on our way to the turtle reserve.  They had twelve turtles: six older, four three years old, baby turtle in the lagoon and one in the center.  We watched the feeding and listened to a talk about the clinic.  In total they nurtured and released 237 turtles.  We got some great photos of the turtle feeding when the birds, fish, or eels didnt steal the food. We ventured over to the dolphin care center and watched three dolphins play around in the therapy pool.  We left the reserve and found a small restaurant adjacent to the water.  The lunch was very nice as we dined overlooking the beach and the fish below.  We found a shop that had snorkeling gear including a full face mask.  Our next adventure took us to the best ice cream at the agricultural school.  We found out the school is on spring break for the week, so no ice cream from the school.  We found another place that sold coconut ice cream, and it tasted like a pina colada.  We made it back to the Airbnb to make dinner before tonight's polynesian show right down the road.  What a fantastic show, the dancers and singers performed about 30 minutes and posed for photos after the show.  We returned to the Airbnb and discovered some of the residents are going on the same tour tomorrow morning via pick up from the Airbnb. We made popcorn and turned in early do we can swim with the whales, sharks,  and stingrays.






Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Mo'orea day two

  We slept in a little this morning and cooked eggs to have along with our fresh pineapple.  we picked up the pineapple along the road side fruit stand.  We ran into our hostess, Emeline, this morning and we booked a massage.  After breakfast,  we checked the weather and saw we were in for some pretty heavy rain storms most of the day.  We stayed locally in the lagoon down on the property versus going to the lagoonanarium.   We had a wonderful couple of hours snorkeling.   We ate lunch at Allo pizza and it was very good especially the banana pizza.  Next we went to the hotel to rent kayaks after lunch.  The current was very strong to get the motu and the snorkeling between the motu's were not as good as advertised.  After a short time snorkeling, we took the kayak back to the rental shop.  Halfway back to the shop, the current tipped our kayak.  We lost all of our snorkel gear, but saved the underwater cameras.   While we drifted down the current,  felt similar to a never ending riptide, we hailed a boat for assistance.   They helped us get back to the shore.   We saw a double rainbow when we made it back to shore.  Shortly after returning the kayak, the skies opened up and rained very hard for quite a few hours into the night.  We cleaned up and went to dinner at a steak house.  The service was less than desirable.   We ran into another couple celebrating their honeymoon, but was stranded at the restaurant.   We gave them a lift to the Hilton resort.  Afterwards, we turned in for the night. Tomorrow we plan to stay on land to see the turtle reserve and replace our snorkel gear.




Monday, September 2, 2019

Mo'orea day one

  We woke to the peaceful sounds of a rain shower.  We gathered our underwater gear and headed out for our morning adventure with the whales and marine biologist Dr. Michael Poole and our new found friends.  In the tour we were treated to a fantastic show between mother and calf ending with a full breach, like the TV shows, of the mother when the calf strayed too far.  At the end of of the tour we got in the water to see the whales go by, but they changed directions.   All in all we had an awesome morning and swapped email address so we can swap photos/videos with everyone on the tour.  In the afternoon/evening we drove around to find some lunch as the stores were closed from 12 PM to 2 PM. We stopped for a quick bite to eat and headed to the public beach.  The seas were rough out so we drove to the peak only to find a mostly cloudy view of two bays.  We finally made it to the market to get groceries.  We cook our first meal in French Polynesia and turn in for the evening.  Tomorrow we plan to visit the lagoonanarium.   Will post pictures from the underwater camera time permitting or when we get back home.