Moor’ea

Moor’ea is a beautiful island. This morning we were up early to have breakfast in the room, before our early bay cruise. We took the tender from the ship to the port. We then got on a boat and headed out to see the 2 bays. The island is surrounded by a coral reef. The ocean waves break over the reef instead of the shore. So our ride was very calm. Our boat captain sang several songs as we went along. The tour guide drove the boat. They were very friendly guys and gave us the history of the island. We drove by the Hilton Hotel with its over water bungalows. We went into Cooks Bay and motored around there for a bit. Then it was time to head back. We had to repeat our way back to the first bay. We were on the correct side of the boat to get a good picture of a wave breaking over the reef. There are some natural breaks in the reef that allow ships like ours to get into the bay. We did a bit of shopping in the pier area. I got a turtle necklace and earring. Bunny got a very pretty open work pendant and earrings.

We got back to the pier and saw our friends Betty and Rudy. We hung around the pier area during a pretty heavy rainstorm. We were glad we’d been on the first boat tour or we’d have gotten soaked on the boat ride even though the boat had a cover. Someone suggested a restaurant a couple miles up the road. We got a taxi for $15 and went there for lunch. Three of us had hamburgers and one had a fish burger, all with fries. We’ve been surprised at how good the French fries are. Guess it’s because they don’t use any GMO foods and oil. After a leisurely lunch, the restaurant called a taxi to take us back to the pier. We had 30 minutes to wait until our next tour. It was a tour around the island with several photo stops. We were in an air conditioned bus and very comfortable. Luckily we had no more rain. One of the stops was a tiki village where we just walked around. They gave us a rum punch or juice. I managed to get down to the beach to collect my sand and a few bits of coral. At the end we drove up to the top of a mountain with a beautiful view of the 2 bays and a mountain in between. There was a family at the top selling juice, banana bread and taro chips. We got chips and bread. They were delicious. Then there was a last stop at another shop which mostly sold pearls. I couldn’t resist a pair of black pearl earrings with a beautiful green tint to them. Then it was back to port to catch the last tender back to the ship. We weren’t starving but knew we needed something to eat so we went to the Cafe for a snack. We sat at a table where another couple was eating and had a nice conversation with them. They are from Albuquerque and have taken Viking river cruises before. Then we came back to the room. Bunny was asleep by 9:00! We left Moor’ea around 6:30. As we were talking to Bud and Barbara, I noticed lights outside. We were in Papeete already. Tomorrow will be a walking tour and not so hot.

Photos: There was a group serenading us as we got off the tender this morning. I couldn’t resist taking a photo of an 80 year old woman with beautiful flowers in her hair. There is a photo of one of the boats we were on, another bathroom sink with flowers, a photo of the tender/lifeboat we take to/from the ship, the restaurant where we had lunch, a rooster, the Tiki place, our boat driver and guide, and the surf on the reef. We did see a couple surfers out there. They are very brave to surf out that far.