Day 93 Paradise found....Moorea

Its between Kusadasi and Moorea for the most beautiful place on earth. We went to the secret door for our sail into Moorea, and as I opened the door and caught my first glimpse of the huge mountains and scenery of Moorea, it took my breath away. Absolutely stunning. The weather was perfect, we had to get ashore by tender (our last one!!), it was a very smooth process this time. I hope this photos give you an idea of this place. Once again there was lots of locals offering tours etc. We just missed out on hiring a buggy but we chose a swimming and beach tour. It cost us $50 each, once again less than half the ship's similar one. The boat took us past the little thatched roofed huts on the aqua water, just as you see in the postcards. Now part of this trip involved swimming with the stingrays and sharks, mmm well this was a bit terrifying. The boat stopped and yes all around us were stingrays and sharks. The thought of Steve Irwin kept popping up , but the guide assured us these ones were friendly and not deadly. The sharks were not so friendly he said but just push them away. Yes ok! I could lie and say I swam with them but the truth is that I stood. terrified, as they SWAM around me. George on the other hand did touch the stingrays and was calm. What an experience. We arrived at the private beach, free beer and soft drinks and some time to swim. We had the best day and would love to come back for a holiday. By the way the little huts cost $1000 per week.

Oh well only 2 more ports and that's it.

Day 93 Continued

 

Day 92 Papeete Tahiti

Beautiful Tahiti! As we had an overnight stop here, we had plenty of time to choose to do a tour here. On leaving the ship, the sounds of a traditional Tahitian band greeted us. Many people were offering tours galore, it was difficult to choose one. The ship's tours were very pricey and the one we eventually chose was $100 per person cheaper, for exactly the same just minus a lunch. It would have to be an extraordinary lunch to be worth that much. Anyway, our bus trip took us around the whole island, 4.5 hours, with a lovely guide for $45 each. Well worth it. We visited all the main sights and it was the most beautiful, lush island.

In the evening, along the waterfront, there was an annual festival. Lots of craft stalls, food vans selling the most amazing food (bit scared to try it) and another fantastic dance display, full costume. George and I had our photos taken with some of the dancers.

Note to our son Kevin: thank your lucky stars that your parents are not Tahitian! The custom here (sort of dying out a bit now) is that the eldest male in the family is raised as a female. Let me assure you that we witnessed this on numerous occasions. You check out the adam's apple, but it's a bit easier to tell than that! Papeete was really lovely, although very expensive to buy anything. They seemed to have their own conversion rate into US dollars. We leave at 4 a.m. and arrive in Moorea at 7 a.m., its just along the road, I mean sea.