February 28 and March 1, 2013
Papeete, capital of Tahiti. Another maiden call for the QE. We were here in 2008 and spent a wonderful day on the nearby island of Moorea, swimming with the sting rays, lunching in a glade and swimming in the most beautiful azure water after a tour of the island. This time we had booked a tour of Papeete with a visit to the Gauguin Museum. Turns out the museum is closed and so we cancelled.
Gorgeous morning as we arrived and backed into the quay which is right in the center of town. These ships can do anything. A tug always hovers, but is not necessary. We executed a 180 in the tiny harbor and then backed in, finally sidling crabwise to the dock. Not so much as a tiny bump. Truly amazing! The rugged crests of mountains looms over the city.
Very hot and humid, but I took a little walk around the shops...mainly tourist items..and the covered marketplace. Unfortunately, I could not walk far. Just as well, as it turns out. I decided to spend the day at the pool, but sitting in the shade. There were only a handful of people at the Pavilion pool...it was like having my own private pool. I had a nice swim, did some knee exercises, left the pool and started to read in my cozy armchair. I watched the storm clouds gather over the dramatic mountains and then move toward the town and the ship. Thunder, lightning and rain. And that is the way it stayed for most of the day. Paul and Amy had gone into town after I did and they got soaked! Fortunately, my armchair was under an overhang which runs around the outer edges of the pool area. So I stayed there until lunch and then headed for my cabin.
Paul and Amy came down to my cabin at 6. We ordered our meal and some malt scotch. After dinner, we we watched Paul's videos of our Panama Canal trip on this ship in 2011. Paul has been busy editing his footage every afternoon. It brought back wonderful memories, though bittersweet because Olga was with us then. After dinner, we settled on the balcony with our scotches for sailaway and Paul finally smoked his cigar. He's tried to go to Churchill's, the cigar lounge, but the cigarette smokers have taken over. Churchill's is no longer a quiet haven for a good cigar which smells a lot better than a roomful of cigarette smoke.
It was a lovely mild evening as we set sail for Bora Bora, just 149 miles away!
What never ceases to amaze and thrill me is how these volcanic islands, with peaks some 7000 feet high, just appear out of the middle of nowhere, as the captain describes sailing the Pacific. There are thousands of them! They look like a movie set.
Bora Bora
Bora Bora (or in Tahitian, Pora Pora) is a jewel of an island...a volcanic upthrust of two sharp crested mountains surrounded by a lagoon which is surrounded by coral islands which contain most of the fancy resorts and the airport, which are accessible only by boat. Access to the lagoon is through a very narrow channel. It was amazing how close the ship came to ankle-deep water! We anchored and tendered in to the main village, Vaitape. It was the maiden call for the QE. Only about 18-20 cruise ships visit this island per year.
At first, the weather was lovely, just like yesterday. At 8:30, we embarked on an off-road tour in Range Rovers. And what an experience! We lurched up rocky and muddy inclines, around hairpin bends and up, over and down steep inclines. At a couple of points, it was like being in a roller-coaster! It was great fun, providing gales of laughter! And, wonderful views from the top of the tracks...in one case, US gun emplacements from 1942. After Pearl Harbor, the US virtually took over Bora Bora and bulldozed tracks up the mountains, installing several large guns to protect the harbor. Well, good thing they were never needed. They had been built in 1904, used in WWI, and had been furnished with the wrong sIze shells!
Then the weather changed....rain, thunder, lightning, just like yesterday. Our driver, Jimmy, quickly put up the top and we continued our tour, heading back down the mountain, onto the main road and then offroad again. This was the modus operandi for the morning. We stopped at a pearl farm and watched a demonstration of removing a pearl from an oyster. We also learned how the pearls are seeded in order to obtain the famous local black pearl. Of course there was a shop with fabulous offerings. No takers in our group! We passed resorts and beaches, the famous restaurant Bloody Mary's and the Sofitel, when Dino di Laurentis came to film "Hurricane" in 1977, and Club Med, which was destroyed by a earthquake in 1991. As we drove around the entire island, only six miles long and two and a half mi wide, we passed through the three main villages, each one built around a church. The majority of people here are Protestants, as they are throughout the Pacific Islands. We also happened to see the Gendarmerie investigating marijuana growers at their home. According to Jimmy, they have no crime, no gangs, And no drugs other than marijuana! They credit the influence of their religion.
French is the first language of the people. In middle school students can choose a second language...English or Tahitian. Most choose Tahitian and pick up their English through tourism. I enjoyed conversing in French with Jimmy.
We returned to the ship for lunch. The weather continued wet and grey all day, so we repaired to quiet places to read. There was a sliver of gold in the sky above the mountains as we hoisted anchor and sailed off at 5:30. One thing we always enjoy is watching the pilot disembark. We can just about see the split-second operation if we crane our necks. He climbs down a wood and rope ladder and then, at then just the right moment, jumps into the boat. The pilot boat driver has to maintain just the right speed and distance. It is amazing! Yesterday's pilot boat was a small open Boston whaler type, the smallest we have ever seen!
We watched from the Garden Lounge where sailaway had been moved from the Lido pool because of rain. Synergy is a fabulous band and they played all the oldies. I cannot dance, so Amy joined me in what I call "chair dancing". People were in hysterics as we boogied to oldies while seated and sipping martinis. Hahahaha.
No comments:
Post a Comment