November 5, 2007
Moorea
Ia Orana. Well here we are – I’m reporting a day later than I said. Hawaiian Air has only one weekly flight to Papeete. The flight arrives about two hours after the ship sails – except on the weekend that daylight sayings time reverts to standard time. For this sailing, the ship waits for us. Not really; The ship is waiting for the Air Tahiti Nui flight from Paris.
And so, sometime nearer to 3:00 a.m. than we like to see, Fred and I collapsed. Sunday in Moorea is a blur. I’ll tell you about it from other visits.
Moorea
Rugged mountains with jagged peaks that are covered with lush greenery and surrounded by sandy beaches and a tranquil lagoon within the surrounding reef. Wow! Take a breath. Yes, it is that beautiful. How is this different from Hawaii? The lagoons. The Hawaiian islands are too young for the volcanoes to have sunk into the sea and eroded to basins with coral reefs growing on the perimeter.
I suspect most of you have seen the mountain peak Mouaroa. It is the view entering the bay to the mythical island of Bali Hai.
We have stayed on the north shore at Cook’s bay. Cook’s and Opunohu bay on this shore are old volcanic craters taken by the sea.
We particularly enjoy walking into the village chatting with folks along the way. However, being Pisces, we are happiest in the sea. I can no longer scuba-dive (asthma), so Fred and I snorkel every chance we have. In Moorea we are rarely in waters more than 3m deep within the lagoon. In the Hawaiian islands, the seabed drops very quickly and near the shore.
November 5, 2007 - Taha'a
Taha’a is enclosed in a common lagoon with Raiatea and accessible only by boat. Taha'a produces about 80% of all vanilla in French Polynesia. Raiatea is small and quiet, but Taha’a is even more so. Raiatea is generally considered a center for the Polynesian migrations.
In Taha’a we will spend the day on Motu Mahana, which is small even for an islet. This is a day for exercising our skills in indolence. Picnicking, snorkeling, kayaking, reading, napping beneath the swaying palm trees. It’s tough, but someone has to do it.
Ia orana
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