When I was nine years old I had a world map stapled to the wall in my bedroom. I have always wanted to visit Tahiti in French Polynesia. Now, forty-five years later, I finally made it.
Our day began with a breakfast wakeup call. Lesley and I were more conservative with our order this time and managed to eat more or what we ordered, but not all of it.
The view from our cabin was picture postcard perfect. The sun was rising over the mountain to reveal a calm Cook's Bay lined with yachts and a Windstar cruise ship. Palm trees nearly touched the water's edge while others clung to the volcanic mountain. Smoke hovered in the lush greenery.
|
|
We showered, dressed, and gathered at the designated location with our tour ticket for "In Gaugan's Footsteps" in hand. When they called us to leave the ship, they reminded us to get our identification cards, too. It was then that I realized I had left mine in the pocket of my skirt worn the night before. Lesley had to rush back to the cabin with me because the ID card is also the room key and I needed to use hers to get in. The required item was retrieved and we rejoined the group where it was queued up to exit the ship. Whew!
Lesley and I boarded the tour bus and, because we were at the end of the line, we sat in the back. The tour took us through Papeete and neighboring villages to the Paul Gaugan Museum. It had rained the day before and was very hot, so the humidity was almost unbearable… like Houston in the summer. The small museum buildings were connected by outdoor walkways. And you would think that the Paul Gaugan Museum would have at least one original painting… NOT! (They did advertise their lack of original art.) I took a picture of a copy of one of his paintings. The museum was somewhat of a disappointment.
 |
On the return trip, we made stops at a fern grotto which was pretty, but humid, and the Museum of Tahiti and Her Islands at Fisherman's Point (another disappointment).
 |
Our final stop was at a Marae of Arahurahu sacred site. I couldn't tell if it was real or just made up for tourists.
Although the bus was air conditioned, we returned to the ship drenched with sweat. I thought maybe our disappointment in Tahiti was because we had chosen the wrong tour. When we discussed it with John and Debbie who had taken a different tour and with several other passengers, the consensus was total disappointment.
A new morning, a new port…Moorea. The ship was at anchorage, so we shuttled to shore in tenders. In Moorea we found what we had expected in Tahiti…more tropical beaches…fewer people…a little bit more fun. It was still warm but our shore tour was a Four-wheel Drive Jeep Safari! We were seated in the back, open air, covered benches. This provided a great breeze as we rode around the island.
 |
We visited places with fresh pineapple and coconut. The pineapple in Moorea is exceptional. Much sweeter than Hawaiian pineapple that is a little acidic, but it is not exported. Moorea is known for its vanilla exports. Their vanilla beans originally came from Mexico. We ate ice cream (always good on a hot day) made with fresh vanilla. I purchased a larger pareo that would wrap around me and tie in front. It's very pretty. My return to the ship was with a bright red sunburn. (Not as bad as my iridescent glow from the last reunion.)
We rode to a mountain stream to swim and have a lesson on how to open coconuts and how to tie pareos. You should have seen one of our native guides with his pareo and his under-pareo (basically a thong). He had tattoos of tall palm trees starting on both cheeks (not those on his face). The trunks wound down around his legs. And he was really cute…Camelia! He is the one who demonstrated tying the pareo. The cool water was a fantastic way to get out of the heat.
 |
We drove to the top of a mountain and walked to the peak for a beautiful panoramic view on two sides of the island point. Our ship was on one side of the peak. Walking back down the trail from the highest point, Lesley fell but was okay. Several others who were trying to decline too fast slipped on the loose lava rock gravel, also.
 |
 |
 |
 |
This morning there were several islands dotted around the ship. We were at anchorage again. Our tour didn't start until noon, so we were able to sleep in. This area is the most beautiful so far…the mental picture and feeling I had expected from Tahiti. Our chosen shore tour was the Lagoonarium off of Bora Bora.
We tendered over to Bora Bora early to shop, but the sun was beating down with little shade available. We went through the shops and I picked up more postcards. About an hour later, suffering in the heat, the guide for the Lagoonarium arrived with two motorized outrigger canoes. This guide was a Frenchman who was wearing only a thong pareo for the whole trip. He was well built, and some of the older women on the trip enjoyed the view. I was not particularly wild about his bare fanny in my face as he walked down the middle of the canoe talking about Bora Bora. Our canoe had a cover, but the other did not. We were very appreciative of the shade at that point.
This time Lesley and I toured with John and Debbie. The four of us rode for about 25 minutes, half-way around the main island of Bora Bora. The water color was excellentŠvery clear and the aqua blue color changed based on the depth of the water. In some areas we had to go slow in shallow water over coral reefs.
 |
 |
 |
The Lagoonarium is a private island with plastic net fences in the beach water. Various fish were separated in the sections. We swam in the first are that had a small shark, a ray, parrot fish, and several large amberjacks. Then we went to the second area with more of the same, along with sea urchins a nd a rock fish (both poisonous). The last long area with more sharks wrapped us back around to the beach where a shaded patio offered places to sit.
 |
 |
 |
 |
We were offered a snack of cool watermelon, coconut, and grapefruit. I purchased another pareo there because I knew I would need cover for my back that was now burned twice!
Departing the Lagoonarium, we continued the circle around Bora Bora where we passed the airport that was build in 1942 by U.S. soldiers to protect the island from the Japanese. The French guide took pleasure in relating that the U.S. never even saw any Japanese, so there was no war in Bora Bora.
We completed the circle around the island back to the pier. Then we moved to the tender to return to the ship.
After dinner, Lesley and I went pool side to view a Tahitian dance show and a Polynesian buffet. When it started raining at the end of the show, everyone ran for cover.
The ship left Bora Bora two hours late because there was a problem with the housing around the anchor. Repairs were made and we were on our way back to the USA…Hawaii!
The story continues…Pacific Ocean