A very expensive alternative to Hawaii, but oh so much better!  Had always hoped to get there some day.  A cruise brochure arrived with a “special” so we thought it might be a good way to get a sampling of a few of the islands.  Ken’s brother Darryl, his wife Yvonne and our friends Doug and Donna joined us.  A 10 day cruise on the Tahitian Princess (no longer in service) then 5 days on Moorea.  Even though 15 years ago, so much is still the same….including the prices!  Even Marcs Motu Picnics is still in business.  A couple of restaurants on Moorea are gone, or changed but appears that the laid back lifestyle continues, which is a good thing.

Fri May 7

Limo picked up D & Y,  us next, then D & D….right on time at 3AM!  At that time of the morning champagne and orange juice seemed at good way to start our trip!

Flight was on time.  Arrived in LA just before 11.  Time for lunch and that was about it before boarding our Air Tahiti Nui flight to Papeete.

Fantastic airline!  Good service, lots of legroom and free drinks!  We each got a little goodie bag with an eye mask, socks, earphones and a wet wipe. The crew were dressed in pretty turquoise blue suits with tropical print scarves and ties.  Just before the meal was served they’d changed into Polynesian outfits….women in muumuus, flowers in their hair, guys in matching shirts and black pants.  Really made you feel like you were on your way to Tahiti!  We had 2 choices for lunch/dinner…..short ribs and pasta or seafood paella….had the paella, which was very good a couple of big prawns, Ken had the pasta, also v. good and our first Hinano beers.  Huge plane with quite a few empty seats….we had our 3 seats but really could have had just about 3 seats each anywhere on the plane.  Managed to get a couple hours sleep in on the 7 hour trip.

Arrived in Papeete at 6:30PM (9:30 our time).  Was dark so couldn’t really see much coming in for landing.  A Polynesian band was playing to welcome us.  Thru customs, no issues.  Mini bus picked us up and to the cruise terminal.  Check in was quick and easy.  No upgrade….same room (3021) that was assign on our tickets. Oh well.  Bottom of the boat but we have two port holes and the room is quite a good size for a cruise ship.

Very nice ship.  One of the old Renaissance cruise line ships.  Perfect size to me….only 700 people.  No big glitzy atrium but very nice décor…..thought it could have had a bit more of a tropical flare to it but nice just the same.

Met everyone by the pool deck for celebratory drinks.  Tried the DOD, a blue Polynesian….blue and very sweet, one was enough.  Had a very late dinner from the buffet around 10PM.  We stay in port tonight as more passengers arrive…apparently some in the wee hours of the morning.  They keep the buffet, and bars, open late for all the later arrivals.

Had a bit of a tour around the ship…..bunches of bananas hanging up on the deck!  Back to our cabin and did a bit of unpacking, read the Princess Patter for tomorrow and to bed.  Long, but great day.

Sat May 8

Up at 6!  On the deck for coffee by 6:30 (terrible coffee….had to mix half coffee and half hot water to make it drinkable….really Princess I was hoping you would have improved it since the last  cruise….but no!)  What a glorious morning!  Bright, sunny and warm.  The view of the island is great…..the mountains are covered in puffy white clouds, the green, the white and the blue sky.  Doug joined me and waited for the rest of them to surface before going for breakfast.  Had the buffet (good, the usual).

Went and found our tour guide, David, for the Island Mountain Tour.  Who knew the mountains here were so beautiful…..verdant green folds, capped with clouds.  Into the mountains we went.  Once off the highway the roads, or such as they were, were really rough and even more so the higher we climbed.  The views of Papeete below and the water, with Moorea off in the distance were great….and rainbows!

Down and down we started to go into the valley.  Pictures really can’t convey what we saw…..quite high mountains with literally hundreds of waterfalls that went from almost the top to the bottom….amazing.  Was incredibly humid.  The valley was like something out of Jurassic Park.  When it rains it pours so it doesn’t take much to create fast flowing rivers, a couple of which we drove thru….one was a bit like whitewater rafting in a jeep!  A bit scary really.  Sometimes the roads are more like rivers than roads.  Stopped at the bottom of one of the waterfalls to watch it tumble down hundreds of feet into a crystal clear pool.  Started to rain, a lot, as we headed back up out of the valley, again on some pretty rough roads….definitely had to hang on….some places it was so steep and mucky I was a bit worried we wouldn’t make it up, but we did of course.  They probably do this every day, regardless of the weather.

The rain had turned torrential just as we stopped at a roadside fruit stand to sample some goodies…..pomelos were so sweet and delicious.   The rain lasted about 20 minutes….we all looked a bit like drowned rats, soaked from head to toe, even being under cover in the jeep.  Stopped at a beautiful beach for some pics, then to the Pt Venus lighthouse.  Rain had stopped, sun was back out full blast and everything was steaming, literally!  Great tour and fun and exciting way to see the mountains and valleys of Tahiti.

Back to the ship to clean up and lunch.  Many more people on board…..buffet was really busy.  After lunch Ken, Darryl and I took a bit of walk to Marche de Papeete.  Fresh produce, big flower market (bought a pretty arrangement for our cabin $10CDN, bird of paradise, orchids, anthurium and red ginger) but the highlight was the fabric section…..the most gorgeous tropical prints ever!!  Didn’t go upstairs where the jewelry was.  Would have loved to have seen more of the city and the other part of the island, the Gauguin museum etc. but oh well….can’t see it all in one day.  Papeete is pretty touristy but very beautiful too.  Got peeks of some of the resorts on our tour this morning….love the over water bungalows!

Sat by the pool, read, had a few drinks and enjoyed people watching.  Muster drill at 4, then off to the “cruise critic” meet and greet.  Had found the website while researching the cruise.  Kind of fun chatting on the rollcall message board with others that were going on this cruise.  Made plans for private excursions….motu picnic organized by Bob for tomorrow.  16 people showed up.  Introduced ourselves and chatted for a bit.

Moved up to the top deck for the sail away at sunset.  Just beautiful.  The Paul Gauguin cruise ship was still in port.  Had a few more drinks then got ready for dinner.  Found our table for 6, welcomed by our waitress, Sobrina, from Romania.

Dinner was great….except for poor Yvonne, she’d forgot to put her seasickness patch on and just as dinner arrived she quickly disappeared.  She’d ordered prime rib, so the guys divvied up hers.  Went to the show “Welcome Aboard”.  Cruise director is “JJ”.  A good looking guy….and knows it!  Out to the pool bar for a night cap.  Beautiful, warm, balmy evening.  Calm seas, just lovely.

Sun May 9  Happy Mother’s Day!

Coffee on deck really early….5:30.  Sailed into Huahine this morning.  Love the sail ins.  What a beautiful island, or islands.  There are 2 connected by a bridge.  Sailed in thru an incredibly narrow channel.  The water is the most beautiful turquoise, crystal clear.  Lush hillside.  Anchored in Maroe Bay.  Tendered to the pier and met the guy for our tour, Marcs Motu Picnic.  Bob from CC had organized it….not cheap at $60US per person but half the price of the same type of excursion thru Princess.  It’s just our group of 20, not 50 or more, so that was great.

Picked up by 2 outrigger canoes (with canopies….thank goodness!).  Off we went for a tour around the island.  This is everything that you could possibly expect to see in French Polynesia……idyllic south pacific like the pictures on calendars.  Turquoise water, beautiful palm tree lined white sand beaches….a tropical heaven!  The colours are so vivid!  Just unbelievable!!!

A stop at a nice little beach for a bit of a swim, then off to the drift snorkel.  Was absolutely terrific….the current just takes you along, very little work required.  The only bad thing was that if you passed something and wanted to go back to have another look, it was like swimming upstream….almost impossible.  Beautiful coral, lots of starfish but not the number and variety of colourful tropical fish I was expecting.  The water was so warm you were sweating!!  Snorkeled for almost an hour.  The canoes were waiting for us at the end.  Motored along just admiring the scenery.  Arrived at our picnic location.  Tables with umbrellas set up in the shallow water just off the beach……another very nice, perfect beach.  Was fun sitting on the chairs with your bum in the water….quite refreshing too because it was pretty hot.  Lots of Hinanos and rum punches.  A couple of guys playing guitars and ukuleles for entertainment.   A pareo tying demo with volunteers from the group…..the men’s demo was quite entertaining.

Showed us how to make poisson cru, a type of ceviche……raw tuna, cucumber, shredded carrot, peppers, lemon, lime and coconut milk…..was really good.  https://www.tasteatlas.com/poisson-cru    All the food was prepared and served on tables that were also in the water.  All was delicious!  The staff did some dancing and invited people up to dance with them.  Just a great time.  I could have spent all afternoon there.

Back into the canoes and to the pearl farm for a tour.  The scenery on the way is just breathtaking…..you really have to pinch yourself to believe it.  The farm is in the middle of a very pretty lagoon.  Climbing up out of the canoes was a bit of a challenge for some people with mobility issues.   Very interesting how they farm…..knew they did it but had never seen the set up before.  Lovely and very expensive black Tahitian pearls.  If I was a jewelry wearer, I would have been tempted to splurge a bit.  They also have some beautiful pottery that they make themselves……also expensive.

Back to the ship around 3:30.  Stayed on deck by the pool for drinks and sail away and another beautiful sunset.  DOD was a Chocolate Banana (Kahlua, cream and banana)……Ken’s fav.  I tried the MOD, which was a cosmo (g).  Sailed out the same way we came in (Passe Farerea).  Just enough daylight left to watch this beautiful island disappear behind us.  I just can’t imagine how anywhere is going to compare to Huahine…..even Bora Bora, which I’d always imagined to be one of the most beautiful places in the world…..we shall see!

Got ready for dinner and found the casino!!  A bit of a mistake that was….would have spent less in the bar!  Ken came out with a few bucks.  Dinner was good….had the fish “roughie”.  We’re taking turns ordering a bottle of wine for dinner.  Cheaper than a glass and just enough for a taste to go with dinner.  The guys would rather have Hinano’s.  Show tonight was a comedian/magician…..just OK.  Amanda ?? was singing in the other lounge.  Lots of great areas on this ship to sit and be on your own.  Also good that there are just 700 passengers, so nowhere is really crowded.

Pool bar for our nightcap …..beautiful warm evening just sailing along.  Day at sea tomorrow enroute to Rarotonga.

Mon May 10

Sleep in day……7AM.  Coffee on the deck.  Beautiful and sunny.  No land in sight…..a bit of a long haul to Rarotonga.  The water is still an incredible colour….not so much turquoise but a brilliant azure blue.  Camera issues…..of all trips!!

Yvonne and Doug arrived so went off to claim some deck chairs…..3 in the sun and 3 in the shade.  People had towels on the chairs at the pool yesterday when I was up there at 5:30AM.  I’m sure today was no exception seen it was a sea day.  Also grabbed a table beside the chairs we we had a place for lunch.

Fun stuff happening on the pool deck today…..fruit carving demo, trivia game, which we took part in, some pool games and the live band.  Read, popped in and out of the pool.  Buffet lunch whenever everyone felt like it….had California rolls, which were pretty good.  Signed up for the wine tasting this afternoon.  Was fun…..a good variety.  Tasted 3 reds and 3 whites and one bubbly.  Ordered a bottle of white and a bottle of red (10% discount) for dinner tonight, formal night so surf and turf on the menu.

Got dressed for dinner and the captains Welcome Aboard party.  No tux this cruise…..grey linen sports jacket seemed much more appropriate for this climate.  He looks pretty darn sharp! Met the Captain, had a glass of champagne and some little appies.  Decided to let the photographer do a group pic of the 6 of us…..hope it turns out.  We took a bunch just in case.

Major camera malfunction with our new expensive one that does videos too.  The pictures are terrible….have tried to make adjustments but nothing seems to help.  Colour is awful and everything is dull……should have done this at home before we left!!  Supposed to be 5 pixels or something but sure doesn’t look like it.  Working with the disposable underwater camera for now.

Dinner was great…..ordered 2 extra lobster tails (they weren’t very big).  Went to the casino for a little while …..only lost a couple of bucks tonight. Ken won a couple so pretty much even.  Didn’t go to the show.  Pool bar for a drink then to the karaoke…..lots of fun to watch….some really good singers.  There is a big corporate/company group on board so they kind of took over.

We’d been warned about rough seas tonight and it was definitely getting pretty bumpy.  They battened down the hatches or whatever those things covering the portholes are called.  Bolted them so no chance to peek out.  Since we’re at the bottom of the boat I’m thinking all we would have seen was a lot of water!  Rarotonga is a tender port and if the seas are too rough they won’t run them so fingers crossed this settles down before morning.

Tues May 11

Beautiful morning!  Sea was nice and calm so tenders can operate.

Booked another motu picnic and island tour.  Did this one thru Princess so pretty expensive but the private tours wanted non-refundable deposits….didn’t want to chance losing money.  Sailing in to the bay was lovely.  Another beautiful island.  The Cook Islands (NZ) are not part of FP but glad they included it.  You can see the pretty white sand beaches, no big reefs or narrow passages to sail thru.  Tendered to the marina in Avarua.  Tons of sailboats!

Found our tour group and off we went in a bunch of jeeps.  Very lush and green.  Lots of small towns or settlements and resorts.  Quite a few hilly/mountainous areas.  Our motu picnic was at Muri Beach…..just gorgeous.  Boarded a boat for a tour around the bay and a snorkel.  Water is crystal clear….not very deep in the bay….maybe 5 – 10 ft.  Not a ton of fish but lots of huge purple starfish.  They’ve had a lot of problems with coral dying off….it turns white when it dies.  We saw quite a bit of it.  He said it also explains the lack of fish in the area….terrible really.

Picnic was on a motu across the bay from Muri Beach.  Only a small group of us….about 20, which is nice….thought there was going to be a lot seen it was a ship excursion.  Picnic was different….on a notu but not in the water this time.  Very pretty tropical island.  Same type of food, all good.  Demo on how to open coconuts…we all got to try the water.  Very, very hot, not much of a breeze so happy for all the trees on the beach.  Fun.  Had time to get in a bit of a walk and some beachcombing.  Lots of shells.  Great time.

Back to town with some free time.  A bunch of the cruise critic group rented some funny little motorized car/go kart type things.  Said they had fun but looked a little dangerous to me based on how we seem local driving!  Also need a Cook Island drivers license to rent one, or any car here for that matter.  Explored Avarua for a bit.  Very nice local craft market (found a Christmas nornatment!), some really nice shops with the most gorgeous tropical print clothes.  Found a little bar for a Cook Island beer (yellow something or other) before heading back to the marine to tender.  Poor Donna tripped and fell….on the way to the bar!! Scraped knees but she’ll survive.  I think this would be a great place to vacation!  Lots of sun, beautiful beaches, some mountains to hike…..a couple of good books and I’d be all set for a week or two!

DOD is Long Island Ice Tea….had a couple of those for sail away and while watching another beautiful sunset….a few clouds on the horizon so still waiting to see the illusive green flash!

Met everybody in the casino before dinner…..problem with having the late seating…..too much time to kill….can spend your money drinking in the bar or losing it in the casino…hahaha.  Wouldn’t like early seating either….to rushy, especially after a day in port.  Chicken for dinner tonight….good.  The captain has really put the pedal to the metal tonight, we’re just bopping along…..a bit rough but not like last night.  Off to the Tahitian lounge tonight for the 50’s and 60’s sock hop.  Good music, lots of fun.  Great day.

Wed May 12

Day at sea.  Coffee on the deck and grabbed a table and a couple of deck chairs, which were really at a premium this morning…..what time do people get up to put towels on the chairs and why must you sit right at the pool??

Donna and I discovered the “Bloody Mary Club”.  Between 9 – 11 every morning all the bars serve them.  You get a card that you get stamped each time you have one….but you must have one from each of the bars.  When your card is full you get a tee shirt…..fun but a darn expensive shirt at the end of the day!  Thought it was a bit early for a drink but at least it had juice in it!

Went to the culinary demo at 10.  Met the chef.  Had a taste of the tiramisu and some pasta they made and a couple other goodies.  Polynesian buffet for lunch today……enjoyed it at our table on the deck…..band playing etc.  Just after lunch it got really windy and the clouds rolled in…..torrential downpour for about a half hour!

Just incredible….glad we had our table under cover because it sure cleared the pool deck in a hurry.  Did a bit of ship shopping.  All the girls bought the same tee shirts and the guys bought the same golf shirts.  Went to the “Horse Races” this afternoon….fun!  You bet on the wooden horse heads on a stick, held by the “jockeys” who were some of the cruisers, the CD rolls a big dice and the horse moved that many spaces.  Some of the jockeys were pretty funny when moving their horses. Fun but didn’t win anything.

Italian night tonight.  Wore our matching shirts…..lots of comments, people thought it was a great idea!  Lots of fun.

Dress is pretty casual on this cruise, which is very nice.  The only people that I’ve seen wearing shorts though in the dining room are guys with the big corp group.  They’re kind of tucked away at the back of the dining room, which is kind of nice because they can be a bit loud and obnoxious sometimes.

Show tonight was good “C’est Magnifique” kind of a Moulin rouge show.  Casino before bed….broke even.

Thur May 13

Raiatea today.  It’s raining!!!  Of all days…..hoping it would clear up because there’s supposed to be Island Night party on deck tonight!  Very warm and very humid.  In port overnight tonight.

Our excursion today was a jeep tour of the island.  2nd largest in FP….who knew!  I’d never even heard of it before this cruise.  Probably one of the most interesting…..we started with the Taputaputea archeological site….the oldest outdoor Polynesian temples there.  An excavation in the 60’s found thousands of humans skulls thought to have been from human sacrifices.  Visited Tainuu Marae, another old temple with petroglyphs.  Next was the vanilla farm.  Had a very good tour.  Explained that part of the reason vanilla is so expensive is that it must be pollinated by hand (using a toothpick!!) because they don’t have the bees, or the right bees, to do it naturally.  Bought a vial with 4 pods.  Apparently it has 2x the flavor of vanilla grown elsewhere.  Raiatea is referred to as the “vanilla island”.  Beautiful, unspoiled island, even in the rain and mist.

Tour ended in Uturoa town.  Rain had stopped and it was brightening up.  Nice little place with touristy shops and a couple of bars.  The boys went back on the ship and the girls did a bit of shopping and had beers at the bar on the pier.  Kind of fun…band playing and lots of coming and going.  Bought very pretty “head leis” for $5 to wear for dinner and the party tonight.

Party was moved inside because of the weather.  Dinner in the dining room as usual and fun stuff in the big lounges.  The Children of Raiatea had put on a dance show earlier in the afternoon, which we caught the end of when we got back on board.  Before dinner tonight was the adults…..very nice and sort of hula-ish but really much more seductive/sensual or whatever you want to call it……can see why Paul Gauguin was smitten with the women here!  Off to the casino to kill time before dinner…..cha-ching!!  Big winner tonight, almost $100!   Had steak and prawns for dinner (v.g.)  All the guys tried on our head leis and the waitress too.  It was her birthday we we sang to her.  Found out that she is engaged to Ricardo, our assistant waiter!  He’s Portuguese.

Champagne tower tonight after the later show….all took our turn having a pour and a drink!  Fun day, except for the weather.  In port overnight and then finally off to Bora Bora by noon tomorrow!

Fri May 14

Up early for sail away (6AM)  Just beautiful this morning.  There were some massive yachts in this port.  Some are privately owned, some were for charters and a couple that are very expensive small cruise ships for 25 – 30 passengers.  Sailed by Tahaa, another of the FP islands in the same lagoon, then towards Bora Bora, a place I’ve dreamt about visiting since I watched a show about it 30 years ago!!

Sailed thru a very, very narrow passage in the reef.  The water is the most fantastic turquoise blue ever…..shallow and absolutely crystal clear.  The mountains are just as I’d pictured them, so, so lush.  The resorts with the overwater bungalows actually add to the beauty of the place instead of taking away from it…..just makes it even more exotic looking.  It is truly one of the most beautiful islands I’ve ever seen from the sea….I had a tear in my eye! I can’t believe I’m actually here!!!!

Dropped anchor around noon.  Grabbed one of the first tenders in. Hoped on “Le Truck” shuttle ($3US) to Matira Beach for a relaxing beach day.  So happy we have an overnight in port and another just about full day here.  Tomorrow we’re going a “Cultural Island Tour”.   Beautiful beach….the water is crystal clear and the most incredible turquoise, soft, fine, white sand lined with palm trees.  Everybody had a swim.  It’s was like bath water…..very shallow too.  Beverage time because it was really hot!  I discovered just around the corner  the “Beachcomber Resort….went and collected everyone and we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying beverages at their beach bar.  Great views of the mountains from the beach.  Fun.

Back to Matira Beach and grabbed the Le Truck back to Vaitape.  Visited the market….very nice stuff.  Beautiful tropical print dresses, gorgeous quilts and of cours Tahitian pearls, anywhere from $10 – 100’s.   I really couldn’t tell the difference between the expensive ones and the cheap ones because I know nothing about them.  Will probably never wear it but I did buy one for $25……looks lovely to me!  It’s a pendant so will look for a chain to put it on.  Ran into some of the cruise critic gang who had done a great snorkel excursion to the reef.

Back on board with just enough time to clean up and get ready for dinner.  Show tonight was movie songs….too crowded so we sat at the pool bar admiring the lights and the outline of the island in the moonlight……quite magical really!  Went to the Newlywed/Not so Newlywed game at 11:30.  Up late for us. Looking forward to the tour tomorrow.  Hope we get a glimpse of the airport off in the distance….It’s not on the main island but on a motu…..must be exciting to land on….you are then loaded on a boat to Vaitape….how cool would that be to do one day??!!

Sat May 15

Up before sunrise.  Coffee on deck.  The sunrise, Bora Bora, the water…..just everything!!  This place has to be pretty close to heaven on earth.  (I think I said the same thing about Huahine….I’d be happy with either) I think I could be happy just sitting here all day and looking at it.

Our 1/2 day tour was great.  Did a full circle tour of the island.  Stopped at a couple of local artisan places (pareos and pearls), saw the WWII naval gun relics, a couple of maraes, Paopoa Point for great mountain views, stopped at a couple of beautiful untouristy beaches…..one that had a million crabs (land crabs/coconuts crabs…not sure if they are the same thing, they looked the same to me!).  A couple of churches were having services….could hear them singing.

Our last stop was at Bloody Mary’s….famous bar overlooking Poivaie Bay, which is beaufitul and so pretty with Tahitian Princess at anchor. http://www.bloodymarys.com/   Many famous people have visited Bloody Mary’s…..movie stars, authors, athletes etc. all listed on the walls at the entrance.  Had one Bloody Mary $12CDN….it did come in a big glass!!  Decided to stay for a bit instead of going back to town with the tour.  Had fun people watching and just enjoying the whole ambiance of the place…..thatched roof, sand on the floor, the view…..

Le Truck shuttle back to town.  Wandered around a bit but just too busy so back on board for a late lunch and to sit and enjoy the view of this beautiful place.  Didn’t see the airport….just a little too far off but did see a couple of planes coming and going.  We’d originally planned to come to Bora Bora for a few days after the cruise but the logistics of getting here, the cost ….and the amount of luggage we had etc…..just wasn’t going to work….ah sigh…..maybe some day when we’ve got more time.

On deck for sail away just after 5.  Definitely a tear or two…..happy to have seen, sad to be leaving after only a day or two….really do hope to get back here some day.

Formal night tonight!!  No long black dress though….went with my LBD (little black dress).  Quite enjoying the more casual laid back experience on this cruise.  Ken wore the same thing…..guys are really quite lucky!  Captains Circle Cocktail Party tonight…..none of us went.  Don’t think our 3 Princess cruises would make the prize cut…..some people we talked to from CC have like 20+!!  Just lobster for dinner tonight…..and it was really good!  To the casino after to lose all the money I won yesterday.  Watched karaoke for a bit, took a stroll around the deck…..very pretty moon tonight, warm balmy south pacific breeze…..great couple of days.

Sun May 16

Sailed into Opunohu Bay in Moorea this morning.  Beautiful but does not even compare to Huahine or Bora Bora.

No tours planned since we’ll be here for 5 days starting tomorrow.  Took our time getting the tender.  Took one of the “Pearl Shop” shuttles to listen to them trying to sell us $$$’s pearls.  Wandered to some of the other little shops selling local crafts etc.  Stopped for Hinanos at a fun place called Le Sud…..2 hinanos and 1 piece of apple pie and ice cream for Ken ($18).  Pie was huge, covered in vanilla ice cream and really good.

Grabbed the shuttle back to the pier and back on board for the Asian buffet lunch…..pretty good.  Spent the afternoon lounging on the deck…..was great because most people were off on shore excursions!!  I really like the bands they have on the pool deck.  Donna and I managed to fill our Bloody Mary cards so we collected our “lovely” tee shirts commemorating all the $$$’s we spent earning them…..but we had fun!

Sailed off into the sunset heading back to Papeete where we arrived just before dinner at 8.  Beautiful sunsets just about every night…….still waiting to see that green flash.

No shows for us tonight.  Just sat at the pool deck bar chatting about the cruise and making plans for the next few days.  What a great cruise this has been.  I love the size of this ship, the ports, the excursions, the food, all has been incredible.  Probably the best way to get a taste of each island….can’t imagine trying to island hop by plane.  Would be very expensive and you’d lose a day or at least 1/2 a day each time you had to move.  Cruising is not really my thing but there are just some places that it makes sense…..like here and the Panama Canal.

Packed up and ready to go tomorrow.

Mon May 17

Up early.  Had buffet breakfast and off we went…..took our own bags.  The ferry terminal was almost next to the ship so only took about 10 minutes to walk.  Fast ferry Aremiti 4 ….about 1/2 hr to Afareaitu.  Very rough ride!  Fun seeing Moorea from the other side.  Very beautiful, lush verdant green mountains.  The ferry came in through a wide opening in the reef…..water was crashing on the outside but once inside the reef, nice and calm.

Driver from Alberts was there to meet us.  The drive to the Intercontinental, just passed Papetoai, was about 45 minutes.  The road goes all along the coastline, so pretty.  Got to see a bit of a couple other resorts on the way.  Most have a bunch of overwater bungalow….really nice.

Check-in was quick and easy but our rooms weren’t ready at 10:30.  She told us to go have a snack or early lunch and come back in an hour or so.  Wandered around a bit…beautiful pool, nice beach. Took a walk out over the walkways to the OWB’s…..very, very nice!!  Lots of little bridges…tons of fish and even a ray or two. They have a “swim with dolphins” program, no one was doing it but fun watching the dolphins.  Very pretty pathways framed with beautiful tropical plants….the plumeria is incredibly fragrant.  The restaurant is really expensive as is everything in FP.  Ken and I shared a pizza which was good enough for us.  Our rooms were ready by the time we finished.

We have 3 “garden rooms” all together on the ground floor.  Very nice, big, bamboo floors, bamboo/rattan on the walls, tropical prints, huge bathroom, etc.  and a view of the beach and pool.  Got changed into bathing suits and hit the pool.  Very nice.  Great relaxing day!  Another beautiful sunset.

Decided to just eat here tonight but the prices are just crazy!  The casual dining restaurant is quite good….chicken something or other in coconut milk was excellent.  Ordered a couple of salads that we all shared because they’re quite big.   Drinks are really expensive too……average around $10-12 CDN.  Lucky we got a great deal on the rooms!

Plan is to walk to town tomorrow to get our own booze and mixers.  Did pick up a bottle of vodka on the ship but will need more I’m sure.

Very pretty at night…..pool is lit and good but subtle lighting on all the pathways.  A guitar and uke player in the bar.

Tues May 18

What a beautiful place to wake up to!!  Had coffee on the patio, updated my journal and just took it all in…..the smell is wonderful.  Ken and I went to the restaurant but passed on the $24 breakfast buffet….had the $12 continental instead, coffee, juice (pineapple v.g.!), croissants, baguette and jams)….good enough.

Once everyone was up and about we set off on our walk…..a 1/2 hour the gal at the desk said!  Well maybe for some people but not our group…..very hot and very little shade so a bit tough on a couple people.  Made it about half way and stopped at a café for a drink and snacks.  Decided to just buy pop and juice from there and head back.  Found a lime tree on our way and picked a couple to use in our drinks……thank goodness for ice machines and Swiss army knives!!

Two fun things on our walk…..they have “baguette boxes” here…..some bakeries do daily bread deliveries.  The boxes look like extra long mail boxes.  They’re right along side the road so the delivery person, usually on a scooter with a big basket on the back, can just whip one out and into the box.  Second, probably not the safest but, a family of 4 on a scooter, one kid between the dad and mom, riding side saddle, and one in the basket on the front holding two big long baguettes.  Sadly, camera failure so no pics….argh.

Relaxing afternoon by the pool.  Concierge made reservations for us at Chez Capo on the recommendation of the gal at the desk.  Got ready for dinner, had our own little happy hour at the tables outside our rooms……slicing the limes with a Swiss army knife was interesting, fun though.  Another beautiful sunset.

Chez Capo driver picked us up at 7:00.  About a 10 minute drive, just past Le Petit Village.  It’s in someones backyard!  Nice little set up on a bit pation with lots of little lights and candles.  The owner is a woman who was a chef/cook at one of the hotels for many years.  Her husband told her she was such a good cook that she should open her own restaurant.  He got busy building the patio and a bigger kitchen and Chez Capo was born.  Very nice couple and lovely chatting with them.  You order your meat or fish and everything else ……salad, rice, potato etc….are serviced in big bowls for you to share and help yourself.  Ordered a couple bottle of wine to go with dinner.  I had the seafood combo….something like mahi mahi and prawns….fantastic!  All the food was excellent.  Husband brought out another bottle of wine, on the house!  He sat and chatted about the island and their life, kids etc.  Ride back to the hotel at 11:00.

Fun day, excellent dinner and evening.

Wed. May 19

Up early for Alberts Island Tour.  Picked us up at 8 on the dot in an open sided jeep….had a top which was a good thing.   The six of us and a couple from the Sofitel down the road.

Stopped at a very pretty palm tree lined beach for a bit of info about the tour and some very tasty pineapple…..served on a banana leaf.  First stop was Magic Mountain.  Up and up we went on a very narrow, windy dirt road.  Sheer drop offs in many places, sometimes on both side of the road….just a bit scary!  But the views of Opunohu Bay and the reef was just amazing.  A Windstar ship was anchored in the bay….very pretty.  Goats….lots of goats at the top, some in a large pen….interesting because we passed no houses anywhere near them.

Back down the same scary road and to a farm with a huge pineapple field, lots of Jakfruit trees and fields of “salad” according to Patrick, our guide, which ris really a field of lettuce.  Also saw the archeological sites and the marae in the Opunohu Valley.  Nice walk along a trail with markers explaining what everything is/was.

Up to the Belvedere Lookout…..great mountain and sea views.  There’s a little refreshment truck and tables at the top.  Grabbed a drink and some snack to tie us over til lunch.  Patrick showed us how they used to use coconuts to bang out codes on the Mape trees in the old days to send messages to others across the valleys “the old Tahitian telephone” he called it.  He told us there wasn’t very much crime on the island…..at least not of locals…..because, for example if someone stole his truck, within 5 or 10 minutes someone else would call him or his wife and ask why so and so was driving his truck…..news travels fast in small places!  He told us a bit about himself…..his mother is local, his father is a school teacher from France. He’s got 2 brothers, all three of them were sent to France for their educations…..he has a degree of some sort from the Sorbonne!  One brother has stayed in France, one is on a different island and he chose to come back to Moorea and be a tour guide…..he enjoys the simpler type of life.

The rest of the tour was pretty much a circular drive of the island.  Passed many picturesque churches and smaller villages.  Very pretty drive.  Stopped in Le Petit Village for lunch and a quick pop into an internet café to check emails.  Also picked up some gin this time and more mixers for our bar.  Great little tour for $18 ea.  Nice to see the island.  Really quite unspoiled and very beautiful.  Not much traffic either, which is nice.

Back to the hotel around 1.  Found a table at the beach and set up our bar.  Spent the afternoon in and out of the water (v. warm), reading etc.  Donna and I made tie dyed pareos with the vendor on the beach.  You lay the wet material out, then from his selection of palm fronds, shells and bit of cut outs, you decorate it and then let it dry in the sun.,  Once dry when you take all the stuff off it leaves a pretty design.  Fun!

Got ready for dinner, Alfredo’s tonight, and had our happy hour outside our rooms.  Invited the people next door to join us….a couple from NZ.  They brought a couple bottles of wine that we all had a taste of (NZ Sauv Blanc v.g.). Another gorgeous sunset.

Alfredo’s shuttle picked us up at 7.  Fun place.  A mix of Italian, Polynesian and seafood.  Had the seafood pasta (v.g.) Ken had the lasagna, excellent.  Our waiter/waitress, a he/she…..or “mahu” or “rae-rae”…..was a riot!  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rae-rae   Live band, sort of tropical/country with an autoharp guy!  They kept trying to get ladies to come up and sing with them…..we finally agreed and all went together…..I think they were happy when we sat back down and they didn’t ask us again hahaha…… Lots of fun, great evening.

Nice, warm and the smell…..night jasmine, plumeria etc. is just incredible.  Shuttle back to the hotel just before 11.

Thurs May 20

Up early…..just love the mornings!  The light is so soft, birds singing, and of course the smell…..like living in a perfume bottle, but a nice one!  Watched them deliver breakfast to one of the OWB…..a lady in a canoe!!

Big tour today.  Snorkeling, swimming with sharks and rays and a motu picnic.  Hiro tours picked us up at 8:30.  Very pretty drive….. passed Opunohu and Cooks Bay.  Beautiful palm tree fringed beaches along the way……some very crooked palms hanging out over the water.  Big open boat with a top…..about 20 people.  Very nice on the water….calm and absolutely crystal clear.  Quite shallow inside the reef, maybe 10ft deep at the most.  Toured by a couple of resorts.  Lots of fish….bright, tropical fish “Nemos”!!  Stopped for a snorkel out closer to the reef…..you can see and hear the waves crashing on the ocean side.  Water was a bit deeper but still clear and quite warm.

Back closer to shore for our swim with the rays and sharks (black tips??) which are relatively harmless unless threatened or agitated.  The water was only a few feet deep so just walked along among them, hoping they were all full and happy!!  Lots of rays, some half buried in the sand….have to watch the spikes on their tails.  Our guide picked one up for us to hold or at least feel…..they’re like huge portobello mushrooms!!  Spent a good hour or more with them.

Off to the motu picnic.  Nice boat ride, passed more resorts, not sure if we were actually on a motu though, very pretty regardless….shallow, warm water (with a ray or two!) good beachcombing beach, lots of shade.  Fun demos again….opening a coconut, pareo tying, poisson cru making etc.  Good food…..BBQ chicken, poisson cru, salads etc.  Not in the water.   A bit further down the beach was Patrick our tour guide from yesterday.  He, his wife and two kids arrived by canoe for a picnic!.  There were lots of chickens running around……they told us to scrape all the leftovers off our plates for them!  I wonder if we had one of their relatives for our lunch???

Back to the hotel around 1:30.  Time to finish all our happy hour drinks on the beach and a swim or two in the pool.  Packed up and ready to go tomorrow……so sad really.  I could easily have spent a couple more days here just relaxing…..more reading and napping would have been nice!

Our last beautiful Tahitian sunset!  Dinner at the hotel…..our last splurge of the trip.  Sat around the bar for a bit then to our tables outside our rooms to polish off the last bottle of wine.

Fri May 21

Slow morning……all packed an ready to go.  Not in any hurry to leave.  Pick up by Alberts around 4, so lots of time to kill.  Checked out at noon, spent the rest of the afternoon around the pool.

Albert picked us up on time.  To the ferry terminal/pier a bit early for the 5:30 ferry back to Papeete.  Lots of activity at the pier, maybe more people going back and forth because it was Friday??  Vendors selling crafts and a guy selling bags of fresh coconut chunks.  Bought one….very, very good.

Ferry ride was really rough…..Ken, Yvonne and Doug were very happy to get back on solid ground!  Found a mini van taxi that could take all of us and our luggage.  Arrived at the airport around 7, so perfect timing, leaving only a couple hours to kill before our 10PM flight to LA.  Grabbed some dinner (croque monsieurs….just OK), read, dozed, went thru pics.

Air Tahiti Nui flight was excellent again.  No one beside us so we managed to stretch out and get a few hours sleep.  Arrived in LA at 9:30.  Terrible, just chaos at customs…..had to go thru because we had to change terminals…..collected our luggage, even though it was checked thru, then had to check it in again….ah sigh.  Uneventful flight home, no issues at Canada customs, limo was waiting…..

A really good vacation, with really good people……lots of fun.  FP is just a beautiful place….there are not enough adjectives to describe the beauty of the islands.  There are tourists but all the places, even Papeete, have managed to keep the unspoiled charm of the islands.  Definitely not a cheap place to go, or to get too!  But so worth it….would highly recommend at least one visit in ones lifetime.