Whispering sweet nothings.

turtlemichael · Jan 17, 2019

More Nuku Hiva.

turtlemichael · Jan 17, 2019

Nuku Hiva again.

And some spirited dancing on board.

Pushka · Jan 17, 2019

Wow. 55 ports. How many visas did you need to get in advance?

turtlemichael · Jan 17, 2019

Pushka said:
Wow. 55 ports. How many visas did you need to get in advance?

Except for the ESTA to get into the US, none. It's part of the World cruise deal that they get them for you. At least they get them if your passport is from the US, Canada, UK or Australia. We are paying indirectly of course but it is a tremendous time/effort saving.

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Pushka · Jan 17, 2019

turtlemichael said:
Except for the ESTA to get into the US, none. It's part of the World cruise deal that they get them for you. At least they get them if your passport is from the US, Canada, UK or Australia. We are paying indirectly of course but it is a tremendous time/effort saving.

That is indeed excellent. Otherwise you’d not see your passport for months! And those charges add up, let alone time. Nice work.

LadyC · Jan 17, 2019

Just catching up now. Glad to read things are better after the very bumpy start. I look forward to reading more about French Polynesia.

turtlemichael · Jan 18, 2019

Day 11 Jan 16. French Polynesia idyllic island no 2. Today is Rangiroa in the Tuamotu Group. It is the largest coral atoll in the Pacific and the third largest in the world. If you could drive all the way round, which you can’t, you would cover 200 kilometres. The atoll consists of 400 plus sandbars and islets on the coral reef ranging in width up to 300 metres but mostly less than 20. The highest point is 12 metres. I guess it is a climate change tragedy waiting to happen.

Only two of the islands are inhabited by the 2500 residents. When we sailed with the pilot into the lagoon through a very narrow channel, in perfect weather, you could not see the other side. We are probably the biggest ship that could get in.

We decided to go for a walk. The options appeared to be to go on a shopping excursion for black pearls or to go snorkeling. The latter is to happen in Bora Bora in a few days and then in a few other places.

The water is clear and sparkling and the beaches are white sand. We wandered along the beach on the lagoon side and we were greeted by lots of bonjours. The major activities were men fishing and women babies and children in the water. We appeared almost to be going through peoples' backyards. We only got shouted at once, and then non-aggressively, by a man whose fishing lines we managed to get tangled in and disrupt his complex system of floats. He thought it was very funny. Stupid foreigners.

It is very pretty and very remote.

turtlemichael · Jan 18, 2019

Rangiroa again.

tgh · Jan 18, 2019

aahh memories… a very pretty place tm

Milboo · Jan 18, 2019

Buy the black pearls! I was in Tahiti 25 years ago and regret not buying them then!

turtlemichael · Jan 19, 2019

Day 12 Jan 17. Our next stop is Moorea, the sister island to Tahiti and only 30 kilometres away. It is said to be amongst the most beautiful of islands of Polynesia and it certainly has the best developed tourist structure, along with Tahiti and Bora Bora. We decided to do a circle island bus tour which took as right around and up to the Belvedere in the centre. The views, on another near perfect day, were sensational. I seem to recall we did much the same when we were here 10 years ago.

The Moorea reef.

Cook's Bay, or Baie de Cook, from the Belvedere.

Coconut eating chicken.

Lady taking her baguettes home.

LadyC · Jan 19, 2019

That water in the Moorea reef looks beautiful!

turtlemichael · Jan 19, 2019

After our day in Moorea we sailed across to Papeete as the final port on this first of 9 segments of this cruise. We docked two hours later. Someone had said that the sunsets as you approached Tahiti, looking back at Moorea, were pretty good. It was an understatement.

Moorea

Papeete airport runway which we passed on the way in the Harbour.

turtlemichael · Jan 19, 2019

Eeek! Sorry for the photo duplication.

Pushka · Jan 19, 2019

Wow. Amazing blue.

Tahiti looks nice

tgh · Jan 19, 2019

I have never seen the colour intensity of the water anywhere else..it can be mesmerising

kermatu · Jan 20, 2019

Belatedly stowing away for this trip.

turtlemichael · Jan 20, 2019

Day 13 January 19. On our day in Tahiti we attended a cruise "event". It was a cultural display under a tarpaulin at the Tahiti museum. It went on too long and was quite uncomfortable given the heat, humidity and rain but no one died and we had a good time. The dancing and singing were
sensational.

Last minute pre-dance briefng

She has an award winning smile.

tgh · Jan 20, 2019

She has an award winning smile.

She does indeed .. lovely pic

turtlemichael · Jan 21, 2019

Day 14 Jan 19. Bora Bora. The great weather has continued at this romantic place. We went snorkeling with the stingrays and sharks (black tipped sharks said to be not interested in eating people). It was great to get into the water at 28C and quite an exciting trip. Somewhat amazingly we had the same guide, if we remember correctly, as we had 10 years ago when we were here. He said to us "Why would I leave, it is paradise." It is the most developed island insofar as tourism is concerned and the most expensive but still quite unspoiled..