Back to Papeete

The first words that come in my mind is Bon Voyage, we have gone full circle all around the beautiful islands of French Polynesia and the Tuamotus Islands and unfortunately it is are last day in this paradise. Today we leisurely woke up and went in to the downtown of Papeete, we found out our suit case was not going to make it for another flight, the zipper was broken. So Mike and I headed to search for a new one and lucky for us we found a large duffel for 23.00 US dollars WHAT A DEAL! We headed back towards the ship and repacked our clothing in the new bag and then headed back into the ship for our last lunch on the ship with our friends Pinky and Mikie. Shortly after our lunch we were transported to our day hotel the Radisson to spend the remainder of the day there before our flight at 11:59 pm this is one of the great perks of traveling with the Paul Gauguin cruise the leave no details out, we had this beautiful room on a black sand beach for us until the evening and it is included with the price of the cruise. Once we checked in we headed straight out to the pool to squeeze out as much more fun as we can have until we had to depart. Around 6:30 pm we met our friends back in the dinning room for our farewell dinner and prepare our minds for the long long journey back home.

Now it is 8:00 pm  and we are being transferred to the airport, you would have though that all the tourist in Tahiti were leaving that night, there were people everywhere and we were in a long long line waiting for the Air Tahiti Nui desk to open for their 3 flights they had that evening. In my head I thought well we have had a great trip so far so why not just walk up to the host for the airline and ask if there was an upgrade available and this would possibly get me to the front of these 500 or so people , so I did and immediately she said they were all sold out, but 15 min later she came down the line looking for me and said guess what there are two more seats available on your flight for business class and she escorted Mike and I to another area for Mike to wait for me while I dealt with the upgrade, and the fun began! In another country and things are just not done like the good old USA but that is par for the course when you travel out of our Country, so I go into this small office and there are about 5 other with issues and 1 guy attendant that IS NOT  a Multi Tasker at all, he kept starting things and forget about them and could not get 1 thing done at all for a long time so I was getting worried while standing in there it was now 45 min and I finally got a call from Mike he thought I was abducted! But I was just getting started with my upgrade that I thought was gone because he was taking so long to do, my nightmare was that I was going to have to get back into the back of that long line again after the long wait but it all worked out and we were upgraded.

We had a great flight home especially since we got the upgrade, we were able to sleep for 6 hours and woke up to a nice breakfast. We arrived in Los Angeles and moved right along through security but unfortunately our flight was delayed for 3 hours because there was a fire at the Miami airport 2 days before. So it took us a little longer to get home. We arrived Miami at 12:30 am , we walked into our home around 3:30 am so approximately a total of 26 hours to get back, yikes! But I was so happy to see my Kitty Cat Momo.

So now looking back at our adventure I can say that Mike and I have discovered many new places and created new memories that will last a life time. My heart and mind burns for travel I love adventure and I especially love life and feel so fortunate to have been able to see all we did and share it with a person that I love and that is my best friend. My words to all of you that have read my blog is to never ever feel like you cant do something the World is out there for you to explore, remove all your negative thoughts from your mind, and I know that I tough since they come to us on a daily basis but always think positive and know that you can achieve anything in life you strongly put your mind into it, its not about how much money you have or going to have, it is how you live life and choose to be with other man kind. You can create a new life starting today it is your choice , the power of right now is strong so put out positive energy into the world and it will be returned to you. This is the main reason for travel for me, to experience culture, nature and the ways of others and the energy of the world  to enrich my life. Material things can not be taken with you once you depart this world but my memories will go with me in my heart forever and can never be taken away.

Peace out my friends,, until my next adventure!

French Polynesia And The Tuamotus Islands Slideshow: Mike’s trip to French Polynesia was created by TripAdvisor. See another French Polynesia slideshow. Create your own stunning free slideshow from your travel photos.

Day 2 on Moorea

Now it has been 12 days after our arrival to French Polynesia and I finally got a full night of sleep but just when i am getting adapted to the time change its almost time to go, it's always about more time there is never enough. So back to the Island of Moorea today for our ATV tour.

We were transported to the Hilton to meet our guide and got a crash course on how to run the ATV and off we went into the rugged interior of the mountain. We drove off road though beautiful farm lands  that grew many fruits and lots and lots of pineapples the aroma in the air was delicious until we started smelling the fowl smell of pig poop, for some reason i always seem to find the piggies , Iowa, Exumas and now Moorea. They were just so cute we had to take pictures of them and there was one in particular that really showed off his man hood!You can see what i am talking about when you see our pictures.As we moved along we stopped at the Agricultural School for a decadent tasting of freshly made jams, yummy they were so good i purchased a few. The Agricultural School is also a Scientific center for Berkley University because Moorea is a complete socio-ecosystem, including coupled marine and terrestrial habitats, that has emerged as a key site for collaborative international research and advanced training for students. Then we continued up to the most beautiful views of the Island the Belvedere Lookout Point were you can see both bays, Cook Bay and Opunohu bay and Mt Rotui. These areas were very popular for film makers for movies like South Pacific and  Mutiny On the Bounty. This was a photographers paradise day everywhere i turned i need to take a photo , it was just beautiful.

Once we returned from our ATV tour Mike and i decided to stay at the Hilton for lunch and we rented some snorkel gear and hit the water. Unfortunately we did not have our own snorkel equipment so the snorkeling was not that great because the mask leaked and the snorkel was making choke just to think i had it in my mouth knowing everyone else in the world had used this snorkel,, yuck yuck yuck. Call me a sissy but i just cant deal with that so that adventure was short.

Tomorrow is our last day so sad but good things always come to and end so that other great things can begin.

First Day on Moorea

Immediately struck by it's natural beauty, jagged peaks, lush greenery and encircled by the deep blue of the ocean and sky that would be Moorea the true Bali Hai pronounced Moe-oh-ray-ah. The coast drive around the whole Island is only 37 miles so it a great island to explore in 2 days but now I am sad i know i only have 2 more days to be in the heaven on earth but we are going to make the best of it.

Off to the tender we go and it is around 9:30 am we were ready to explore and see what the day had to bring to us. We were warmly welcomed at the dock when we arrived by conch blowers and beautiful local dancers they immediately placed flowers on my head and welcomed us for photos, French Polynesia has had a very warm and welcoming feeling at every Island we have been to the culture here is still very strong i would say even stronger that the Hawaiian Islands.

So off we walked to find a rental car and under a tree we came across the Avis rental car agent, she had quite the nice office under her tree and a small table top, she smiled and had us sign a few lines on a typical contract and said Bonjour here are your keys and have a great day and oh don't drink to much beer and drive. I guess  Mike just has that look on his face that says Bud Light!

Shortly after our departure with the car we drove by a place called Tiki Village i had read about this place in my guide books so i asked Mike to stop and he was like that place looks close ( which are other words for i really don't want to stop) but i gave the stink eye and he stopped. Well what a surprise we pulled in and for 12.00 each, the girl at the desk added us to a guide that was just going to start with 4 other people from Australia so we headed in with them. The guide explained to us about the culture and arts of the Tahitians and they showed us an example of how they dye the pareos, then we proceeded to walk towards the ocean and they placed us in an unexpected canoe ride that was decorated so pretty and off to the sea we were taken with very tan men in loin cloths... really really  yes i was alive and yes this was all happening! We then arrived a small pearl farm and one of the natives dove in to fetch an oyster out of the clear beautiful waters to later crack it open and see the beautiful pearl that was inside. Once we got back to shore apparently the tribal native did not want me to get my feet wet and pick me up like if i was a queen and took me to shore. I could not have planned this day as it was coming things just kept happening like a Tahitian Traditional Wedding that we were about to attend that just happened to pop up as well. Everyone that was in the tour left but Mike and i stayed to watch the wedding and i am not to found of weddings but this one was special and just beautiful.

We moved along and drove around the Island and saw the Haapiti surf lodge which was the hot spot before Billabong started going to Teahupoo for the annual pro surf tournament. After driving for a bit i decide to get out of the car and go for a hike to a waterfall , oh boy we found our way up a gravel road the guide book talked about and parked the car because the road was just not good unless you had a 4x4 so we headed up. Once we got to a fork in the road i asked Mike to get the compass out and let me know which way was north because that was the way we needed to go but Mike said you want to go is north but this way looks more traveled look at the foot prints so i was like well OK lets try, that makes sense but the book says go north ? Why don't i listen to my instincts, we walked and we walked up a very steep mountain side full of rocks and about 40  minutes later i said this  looks more like the desert not a waterfall i know we made the wrong turn, we have now climbed all the way up the mountain and had a wonderful view but no waterfall just heart attacked symptoms and bees swarming all over us. Back down we went  to the fork in the road and turned down the original way my instincts told me to go and of course its green, lush , damp looks like gnomes would be hanging out with us walla look its a waterfall, oh hot dam it was just a trickle there had not been enough rain to have the real waterfall look to it. I was on the hunt for the beautiful waterfalls you see all over Hawaii but they just are not in these Islands because they are much smaller and don't have the climate Hawaii does as I found out later. So basically just went out for some exercises to get the stink off that day.

Now we were ready for so lunch so we stopped at the Sofitel had lunch then headed back to the Paul Gauguin to hang out by our pool bar and have some of the pretty tropical cocktails by Alisha. After a beautiful sunset we headed back to get ready for the evening of another great dinner and a Folkloric Show by a local dance troupe called Tiare Tarona Nui and you know what happened next Mike and I were escorted to the stage to HULA!!! So fun, they looked at me like if they have never seen a white girl move her money maker so fast but little did they know i was an Island girl to.

Good night and back to Moorea tomorrow.

Taha'a

It's 8:00 am and we are experiencing an beautiful scenic navigation through the Taha'a lagoon. It is just beautiful and untouched very few people inhabit the Island in fact I think just 4470. This Island is often called the Vanilla Island. The main reason to visit this island is for the beautiful motus along the northern reef.
The Paul Gauguin ship has its own motu for us to enjoy for the day but first Mike and I ( now that he is out of quarantine) went on an excursion this morning called the coral drift snorkel, it started with a 10 min walk across the island so that we can get above the current and let it glide us through a shallow lagoon that was just FILLED with coral. Writing this and telling you about it is one thing but seeing it was another it was just loaded with the most beautiful coral I have ever seen and sea anenimies everywhere. The first drift was great but it seemed like the coral was just going to scrape all of your body so you kind of had to look ahead to see where the water line was at for the person in front of you. Sea urchins were all over and I did not want to sit with a rum bottle all night plucking these guys out so I was careful. Once we were done with the first run the guide asked who was in for the second drift and that it was going to be even tighter! Only 4 of us went and I figured what the hell I have done so many things in this trip that I never dreamed about doing so on we go. Ok well it was even tighter and as the drift would take us across the shallow coral I had to make turns through open areas so that I could cross or get around the coral, saw many many fish species that I have never seen before and a large grouper and eel and lots and lots of schools of fish you just cant believe how many fish are in these waters it is incredible. Once we finished this drift we hung out at the beach for fresh coconut and bananas then off to our motu we went for our beach barbecue that the ship was doing for us.
Ahhhhh Motu Mahana it is unbelievable, this has been one of the best days we had on the ship to just chill on a beach day and boy did they pick a ideal spot. Just like out of a post card or magazine pic of somewhere you have always wanted to go but even better with service , walla .... hamburgers, seafood, salads just scrumptious and guess what a floating bar on the beach! Heaven on Earth! Mike and I had a little snack then back into the water to snorkel in the pristine clear water.
We all frolicked in the sun with our new PG friends not really paying attention that our skin was baking and looking like leather I could almost make you a new coach purse from my chest from the leather I was producing but oh it felt so good. Well not so much, later on we looked liked lobsters Mike and I were ok since we are used to being in that environment but poor Michelle has blisters all over her back and everyone in the dinning room that night was cooked, half the people did not show up because they were spent. Speaking of dinner every night on the ship has been a culinary experience, everything is tasty and the service had been incredible. We have felt like royalty.
We had a big day so it was an early night for us went to the crew show to watch the crew perform then night off to Moorea tomorrow!

Day 2 In Bora Bora

Well our first glitch out of the hole trip just happened after all of the fun food and spirits we had at Bloody Mary’s Mike came down with a bothersome stomach virus so we headed down to the ship store to get him some Pepto-Bismol and they did not have it so we though lets check the Medical office for it, WHAT A MISTAKE! We knocked on the door and asked her for the pepto and she said they did not have a pharmacy but proceeded to ask Mike what he was feeling and he said dysentery wow wow why did he go there, the doctor over heard him saying that and pulled us right into the room and asked Mike questions about his symptoms and that was it he was QUARANTINED !!!! What ?? I could not believe it, Mike does not think he has a virus he just felt like something he ate like the sashimi at Bloody Mary’s just did not agree with him. But the Doctor did not want to take a chance and asked him nicely to stay in the cabin for 24 hrs. Oh hell no no what!
So he got medicine and we took the ill one back to the room and the Dr sent an email to the excursion desk to give us a refund for his Ray and Snorkeling by Jet boat which we were looking forward to. Now if that would have been me I would have taking the meds and said thanks to the Doctor and assured him that I was staying in but as you know me I would not I would have still gone on my trip but leave to the good old Midwestern gentleman he does the right thing and stay in the room all day to make sure he does not contaminate anyone, though I know he is not contagious because I have no sign of it?
So what do I do what do I do, go on the excursion my self or hang out in the cabin all day?? This was big decision for me I would never go snorkeling by my self but I sucked it up and put on my big girl panties and went by my self with the group, plus Mike really wanted me to go and not miss out on the adventure.
Off I went into town with 8 others on a Jet boat and our first stop was to feed the stingrays, that was ok I see sting rays all the time and after sting ray city in the Cayman Islands I would say this was average and I could not believe that I was in the water all alone with out my Sherpa, he is so good to me and I just missed him on this adventure I just feel safe with he is around. But as I got more comfortable in the water and ventured around the boat what do I see but the biggest black tip shark I have ever viewed while I was in the water snorkeling. Believe it or not it did not scare me as he wondered around the ocean floor looks for a leg or 2 as a snack. So funny but coming from the Florida Keys I can just tell how much more we know about the Ocean and the things in it compared to others that have no clue. The black tip re approached and I tried to take a pic of him but he did not want anything to do with me I guess he does not like Cuban meat!
We headed around the entire island and made another stop at an area next to Matira where most of the fancy hotels with the over water bungalow are at for a snorkel at and area they call the aquarium and what an aquarium it was. As soon as we got in the water I felt like I jumped into a swimming pool and had hundreds of fish welcome me, they loved my belly piercing since it has a small gold ball they nibbled at me it was great! The snorkeling here was pristine tons of fish and life. So many bright colored clams that were teal, red, green, blue and lots of big beautiful sea urchins. I could not believe that I swam around on my own it was very liberating and After about 45 mins I head back to the boat even though I did not want to get out I saw a native guy in a pareo diving down and he called me over and asked me to dive down with him and he clicked his fingers underwater and out came the largest moray mama eel I have ever seen and he was petting her, crazy but I loved it. By the way the only reason I did not pet her was because I really love to do hair and want all my fingers and hands to be in tack when I get home.
So back to the ship and to check in on my quarantined husband that used a bright green life vest to hang of the side of the ship so that I can see the room we were in as I jetted of in the boat with out him, he called the green life vest his quarantine flag. Needless to say he is feeling better and he may break out of the room this evening for another jam session with the band.
To be continued and of to Taha’a tonight ship sets sail again, back to the motion in the ocean.

　

Frist Day In Bora Bora

Our arrival in Bora Bora was March 21 at 10:00 and what a site to see a spectacular basaltic mountain named Otemanu meaning the sea of birds. The Polynesians call this Island Parapora or first born believing that it was the first Island to rise after Raiatea.
I am finally at my dream spot Bora Bora, the ship arrived early and Mike and I went to the top deck ( 9) which is the very tippy top of the ship and all the way to the front, it was just me and him and I just started sobbing the tears just rolled out of my eyes because I felt the accomplishment that I have been yearning to feel for a long time I now feel like I made it to French Polynesia, there is just something about this Island that is mystical. I have taken so many pictures of the Otemanu you just cant get enough.
Today we only have a half day off the ship for us because it is Sunday and all is closed in the town so we chose to go to the private Motu that the ship has for us. It has a bar on the beach and there was pretty good snorkeling to. Saw plenty of fish which really seems to be common in these waters there has been no shortage of that. We hung out in this area with our new found friends Michele and Tim, Gretchen and Jeremiah from California, it has been a lot of fun to share some of our experiences with them. During the wait for our tender to come and pick us up to take us back to the boat Bora Bora had a beautiful rainbow above it.

Once back on the boat we all got together for cocktails by the pool and shared the day with each other and we decided to all go to dinner together Florida, California and the other 2 wonderful friends that I know I will keep in contact for sure that live in NJ but are from India Mickey and Pinky, they are fascinating beautiful people that I have had the pleasure to cross paths with them. Like I have mentioned in the past blog it is great to be around people with your same interest we have all been to places that each of us want to go, so cool. So we walked into the dining room and people were saying here come the Motley Crue….. by the way we are the youngest on this ship Mike and I have never felt so young! The Motleys are the spring chickens of the ship to the point that we crashed the end of one of the ships show and had them play Metalllica.
Day 2 in Bora Bora we got up had breakfast in our room again which we have done every day since we got on the ship which has impeccable service and head into town for a drive around the Island on our own which will not take very long since it is only about 37 miles all the way around, we rented a car and off we go to a new adventure.
Went all around and stopped at the most beautiful area of Bora which is called Matira it is so clean and so lush and smells like fresh flowers everywhere! We stopped at a waterfront bar and restaurant, Mike was getting thirsty for a beer and a friendly kitty followed me around ever where I went. Ever direction I looked was more beautiful than the other and if you like photography this has go to be the most amazing place on earth that I have been to do that.

We moved along and stopped at the famous Bloody Mary’s and what do we find there…. The other half of the Motley Crue so we pulled up a chair and had lunch with them. Oh what fun because you cant go to Bloody Mary’s with out a visit to the men’s restroom, it has a giant wooden penis hanging on a chain for a giant urinal flush! So gross but if you guys no me well we had a photo op in that bathroom that was out of control! After the pics ran to wash my hands thinking of how many people have touch that toilet flusher, yuck but had to do it.

Left Bloody Mary’s and stopped at The Farm Bora Pearl Company for a look and of course came out with a beautiful small black pearl on a leather strap for a necklace that was right from the back door of this jewelry store. They cultivate the pearls right there so cool and because we purchased a little something they sales person gave us a private tour of their pearl farm and we got to see how they cultivate and grow these pearls, they are all at least 2 years old before they take the pearl out.
So back to the boat and dinner with Michele and Tim then the best thing happened, we were at the back of the ship where the ship band the Siglo that consist of 4 Philippino guys got wind that Mike was a drummer and Mike got to sit in for a few songs, smoke on the water and cant get no satisfaction, they wanted to hire him on the spot, everyone came in to watch them jam, it was great !!

Good Night Bora Bora until tomorrow!

The Amazing Rangiroa!!!!!

I use amazing because it was an amazing over the top day. All of you may be familiar with most of the common Polynesian Islands like Bora Bora and Moorea but what an underwater gem there is in  Rangiroa!! I have read so much about this place before I got here and it was one of my spots I really wanted to visit, I felt like a pioneer coming here because this area is not really visited much by people unless you are a hard core diver , there is only 1 hotel and it is closed. Rangiroa is actually a series of islands around a lagoon making it the largest atoll in French Polynesia and the second largest in the world. Rangiroa means “extended sky” some 240 motu sit on this reef.

We started the day with a walk around the island of Tiputa
It was just 1 big circle, saw plenty of doggies and lots of beautiful plants and interesting church and grave yard, we walked over to the pass where the ship came in from between the 2 Islands and saw tons of parrot fish eating coral and dolphins frolicking in the waves and Mike and I thought wow I hope this is not the pass we are doing our drift snorkel in because the current was cranking and had very large waves at the entrance and it was very deep and scary looking, this pass is called the Tiputa channel and allows constant exchange of water between the open sea and the lagoon so god knows what that hell is in there ,but later we were to find out that indeed that was the pass we were going to drift through, I had a long thought about this and almost cancelled, but Mike and I had a pow wow and we both decided to do it.
The ship had very few excursions for this island unless you were an advanced diver but they did have something for one seeking some adrenaline and it is called shooting the pass, and as I said above it was the Tiputa channel, I can talk about this experience for hours it was the most amazing thing I have ever done!!!!!!!! We went by a small boat with apporx 8 brave people with us and they the took us to the entrance of the channel which is the barrier reef and where the Pacific ocean meets Rangiroa inside lagoon.Ok if any of you watched the movie Nemo it was the part that the turtles rode the pacific stream to travel and they flew through the water through the pacific ocean, that is what it felt like when we jumped in the water and we had to let the very fast moving current that just carried us through the pass, it was the ultimate rush, it was like getting caught in a bad under tow but we knew there would be some on the other side to pick us up! Fortunately they took us when the tide and current switched from Pacific going into the lagoon so that we would not get pushed out to sea in the large waves and current and we had to wait until 1:30 pm to do I. When we first got in we were all so freaked out that we missed the first part which was amazing coral and fish, it was the quickest mile I have ever done in the water, the best part was that when the first ride was over we were all bumming out because we thought it was so fast and it was over but our guide said oh no no no we get to do it 2 more times!!! It was off the hook the second time was even better and more beautiful and we knew what to expect I cant even begin to explain how much coral and fish we saw we were drifting pass a huge wall of coral, amazing amazing amazing, the third time we went to another part of the channel that did not have as much current and saw smaller fish and a beautiful moray eel. Got back on the boat and all of us had the same look on our face like we just did the coolest thing ever!

Lucky for us it continued they took us by boat just a minute away to Motu Nui Nui and it is a natural open water aquarium, the coral here was so healthy it look like broccoli no kidding it was green green green and very large coral heads, the small black tips showed up here and swam around us, saw eels and most of all the most fish I have EVER seen! There were so many I did not think I could swim through them. It was just so beautiful that no words can describe and this is what I came to French Polynesia to see the amazing clear beautiful water and marine life this place has to offer and the beautiful welcoming culture and people that are here. They all have a smile and are so thankful we came to visit!

Maururu ( Thank you)  Rangiroa

　

Fakarava

Fakarava is the second largest atoll after Rangiroa and the ancient capital of the Tuamotu Archipelago. We arrived at 11:00 am and what a beautiful site this island is very flat but still had lots of natural beauty most of it under water.
Mike and I headed out today for our first snorkeling excursion called the pinnacle, it was a 30 min ride to the north pass in the lagoon. Well needless to say we arrive to a large stick in the water in the middle of no where and breaking waves, my brain kept saying to me hmmmm are you sure about this are you really going to get in the water out here in the middle of no where , I was a little bit (very) uncomfortable getting in the water considering that the tour guide was a native and only spoke a little French and his native language so I proceeded to ask a French person to ask him some questions about what we were going to do. Mike jumped right in and I followed but I can tell you that once I got in the water it was unbelievable. Lots and lots of fish!!! So we started swimming around the pinnacle and as so as we turned the corner from the boat there were those toothy critters…sharks….we saw about 6 black tips right away, they checked us out then left us alone as they remained guard of their territory. It was an invigorating snorkel and I just cant begin to explain to you how many types of fish we saw.
After the snorkel we headed back to the boat and had a quick lunch then got a ride on the tender to take a look at the town of Tetamanu which has the first catholic church built of coral and shells that dates back to 1874.
Proceeded back to the ship and had a beautiful show from the local dance Troupe” Te Hei Hono” have no idea what it means but they were great. I will need to check up on all of these names and titles when I get home I have limited access for internet right now.

Had a great day in Fakarava!!!

　

Huahine

Wow looked out the balcony this morning when we arrived Huahine around 8:00 am and immediately saw a pod of dolphin, the water were calm and the island was just sitting there looking at us and asking us to come over to visit.
We had an early 8:15 Safari tour around the Island with 4 other people. Decided to do the Cultural thing today since we will have plenty of water activity to come.
This island was very different than Papeete, Huahine was very very clean and quaint it had excellent roads and beautiful scenery. We stopped at a vanilla growers home and saw how the vanilla is pollinated which is by the way done by humans not animal or insect. We also stopped to see human sacrificial area where the Polynesians sacrifice other tribe members and cook and eat them which was not that long ago in the early 1900’s. the guide described how they bashed them in the head with a sharp device drained the blood and the King would eat the brain and drink the blood, yuck good thing they stopped this. He also told us the cooked Captain Cook!
Stopped at a beach and the first thing I saw was a black tip shark he was small but feisty. Then we moved on to what I have been waiting to see and that was the sacred giant blue eyed eels at the village of Faie. We arrived in this village and stopped a narrow cross bridge and I thought really the eels are here? It was only about 2 foot of water and our guide jumped off the side with Mike to follow, no one else in the group had the courage to get in. As soon as our guide opened up a can of mackerel the all started to come out of the holes in the wall, it was like feeding the tarpon in Islamorada at Robbie’s, they were tame and even came up and gave the guide kisses. Mike and the guide feed them and by the end there were about 12 eels out. Cool spot.
We made a couple of other scenic stops and never saw a car go by, they have no crime at all on this island and everyone was very nice.

Back to the ship for lunch and sailed around 1:00 pm heading to Fakarava.

Boarding The MS Paul Gauguin

　
This day was a big day we finally boarded the MS Paul Gauguin. Our pick up was at 3:00 pm so Mike and I hung out by the pool with the swim up bar and just chilled. The view from our chairs was Moorea what a beautiful site it has no words to describe it. After Chilin by the pool we had a very nice farewell lunch at the Intercontinental. By the way girls you would love all the male help at this hotel then just run around in a pareo no shoes no shirts and they are all in great shape. Talked to one guy that was checking people in and out that had tattoos from head to and he was part of a tribe and Had family tattoos all over his body.
So we got picked up and transferred to the ship. I have been on quite a few cruises but this was the easiest check in ever! Basically walked up and gave them our passports and we were in, no desk no line.
Off to our room we went and our luggage was already there!
Went straight to the excursion desk and signed up to some cool trips. Then came back and unpacked and headed to dinner. We have already made met some cool peeps 2 from India that live in NYC and 2 from Barcelona Spain. I love speaking to people from around the world that have my same interest , they all love to travel.
We had a small show by the pool last night then hung out at the disco with our Barcelona friends Alejandro and Chari.
The ship set sail at 1:00 am and she was a rockin.
Huahine here we come.

Intercontinental Staff

The Real Deal!

First Day in Papeete

My first thought of today TRAIN WRECK ... I am so tired. We checked in at 1:30 am to our hotel and felt like i had scabies so immediately jumped in the shower to get the airplane mung off of me. Tried to sleep but only got around 4 hours.
Woke up around 7:30 am my body has no idea what the hell is going on especially for me i love to sleep. I just felt beat up. But as soon as i got out of bed i opened our sliding glass door and what a site to see beautiful island of Moorea across the sea out of my window. Wow i finally made it.
Mike and i were on a waiting list for the over water bungalows but i declined it because of all of the issues in Japan with the Tsunami i did not want to wake up in the hut in the middle of the sea! So a second level ocean front room is great for me.
Started the day with a very nice breakfast in our hotel and went to Avis to rent a car for our first day adventure. I quickly figured out that i cant speak French and look like i have that stupid moron look on my face like yeah i am an American with my Iphone trying to communicate with you but thanks to my Spanish i can get by.
Off we went touring around the island on our first day , a very busy Island everyone walking around with a loaf of bread just out and about doing their thing. Mike and i were on a mission to get to Teahupoo a famous area for huge surf were all the pro surfers go to ride one of the biggest waves in the world! After lots of winding roads we arrived at Teahupoo and checked it out , it was a very quite little village and the surf was not huge today but there were some significant sizes waves out there and just watched the locals surf in the beautiful background. We walked over a wooden bridge into the small village and i spotted a huge eel having a snack then continued down the trail but decided to turn around because there were allot of loose dogs and there was one fresh one that would not leave a girl alone ahead of us and i did not want to wrestle a dog during my walk plus i heard a few ankle bitters along the way and did not want to start my trip with a dog bite.
We stopped at a beach shack and mike had sashimi and rice and of course i just ate the rice, the good thing is that i think i will be thinner when i get home the food is a little to funky for me but once i get on the ship all will be better in the culinary department for me.
Drove the entire Island and came back to our hotel, Mike took a sea bath while i was dreaming of my comfy fluffy down comforter, my eyes felt like someone was holding them open but i held on for dinner. We ate at the Lotus t our hotel and they sat us right by the waters edge and i watched fish coming by during our meal as i sneaked bread crumbs to them.
So here we are today Wednesday , now getting ready to pack and hand at our hotel until 2 pm to board the beautiful ship the Paul Gauguin.

The Beginning

Well it all began in my second grade year when my music teacher Mrs. Crump had us learn the show tunes for South Pacific. Being a second grader I was like thinking what is the South Pacific ? And that is were it all began. Bali Hai may call you .... and it has been calling me since then. Then there was Elvis and his Hawaiian and Pacific movies and I just became obsessed with the South Pacific.
My husband and I love to travel and have been many places but for the last 20 years I have been wanting to visit Tahiti and her Society Islands. We have never been able to do it until now and yes it is unfortunate the economy is bad but it a great time to travel and get deals! So finally after a long time waiting we are now able to do it. We booked the trip in November of 2010 and i have had time to read a few more books on French Polynesia though i feel like i have already been there due to all of the research and reading i have done that is quite al right because i still want to see her live and in person.
On March 5th i started preparing my clothing and things i needed to put out for packing, for the remainder of the week i continued this process until i was happy with what i has laid out, seems like and easy place to pack for but still alot goes into this process when you are going to be gone for 16 days. Our departure date was March 12 and we chose to break up the flying time to 5 1/2 hours for the first segment and stay in Loma Linda California to visit Mikes grand ma. This was great because we were able to adjust to to time change of 3 hours instead of jumping into a 6 hour time change. While in Cali we visited Palm Desert and stopped to have lunch at the Adobe Mexican restaurant at the beautiful La Quinta Resort. The weather was amazing it was 90 degrees and it was in the mid 60's in Loma Linda big change from the Desert.
So here we are today March 14th and it is our big day! I woke up and the first thing I said to Mike was my count down is finally "0" !!!! We had a smooth drive to the airport and we chose to get there 3 1/2 hours early to try to get an upgrade and hurray for us it worked there was an upgrade available and we took it, what a great way to start the trip. Now I am writing from the Air Tahiti Nui airplane and we are so glad we got the upgrade, can you say LEG ROOM!!! The second we sat in our seats they have been pampering us, we had cocktails to start with then an appetizer of either shrimp salad or pate then we had a choice for dinner of crab cakes, beef or chicken and of course I had a glass of Pinot Noir and finished it with petite pastries. Ahhhh so far so good.Those of you who are lushes out there would love it the liquor trays have been flowing by with unlimited alcohol. The flight attendants are wearing their Polynesian clothing with beautiful flowers in their hair and they are all very attractive, they know who to get you in the groove for were we are about to land.
At this point we only have 4 1/2 hours to go from a total of 8h and 10 min has has so far gone by pretty fast. Mike has been reading a book he got from our friend Suzy about Anthony Kiedis that seems a little weird but what ever he never get to just sit down and read and here I am writing to you guys even though I am sure you are not really that interested in my journey but I love to write and let it out so if you have gotten this far I guess I am doing a good job and have not bored you or you are a good friend that wants to ready what I am up to or just love to travel and want to join in my journey.
In a few hours we will be arriving in Papeete and we will be picked up by our Cruise ship concierge from the Paul Gauguin and he will escort us to the Intercontinental Resort. We are staying here for 2 nights because I thought it would be a great way to get acclimated to the new area and time before we got going on our cruise that departs on Wed March 16.
So that is all for now and I will keep you posted as we move along,everyone is napping on the plane, lots of snoring going on.
Nite nite for now
Joanne

Arrival in Papeete

Los Angeles Airport at Air Tahiti Nui

The beginning of a new adventure

La Quinta In Palm Srpings California

Started our visit with Mike's cousin Diane and Grandmother Mary