Colorful Tahitian francs with fish (the $20 are New Zealand Currency)
The island of Tahiti. The citizens routinely burn their trash, seemingly where ever and when ever they want.
The island of Moorea by ferry.
Closing in on the ferry terminal on Moorea.
The ferry terminal on Moorea
The bustling terminal at 8 am. Pineapples are grown in large numbers on the island.
All French! It took a phone call to the proprietor to get directions for the taxi driver.
Arrived! View from the deck. There are rental rooms on either side of this outdoor living area.
The owner, her mom, son, and daughter all live in an apartment below this. On our arrival, she told us that our room would be available at about 10 am, so we gathered walked the quarter mile down the hill to the Sofitel hotel for some breakfast. They were offering a nice holiday brunch spread for only $35,000 XPF per person. We don't do great on buffetts, so we split an omlette and fruit plate for only $30,000 XPF.
Close-up of the over-water bungalows.
The bath tub in our cozy room.
Out door sitting area.
Our dining room.
An evening view of the pool (closest), then Sofitel bungalows, then lagoon, then channel between islands, then Tahiti.
The dinner she fixed for us one night was fabulous. This was one of the three courses.
The Bella Vista Hotel on the hill.
A ferry boat passing through the barrier reef.
Great snorkeling! Clear, warm water, no waves, lots of fish, and colorful coral. And very few people.
A shark passed under us, then June got a video of it going away. Check it out!
Having a beer and sandwiches on the beach at the Sofitel Hotel.
Nice restaurants and other big attractions send their own buses or taxis to pick you up, and bring you there and back. Our second evening there we attended a Tiki show and dinner. This pic is on the ride over.
The first thing they did was put a drink in our hands and show us their wall of naked ladies. At least that was the first thing I remember.
Over dinner (which was a lot like an Hawaiian Luau) a woman (there may have been a man also) demonstrated about 20 different ways to wear that sheet of cloth. Naturally, I was mesmorized.
June started the show by helping some guy grind coconut. check out the video
Afterwards, about 5 hours of dancing, including a dance-along with anyone who cared to join in, and some who did NOT care to join in. The ladies were very good.
The men turned into a free-for-all grope fest. This is a pic of a young Italian man who sat at our table. We traded stories of our travels and his distain for any coffee NOT Italian.
I woke up when they started throwing fire around. check out the video
Our last full day started with a 'jeep tour' of the island with Frankey Frank (left). First stop, up 'Magic Mountain', a private, rustic road up a 1000 ft. mountain.
The final stretch of road to the top. There were two other vehicles, so there was no room to turn around. So he backed down this part. UGH!
From the bedroom-sized 'parking lot', a short hike straight up to the very top.
And the views were spectacular!
More over-water bungalows.
Looking south down Cooks Bay.
Then Frankie explained the intricacies of the Tahitian Vanilla Bean, which somehow managed to revolve around a long sexual discussion. Turns out the plant is NOT native to Tahiti, but Mexico. The process of growing and harvesting is extremely labor intensive, which makes good vanilla extract very expensive.
Another of his fascinations was seeing animated figures in the dramatic rock formations. This one is a gorilla playing a piano.
Another stop at a pineapple plantation. The fruits and vegetables in Moorea were delicious!! Here is a link to learn more.
Last stop: Belvedere Lookout, lookiing north toward the two bays from the center of the island.
That evening we had dinner at the Moorea Beach Cafe featuring my favorite Hinano beer. Go ahead, check out their interesting website.
Sunset from the patio.
The following day, a solo snorkel/swim (June burned her butt in the sun the previous days), then a ferry ride to Papaeete.
We (I) decided we should be adventurous (cheap) and take a bus to our hotel. June was a reluctant gamer. So we schlepped our bags a quarter mile to the bus stop, asking directions every couple hundred yards.
Here we are at the bus stop. I hope this guy next to us was right about which bus to take!
We finally arrived. Out of all of our accomodations, this was the only mistake. Another private residence, but with NO A/C!! Neither of us slept much that evening.
We set off to enjoy the neighborhood and happened upon the only Tampon factory on the islands.
After a beer at a local resort, then another at the Papaeete Yacht Club, we decided to go the 'Carefore' supermarket to find something to take to our room. In the entrance, a local jam session! These people party EVERYWHERE.
Mango trees grow along the streets!
The local cemetary.
After searching for a place to eat, we find this pizza shack literally in front of our room. David and his coworkers fixed us this salmon creation and he got an English lesson and $20,000 xpf.
Reluctantly, at 5:30 am after a sleepless night and a 15 minute, 35,000 xpf ride to the airport, we set sail for Auckland New Zealand.
