Tahiti
Tahiti 4/18
We arrived in Papeete, Tahiti harbor during breakfast. We had forgotten how large the city of Papeete was until we arrived. We haven’t seen tall buildings, or this density of buildings since we left Tahiti. After a number of goodbyes, we hopped in our taxi and headed to Le Meridien for our last day in this paradise. We spent several hours enjoying the beach and then a rain storm came in. There is a reason everything here is so lush, a good mix of rain and sun. We caught up on emails, posted pictures to the blog and read. The rain stopped and we headed to the beach to watch the lovely sunset. Many of our fellow travelers were on the beach and we enjoyed the time with them as the sun left and our day closed. Many people from the cruise were waiting for time to go to the airport by enjoying the resort. We decided to have a simple dinner on our balcony rather than a big dinner. So, we headed to the local grocery, grabbed a bottle of wine, baguette, salads, cheese and caprese salad. Our end to our two week adventure in French Polynesia ended with a French picnic on our balcony, listening to the ocean and a jazz band playing in the bar at the resort and looking at the endless stars in the sky. It has been a wonderful stay in an area that gets as many visitors in a year as Hawaii does in a day.
Huanine 4/18
We are spending the day at the island that is called the most Polynesian island. It has a few small villages, one main road and lots of plants and trees covering the hills that jut out of the lagoons. All of the Polynesian Islands are very ancient volcanoes that have formed lagoons from coral reefs. All are beautiful but this one is known to have the most varied colors of coral. We are spending the morning with an anthropologist who has to be one of the most energetic, funny professors that we have come across. He looks like an aging surfer and has a mind so sharp and deep thinking that he kept us on our toes. We learned much about the ancient Polynesian culture, about movement of humans from one continent to another thousands of years ago and the proof through religion, plants, animals, tools, etc. that certain cultures had crossed paths. There was a lot of island hopping going on from Asia to South American and vise versa. North America got into the act, too. He talked about how the missionaries were a very positive influence in this area. They built relationships, helped people stop negative superstitious behaviors, and ultimately helped move them from a hierarchical existence to one where all shared in the wealth in the country. The monarchy had been pretty brutal and French are now providing health, education and infrastructure which make life easier and help elevate the existence of the local people. Oh, and we saw and fed blue eyed eels. Yep, 4-5 foot long eels that liked mackerel and chickens, as we learned from a story of a rooster that went after the mackerel only to end up lunch himself.
We spent the rest of the day playing in the water off the boat, enjoying friends, eating, drinking and packing. We set sail at 5 pm and watched the sails unfurl for the last time and watch another pretty sunset. We dined one last time with Sue and Tony and danced until we are exhausted. It will be an early morning and we will disembark and head to Le Meridien for our last day in French Polynesia.
Bora Bora 4/17
Day two at this beautiful island. We took a tour this morning in open Jeeps. The Jeep took us off road and climbed three different mountains. The views of blue lagoons and islands was spectacular! We visited several 7 inch cannons still in their spot from WWII where the USA placed them and saw the air strip made by the SeaBees which is still an airport. We also stopped at an artist’s home high on a hill and saw beautiful hand painted pareo’s. We learned that until the early 1800’s the Polynesians lived in tribes. When they fought others, human sacrifice and beheading was common when the enemy was captured. We saw an ancient temple where this took place. The missionaries put a stop to this practice and won over natives by showing them that certain common superstitions were false and did not cause death. The Polynesian people are quite religious still and churches are full on Sunday and stores are closed. The people tend to be very hospitable and kind and gentle. They say that family is first and God is second in their lives. Large families have been common on all the islands. People at each island have told us that the French give Polynesian people $950 when a baby is born, full health care for the family, schools are plentiful and free and families get $100/year as long as their children are in school. So, families are encouraged and children are to be educated. We circled this island stopping at Matira Beach which is listed as one of the top beaches. It’s white sand was cool and soft to walk on. We also made a stop at the famous Bloody Mary’s bar and restaurant for a drink. Then we walked around the largest town and then headed back to the boat for a few hours of swimming and relaxing. At dinner time catamarans picked us up and took us to a small private island for a Polynesian feast and fire dancing. We watched the sunset with new friends from across the globe before the feast. Ate, drank, laughed and enjoyed the Polynesian show. After we returned to the ship, we set sail to the sailing song from the movie 1492 - The Conquest of Paradise. The sails open and catch the wind.We are off to our next island.
Bora Bora 4/16
We have arrived at the island that the Americans used as a base in WWII. We think both of our fathers were here, one as a Navy Sea Bee and one as a Navy sailor. Today we spent our time in the water.In the morning we kayaked and swam near our ship. One of the wonderful things about Windstar is that it’s stern opens into a swim platform. Kayaks, boogie boards, swimming, snorkeling can all be done from here. After lunch we headed out to a boat where one can go on an aqua safari. You have a diving helmet on your head and walk along the bottom of the lagoon, 15-20 feet below sea level. Hundreds of colorful fish swam around us, a sting ray played around us and anemones and coral completed the fun. Neither of us had ever scuba dived so this was a rare treat. We played, jumped like the astronauts on the moon and fed fish. What fun! This evening they had a reception for returning cruisers at sunset. The weather is a perfect temperature and sunsets are nice. We have had too many clouds at sunset to see many colors but it is quite pleasant anyway. After a reception, we had another large and delicious meal and then the crew entertained us. What a group of talented people are on this ship serving our every need! Singing, comedy, juggling, cultural dances and songs, impersonations. The crew seem to really enjoy being together which is important when you live and work in such close quarters. This ship has 150 passengers and about 100 crew. We like this size.
Motu Mahea 4/15
Today we woke in the Motu Mahea lagoon. It was a day enjoying the water in this beautiful turquoise lagoon. We spent the morning snorkeling in a coral reef. It was called drift snorkeling because there was a strong current that would carry you between two islands. You needed to negotiate around large corals but basically you could float/drift and let the current carry you. Each time we finished swimming through the area between two tiny islands we would walk back to the beginning position on one of the islands and float through again. This area had red, blue and purple coral and many colorful fish. The biggest critters we saw was a stingray and an octopus. No sharks this time. Dean had fun with the new waterproof camera! When we finished the guide had a tray of tropical fruit. One unusual and very tasty fruit is a green grapefruit.It is a cross of lime, grapefruit and mango. It was juicy and sweet.
The boat dropped us off at one of the many tiny islands around Motu Mahaea where our ship had swimming and water sports all day and a huge barbecue lunch. Food and drink were delicious and we snorkeled and swam and Sue tried her hand at paddle board. It’s harder than it looks! She has a bruised heel to prove it. Lots of lounge chairs provided for relaxation in the sun or shade. About an hour in the sun here provides a layer of tan if you have high spf sunscreen or a bad burn if you don’t. We have been liberally applying sunscreen and covering up and have managed to avoid burns, so far.
The ship provided another amazing dinner followed by the singing duo that have been entertaining us all week. It is dancing music and a lot of folks enjoy dancing. Great way to end an evening.
April 19, 2018
Today we woke up to sunshine and watched as we entered the lagoon around Raiatea. The rolling water suddenly became calm. We chose to kayak a local river that empties into the lagoon. 16 of us loaded into kayaks and enjoyed a morning of paddling through a rainforest, past a banana plantation. Our guide is a landscaper and was quite knowledgeable about the plants. Croton, hibiscus, bamboo, chestnut trees, breadfruit trees, banana palms and coconuts palms grew along the river. In Haiti we were on the lookout for branches as we travel and would yell ‘branch’ to warn folks. Here we were on the lookout for coconuts. Falling coconuts kill about 200 people a year and the trees here are packed full. So, we would yell ‘coconut’ when a tree hung over the water so that people would avoid them. He also told us that the breaks in the reef are where the rivers are located because coral can’t grow in fresh water. So, there was a bit of a current coming from the river as we paddled up river and a bit from the sea as we paddled back to our starting point in the lagoon. This island, like all in Polynesia are ancient volcanoes, so each island has multiple peaks that are now full of lush vegetation and waterfalls. The water in the lagoon surrounding the island is a beautiful turquoise. We walked around town and to a marina and watched the sailboats for a while. A swim helped cool us off. Then some locals came on board ship and entertained us with music and dancing, lei construction and demonstrations of many ways to tie a pareo, a large piece of cloth into various outfits. A storyteller, Hemou, an 80 year old man who has spent his whole life on the island gave us his view of how the culture has changed. He very much lives as in the old days: very simple lifestyle, many partners and children, living off the land and sea, savors meals and relationships, work as little as possible and wears no clothes when he can get away with it. He thinks the Western way of life is stupid and it has taken over Polynesia thanks to the French ownership and the travel industry.
Tonight was the first ship barbecue. This one was on the top deck. The culinary staff outdid themselves. Amazing food including a roasted pig and grilled local and lobster, and all the sides and deserts. The various food sculptures were numerous and pretty. We worked off all the food dancing. It was a full day.
Moorea - 4/13
Today we are at Moorea. It is a beautiful island and we were planning on a hike up a mountain on three coconuts trail. Torrential rain changed everyone’s plans today for safety. We did walk into town and enjoy a bit of retail therapy. Then the rains started. We walked back from town with our heads down and hoods up on our rain coats. Problem was we waited too long before looking up. Dean was walking quickly and I simply followed. About a mile past our goal I pointed out that nothing had looked familiar for a while. We looked out at the water and noticed the ship tenders going to a destination far back the shore. So, we turned around and walked with our eyes up and paying attention. We found the spot and caught the next tender back to the boat. Our two mile walk had become four. Oh, well. After drying off, we had lunch and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon on the boat. It rained all day and evening, so the Pacific got a bit choppy. We enjoyed a lecture on growing grapes for wine and then Captain’s reception and dinner with the Captain. Our Captain was just promoted to captain 5 week’s ago and is in his thirties, quite young for a ship captain. He was very interesting and shared some experiences that he has had around the world. The music duo in the lounge plays music that is fun to dance to. They have great voices and choose fun songs. We even got to waltz, unusual for a lounge band. A rainy day can be fun if you are willing to go with the flow.
Relaxing Days, 4/11 and 4/12
Day one. This morning we headed into Papeete to explore. Breakfast at a yummy French Patisserie. Bought a waterproof camera for Dean, and black pearl items for Sue. Enjoyed the bustling market place and Norte-Dame of Papeete. Afternoon was for playing in the water, resting, and testing out the new camera. Dinner with new friends. Lovely, relaxing day.
Day two. A new French Patisserie! Yummy! A morning playing in the water and relaxing then we say goodbye to Le Meridien and head to our home for the next week, The Wind Spirit.
The safari, 4/10
Today we were up early so that we could be ready to go on a day long safari through the middle of the island. Our guide met us in a 4 wheel drive truck with benches in the back and roll bars that reminded me of the tap taps in Haiti. This one had padded seats with seat belts which was appreciated. I told my traveling partners about tap taps and they were yelling ‘branch’ to warn others just as we had done in Haiti. Once we got into the remote part of the island we were offered the chance to take the roof off so that our area would be totally open. There were three trucks in our safari; one chose to be totally open and the young people in the group stood up and hung on. Our truck chose to keep the top on to give us shade from the hot sun. Boring. But, as it turned out, we had plenty of rain throughout the day and we were grateful for the roof.
After collecting our group from three different hotels, we met the other trucks and started our journey on the only road that traversed the island. It is generous to call it a road. It is mostly a single lane dirt road with many potholes and rocks. Once we got deeper into the mountains the road became quite steep, sometimes it was a 20 degree angle which is quite steep for a vehicle, especially one with people sitting on benches in the back of a truck. The road was mostly dirt with numerous water diversion ‘speed bumps’, some sections of the road were paved and some sections had gravel or large rocks to help vehicles gain traction on steep surfaces. In several places the road crossed streams. The few locals that we asked about the road told us that they had never been on it. Everyone lives within a half mile of the coast because the inner part is mountainous with a dense rain forest. Only crazy tourists want to go in this area or the people who work at the hydroelectric plants scattered through the center of the island. They are putting all this water to a good use.
The views were spectacular! Mountains covered in layers of vegetation. Most of it was green but there were the occasional flower to give it color and, often, a delightful aroma. There were reported to be a thousand waterfalls on the island. We only saw about 50 today, so we can’t verify the large number but can say that there were a lot of waterfalls falling down steep cliffs or cascading gently down large boulders or a combination of both. We spent 7 hours deep in the center of the island. The rain would come and go during the day, could be heavy at times and caused the waterfalls to flow full and continuously. Someone in our group seemed to always be pointing to a new one discovered.
We found a couple of lakes that had eels as well as fish. Big eels, over a yard in length. Finally we found a lake where we could swim without eels. It was refreshing and enjoyable! Lunch was at the only building in the center part of the island. There is a small hotel and restaurant high on a hill. The food was quite good and the view was breathtaking. There were a couple of very adventurous families staying at the inn. I wouldn’t want to ruin my car’s transmission and shocks on a ride to the inn and am glad for the 4x4 that took us there.
There were 7 of us and our guide together for at least 8 hours today deep in the rainforest. We met a couple, Tony and Sue, from our resort who will be going on the cruise with us. They are from the Gold Coast of Australia and are a lot of fun. One couple from Victoria, Canada finished their holiday with this safari and headed home today. They are very much outdoors adventurous folks and had fun stories from their travels. After all they met in the Arctic while studying the environment. What a way to start! Our last fellow traveler is a guy from France who is taking a year to travel around the world. He is planning his next place to visit as he goes and finds interesting ways to help fund the journey like working in exchange for housing. Part of the fun of travel is meeting new folks and making new friends.
After drinks with our new friends, we had dinner and then crashed. Who knew that riding most of the day on a very bumpy road would be so exhausting!
Tahiti, Monday 4/9/18
Tahiti is a hidden gem. This small island, largest in French Polynesia, is beautiful with friendly, hospitable people. It also has lower tourism than one would expect. Today we had a relaxing breakfast and talked to a man from Samoa who travels the world learning about ancient cultures. He was fascinating, passionate and traveled with two body guards! Quite a guy! After spending the morning swimming in the ocean with all the interesting, colorful, little fish and our pool, we dried off and went on a tour of the island. Turns out we were the only folks on the tour as the other couple dropped out, so we got a private four hour tour. We saw several water falls, a grotto, blow hole, lots of beaches and mountains. We walked through gardens full of huge specimens that we are used to seeing as small house plants. This looks like a rain forest with several kinds of plants growing on trees or any surface that doesn’t move. Lush, beautiful and fragrant and the flowers are beautiful, too! We experienced sun, clouds and downpours, a typical day in the tropics. Oh, and wild chickens are everywhere. Most are too skinny to eat but folks let them live because they eat bugs and there are plenty of typical tropical bugs here. Fish, local fruits and vegetables is the typical diet. Many trade these items for poultry or beef which are very expensive as they are mostly shipped in. Thanks to the French who own the islands and the Americans who built a base here in WWII Coke and McDonalds are favorites. Pizza also seems to be easy to purchase. 10% of the population is Chinese and they make a majority of the bread. We saw a bread truck that reminds one of an ice cream truck except that it is adults that run after it and come away with a handful of baguettes.
As we circled the island we saw where the wealthy and average person lived and saw vacation homes. The average family might include three or more generations living in one home and they all looked safe and comfortable. Some had solar panels, solar water heaters and many had no air conditioning, but they were secure from the elements and comfortable. We were told all children go to school until at least 16. There isn’t a lot for the kids to do but they do love to surf and there were hundreds in the water this afternoon as we circled the island n the main road. Also, unemployment is low; anyone who wants to work has a job. It is a comfortable living.
We got to know William, our tour guide, over the afternoon and he got to know us. Rather than take us back to our hotel he offered up a few restaurant options in Papeete and said he would take us home from there. Our hotel is about a 20 minute ride from the city so this sounded good to us as we wouldn’t have gone into the city for dinner. When he pitched a microbrewery that the locals frequented he had us. It was fun, had good beer according to Dean, and even had wine choices for Sue. We had a pizza with a sunny side up egg on top which actually was quite good. (Much better than it sounds). The place was packed with mostly young locals. It was fun to watch them greet each other in the typical formal French manor, kiss both cheeks, and then start catching up in an animated way. William was true to his word and picked us up when we were ready and dropped us off at our hotel. He even suggested things to do at other islands we will visit on our cruise. It was a good day in paradise.
Tahiti arrival
4/8/18
After 26 hours of travel, we arrived at this beautiful island at 5:20 am. The travel was uneventful for which we are thankful but the 12 hour layover at LAX was about 8 hours too long. There seemed to be a lot of us with very long layovers in the international terminal. We met some during the day, all of us trying to patiently wait. The international terminal really woke up about 9:30 pm and was bustling when we left at 11:30pm. The extra comfort seats in Air France jets lived up to their names. They truly reclined a bit and had leg supports that came up various heights. I wouldn’t call it a good nights sleep but there was some sleep. Meals always included fresh, warm roles handed to you with tongs. For airline food, it was good. They handed out paperwork to fill out before our arrival and it included filling out our visa information. No one had mentioned needing a visa and the staff mostly spoke very broken English (we are now in the land of the French) so we were left to hope that we didn’t need one. Surely our travel agent or Windstar would have told us, so we were unusually calm about this and, as it turned out, we didn’t need one. Our driver was waiting for us, gave us each a beautiful lei that smelled fantastic, and drove us to Le Meridien, our home for the next four days. Tahiti at first glance is a tropical island with mountains, coral reefs, small neat homes, skinny roads and is very clean. We arrive about 6:30 am and our room was ready! We were thrilled and after naps and showers we felt human enough to start exploring. The resort is beautiful! Gardens, a huge sand bottom pool with two beaches, lots of comfortable lounges, water garden, Polynesian style buildings and lots of Polynesian people ready to make you comfortable. We met up through the day with various cats and carious kinds of birds including chickens who live on the property. Actually, chickens seem to roam freely in this part of the island! We walked along the beach in each direction from the resort for about a mile. Beach is public, even in front of the resort. We saw many folks out on the beach enjoying a Sunday relaxing, playing games, swimming, fishing and eating. People were polite and didn’t seem to mind our walking past their family activities but in some areas it felt like we were intruding. The water is warm here and the island is surrounded by a coral reef so swimming is fun with small fish darting from one point to another when they sense movement. Dean and I discussed this beautiful place and hospitable people over an amazing dinner. I highly recommend parrot fish cooked in a banana leaf with bread fruit and purple potatoes! The tropical fruit that makes its way on your plate and in your drinks is also fantastic.
Our one glitch is the lack of cameras. Dean realized at the airport that he left the camera bag at home and after brainstorming ways to bring it to us, we decided that we would not be able to get it. Dean spent the trip trying to discern why he didn’t remember the bag, was he supposed to just enjoy the trip and take pics with cell phone? During the long wait at LAX he discovered all the features of his cell phone camera and Lightroom app. He also looked into renting equipment during our stay. At least we had my waterproof camera. Wrong! It, too, was left on the bedroom floor. So, we currently are enjoying our trip with little gear to carry and one of Dean’s favorite hobbies is being challenged a bit.
