January 24, Papeete, Tahiti

Tuesday, January 24, 2023 

Papeete, Tahiti 

We arrived in Papeete (Pah peh teh) last night about 10:30. We were long since asleep, but it was nice to be at a dock rather than at sea. 

Weather was similar to yesterday with clouds and sun. We are scheduled for a walking tour this morning of the downtown area of Papeete. We met on the dock as requested and were eventually assigned to a guide. We tuned in our “Quiet Vox” listening devices and headed off. 

Bora Bora and Moorea present themselves as remote Polynesian Islands. Certainly, modern conveniences, but NO high-rise buildings, streets and roads are 2 lane with gravel shoulders, that sort of thing. By comparison, Papeete is a modern, bustling city. There is a busy road that runs along the waterfront that looked more like a busy road in any city in the US with a very busy morning commute. Bumper to bumper traffic zooming along. 

The old covered market was interesting and a few other buildings. But for the most part, just an ordinary small town that also came across as a bit dirty/dusty. The temperature had come up and with a heavy rain yesterday, the humidity was quite high. It was good to get back to the ship and cool off for a while. 

 

 

We decided to give the town another try and went back into the town. Found a tourist info office and picked up a map before finding our way back to the market. Hunted around for a memento, but nothing struck our fancy. We did observe a small Chinese New Year celebration going on with a dragon dancing and lots of firecrackers. 

Papeete from the Neptune and fewer clouds on the mountains.

 

That evening, before setting sail, we were given a “Destination Performance” of traditional Tahitian dancers. The picture of the girls was in the form of a video that I can't seem to transfer from my phone. All were very talented, and looked to be having a great time. It was a great show and we were quite entertained.

 Monday, January 23, 2023 

Mo’orea, French Polynesia 

We are playing catch up as internet was very sketchy while we were in the middle of the Pacific. We occasionally picked up e-mail, but loading photos to blogs and then posting them was beyond the bandwidth.

So . . . Here's number one. We'll also add Tahiti soon, as well as a current one on our sea days to New Zealand.

Today we arrived in Mo’orea. Shortly after getting up, we looked forward (towards the front of our ship) to see an amazing site. Another WOW. Like Bora Bora, we are anticipating rain. In the early morning, after we were at anchor the sun was out and we were all encouraged.

 

Our boat ride today is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. We were to meet in the Star Theater to wait until our tender was ready for us. We were called and headed to the embarkation point, then ended up standing in the stairwell for quite some time. We were advised there was a mechanical issue with one of the tenders, and they were bringing another one around. 

As we boarded the tender, we were met with rain. By the time we got to shore, visibility was limited. We were told the morning excursions had all been cancelled. We had an option of getting off the tender and wandering around in the village, or returning to the ship. We returned to the ship. The rain continued off and on for the remainder of the day. 

We enjoyed another “Chef’s Table” dinner tonight. “A Gastronomic Journey Through Time”. 

          1^st course: Roman Empire Delicacy – romaine and cucumber with goat cheese mousse. Not something I would seek out again, but not bad. 

 

         2^nd course: Gallic Oxtail Consommé – beautifully presented and wonderful. 

          3^rd course: Granita to cleanse the palette. Vodka, mint and mixed berries in a slushie with lemon foam on top. Delicious 

          4^th course: Renaissance-style 
Lamb Filet. Melt in your mouth
tender and beautifully seasoned
and cooked. 

          

5^th course: 21^st Century Nut Brownie with pistachio ice cream.

We are heading to Papeete, Tahiti tonight after everyone is back on board. So we’ll wake up to another island.

Sunday, January 22, 2023 - Bora Bora

 

Sunday, January 22, 2023 

Bora Bora, French Polynesia 

After 5 days at sea, we arrived this morning in Bora Bora. Mid-morning we went up to the Explorer’s Lounge to see this island in front of us. We are supposed to drop anchor around 11:00 so still aways to go. WOW! 

 

We sailed through a narrow opening in the reef and into a bay where we dropped anchor. Rain is forecast for much of the day but it is 80 F so very comfortable. The island is beautiful! I’ve seldom seen such green. We are here in their rainy season which may be attributing to the green. We have a 3:30 included tour which consists of a 1-hour boat ride. 

We headed into the pier a little early so we can walk around what little bit of town there is. There are souvenir shops, lots of pearl shops as this area is known for the black pearls. We walked through the little supermarket and could definitely feel the French influence. The pearls were fun to look at through the windows. A beautiful 3-strand necklace was only $20,000 USD. 

Tour time came and we found our boat along the dock. The captain was very engaging. There were 5 boats altogether on this excursion. Each had 10-12 passengers. Our guide gave us some local history as we headed out to the shallow water along the reef and then sang and played the ukelele for us. 

As we approached the shallow water, the color changed from a deep deep blue to a very pale blue green. In the distance, you could see breakers along the outside of the reef. We came to a stop in an area known for eagle rays and other fish. We spotted some rays as well as puffer fish and parrot fish and reef sharks. The other boats in our group gathered and one of the other guides got into the water to play with the fish. The water is only about waist deep. 

He had some bait for the sharks and the rays and they seem to know him. He really enjoyed playing with one of the rays. After a while, we all went on to the rest of our tour. We had a good view of a high-end bungalow resort. And were shown the “best” beach on the island. It’s the only beach on the island. We also spotted a whole school of reef shark. Between 20 and 30 individuals. Our guide commented that when there are only a few, you can go in the water. When you see that many, you stay out of the water. 

For at least half of our tour, the rain had been falling. Gradually getting harder. By the time we finished our tour and got back to the tender, we were pretty well soaked. But it’s just water and it’s warm. We’ll dry. 

Eagle Ray

Reef Shark

You can see breakers at the edge of the reef

More reef shark

High-end bugalow resort.

All in all, a great day!

Sea Days between Hawaii and French Polynesia

 January 21, 2023 – From Honolulu to Bora Bora 

This is the last of 5 days at sea to travel from Honolulu to Bora Bora French Polynesia. Bora Bora is almost due south of Hawaii. 

Some of these sea days have been a little different. Wednesday was a red-letter day. Particularly for the staff. At 10:00 in the morning, they were allowed to remove their masks. What beautiful smiles. For close to three years, they have worn masks. Advantages for the guests is that we get to see the whole face and get to know them a little better and it is much easier to understand them without having to filter the conversation through a mask. 

The downside we all acknowledge. 

Thursday was another red-letter day. For all the “polliwogs” on the ship. We crossed the Equator on Thursday. The ceremony and celebration were held on the pool deck at 2:00 p.m. The actual crossing was closer to midnight. The staff that had never crossed the line were assembled, contrived charges were read against them, guests and senior officers voted guilty or not and then the polliwogs had to jump in the pool, All were terrific sports and looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Then guests were invited to take a dunking. We are all now considered “shellbacks” All guests were given certificates marking the occasion.

 Friday night we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Chef’s Table. We enjoyed it so much we forgot to take pictures of a couple of the courses. We enjoyed the entire meal and would say it is our favorite at this point. We’ll be going back in a few days to try a different menu.

Beautifully seared tuna with lemon foam.

Perfectly cooked beef with a warm spice coating.

And best de-constructed apply pie you've ever had.

We also enjoyed an early morning moon set.