Moorea 10-8-08

Moorea 10/8/2008

Wednesday morning we set sail for Moorea. It is just15 miles from Papeete.. We sailed with the rising sun. Moorea was used to film the Bali Hai portions of the film South Pacific. Comparing it to Bora Bora, I loved the beautiful variations of color created by the reefs at Bora Bora with the two ancient volcanoes one looking like of a woman and the other like a man. But I must admit that Moorea is my favorite. The ancient volcano peaks are the highest of all the islands. .Mt. Tohivea is the highest at 3,960 feet. We saw the keyhole at one of the peaks- recently a hiker was stranded there and was rescued by helicopter.

The island is a natural beauty with lagoons, reefs and two bays Cook and Opunohu. The land is tranquil with a population of 14,000 in the coastal area of the 51 square mile island. Lovely homes dot the hillsides and property can be owned only by a native. We sailed by one of the island’s pineapple plantations. This is their primary industry while also serving as home for commuters to Papeete. It’s about a 25 minute commute.

We sailed a 43 foot catamaran out of the harbor. Wayne likes to climb all over the boat and on the trampoline at the bow while I tend to stay on the bench seats. We soon sited a whale about 18 meters in length. We watched her tail come out of the water. We also saw a green sea turtle. They are protected. If you catch one, you will serve jail time. However the jail has relatively good conditions here.

Our guide, called Tahiti, fished with a line off the back of the boat. He didn’t catch any today but has in the past for dinner. His assistant, a young woman, just moved to Moorea from northern France. She got a job on this boat and decided to remain in Moorea. What a change from France! After sailing and viewing the gorgeous coastline, we put down the anchor in a sheltered area next to the boat channel. A coral garden was there. The depth was about 10 feet. We put on our gear and slipped over the back of the boat.

Wayne worked with the underwater camera and swam all over the garden area. He really enjoys snorkeling. I saw one of my favorite fish. It’s name is Cocher Zandas Cornulus. It is colored with yellow, black, and white stripes, has a pointy nose, and at the top has a long fin looks like a string. There were many fluorescent blue that I would assume were parrotfish. I wish I knew the names of all the varieties that we saw. I enjoy the water so much, I think I was meant to be a fish. Our guide book shows 83 varieties in the French Polynesian area. The colors are magnificent. Our guide had on a pair of Billabong shorts. The colors of yellow and black and the pattern matched some of the fish that we saw.

In the past the coral has been below us but parts of this garden rose to the surface of the water. I was careful to stay on the outside edges so I wouldn’t get trapped between the large coral pillars. I noticed several all white fish that borrowed into the sand. Also schools of tiny blue fish. Our guide told us that the black tipped shark frequented the area. But since he is vegetarian, we shouldn’t worry about him. We should just slap the water and the shark would swim away. The shark is grey all over but has black just on the tip of his fins and along the edge of his tail. I did not see one.

Wayne and I returned to the boat and climbed in. When I got to the deck, I saw that Wayne’s arm was bleeding. He said that he felt a pinch on his arm while he was swimming. Our guide used first aid and bandaged him up.

We were served ananas juice. Make a guess of what kind of fruit it is. Well its pineapple juice. The pineapples are smaller then the ones we usually see and are very mild and sweet. A banana is called Bananier. Other passengers have told me how good the bananas are. They are small, about half the size of the ones back home. They are also very sweet. Tahitian vanilla is a very popular export. I have not been able to price it here.

I saw what I thought was a rooster. They call it the Red Junglefowl. It sounds like a rooster.

I met a nurse from our ship who is traveling with her son. They are from Oklahoma. She said that she vacationed in Alaska and loved it so much she decided to return. She worked for two years in Nome. In the winter she would warm up the car for 15 minutes before trying to drive in the darkness. She loved it.

The dock has stands selling colorful fabric, shell jewelry and black Tahitian pearls. We walked up the dirt road and looked around for awhile.

At lunch and dinner at the buffet the ship have music. Sometimes piano and sometimes violin. It’s very nice.

Following our time in town, I kept feeling like the ship was moving. Wayne told me that the ship was anchored at the bow. So the current and wind move us around in a circle. We had a constantly changing view. As we sailed away, Todd McBain, ship’s captain, said we should expect rain and to walk carefully and hold on. Right on cue, it started raining and the ship rolled from side to side. It was fun