December 30, 2014

Leaving Moorea

 

Whitecaps show the reef surrounding the island

We have the whole day at sea today and tomorrow, so the blog will be a little boring.  The days are mostly about food !  What have we eaten and what will we eat next ……  We have assigned dinner seating on this trip.  The ship is so small that there is only one dining room.  You either have assigned dining or go to the buffet.  We are at a table of six, and, luckily, our table-mates all speak English.  I say luckily, because a large percentage of the passengers speak nothing but French !  After all, this IS French Polynesia … There is a nice couple from Australia and another nice couple from Santa Rosa, CA.  at our table.  We  spent a lot of time sharing information about ourselves last night.  Reminded us of my mother !

I had the broiled barramundi for dinner and Craig had Tri Tip (of course, huh Michael?).  That was after we went to tea in the afternoon and had scones!  

Today was the Pub Lunch, with fish and chips and bangers and mash

The weather has been beautiful … not as hot and humid.  We have had some showers which passed quickly and even had a large rainbow.  Since the ship is smaller, we feel the ocean swells a little more, but it isn’t at all bad. 

December 29, 2014 --- Day 1

I can always say that we find something we would do differently on every trip, and this was no exception.  If we had it to do over, we would fly to Tahiti, or Moorea, at least one day in advance of boarding our ship …. After an 8-hour flight from LAX, on a nice Air Tahiti Nui Airbus, we arrived in Papeete, Tahiti at 10:30 PM into a hot SAUNA, which is 2 hours earlier than our California time.  After going through customs, we boarded the Pacific Princess at midnight …. And then had to attend a mandatory Muster Drill !  Got to bed about 2 AM, and were quite tired.

The ship landed in Moorea around 8 AM and it is quite beautiful.  The mountains and bays are quite breathtaking.  Cathy, your hair would be constantly frizzy from the humidity ! The island is surrounded by a coral reef, which 12 natural inlets.  I regret that we are still too tired to tour the reef.

Opunohu Bay

We took a short walk into the community and saw some luscious vegetation.  The date on our camera is off by 2 days, so I will have to fix that.

Coconut Tree

Local Musicians and tourist boy

We did not spend a lot of time ashore today and we will be at sea for the next 2 days.  That will give us time to acclimate to the weather and get rested up !

Itinerary

We leave on Sunday, Dec 28, at 4 PM out of LAX.  Arrive in Papeete, Tahiti around 10:30 PM, their time. 
Below is the route the ship will be taking.