Day 41 - Tuesday 17th February 2015 - Moorea

Day 41 - Tuesday 17th February 2015 - Moorea

Moorea is another French Polynesian island, and it is right next door to Tahiti. So close in fact, that we left Tahiti at just before 6.00 this morning and arrived by 7.00! The journey was beautiful, around 2 sides of the heart shaped island, viewing more lush green hills and jagged mountains and small villages. The island is encircled by coral reefs, and so the water varied from dark royal blue to gorgeous bright turquoise. As we sailed along the shoreline we could see a number of the amazing luxury resorts which have been built here by the lagoon. The ship turned into the narrow pass in the reef and into Opunohu Bay, where it anchored ready for passengers to be tendered ashore. I couldn't think of a prettier place to be anchored! Words cannot describe the beauty.

Our tour didn't start until later in the morning so I spent a few hours admiring the surroundings (while writing the Tahiti blog!). We then met in the theatre for our tour - Lagoon Cruise and Picnic. We started by getting the tender boat ashore before boarding our motorised boat. This took us out of the bay, past a shipwreck, some of which was poking up as the waters were so shallow! We then sailed past the Intercontinental Hotel, which is incorporated solely of wooden huts - some up the hillside and some on stilts in the water with their own steps directly into the sea. Paradise! And from only $1000 per night we were told! 

The boat then took us to the middle of the lagoon for our first snorkelling stop, where we could see a number of other ships had already anchored. We soon saw why - this spot was a local hangout for friendly stingrays and black tipped reef sharks - they were everywhere! I was in the water within seconds, and surrounded by these amazing creatures, who were not at all phased by the dozens of people swimming nearby. We swam around for ages admiring them, and taking lots of photos with my underwater camera. As it was so bright it was impossible to see the display so I just randomly pointed and clicked, and ended up with quite a collection! I did my very best to take a selfie with a shark (I'll put the best attempt on Facebook!) We did see some people who had bravely (or foolishly?!) taken their phones and selfie sticks into the water!!

I then went to say hello to the stingrays, who were mainly gathered round the guide (who I think had some tasty nibbles for them!). They were amazing, swimming in and out of people, and sometimes under them or up their bodies! They were quite happy to be stroked and tickled! There were also some different fish around the area. 

Eventually it was time to get back on the boat :-( We said goodbye to these beautiful animals and set sail again, this time towards a small private motu (island) just off the shore. This was our base for the next 3 hours. And what a base! We started off in the shady area by the lagoon where there were tables set for the lunch we were given - lots of fresh fish for JL, and plenty of salad, bread, rice and pasta for me, with fresh pineapple and banana to finish. And as much as you wanted to drink to accompany it.

After eating, the guide gave us a demonstration of how to open a coconut, and how to make coconut milk! We then had lots of time to explore the island, walking through the trees to the white sand beach on the other side, and along the lagoon path to see the main island of Moorea on one side, and another small private island on the other. We said hello to the friendly dog who had come ashore on one of the boats and was enjoying exploring! When our lunch had digested a bit we headed into the lagoon for some more snorkelling. There was a strong current so we were advised to walk for a bit and then get in and float back! Which we did, several times. There were lots of coral formations with a range of colourful fish, and a couple of resident stingrays who kept swimming back and forth. I took lots more pictures!

We then relaxed back on the shore for a while, soaking up the relaxed atmosphere and the incredible views. I kept in the shade as much as possible after the other day! At last it was time to go back and everyone made their way gloomily back to the boat - we all wanted to stay!

When we got back to the small village where we had started, we had a look around the stalls there (mainly selling jewellery made from Tahitian black pearls), and at the pretty church, before getting our tender back to the ship.

Back on the ship we rinsed all our snorkelling stuff and spread it out to dry (poor cabin steward!) and then I just had time for a cup of tea before dinner. From there we went to see the next classical piano concert (which I may have dozed through the end of...!) and then to the theatre to see the evening's act - a guy called Bob Arno doing a show called The Art of the Steal. He is a professional pickpocket, but rather than using his skills for crime, he uses them for entertainment, awareness raising, and also works with police forces worldwide to help improve public safety. Before the show even started he had surreptitiously wandered round the theatre and taken a number of people's watches without their knowledge, and as the show progressed he 'invited' volunteers onto the stage to lose their jewellery, wallets, key cards, ties, and even in one case shirt and underpants (we're not quite sure how he did that one!). He was amazing! He has apparently done a show which is on YouTube if you are interested!

Day 40 - Monday 16th February 2015 - Papeete, Tahiti

Day 40 - Monday 16th February 2015 - Papeete, Tahiti

At last, the day had arrived - our first day ashore for 11 days, and what a place for it - Tahiti in French Polynesia, somewhere I have wanted to go for many years. JL was very excited because he would be stepping foot on French soil!  He celebrated by going for a swim at 6 o'clock as we arrived!

We got up early so we could watch the sail in, and all I can say is wow!!!!! The island is made up of rugged green hills and mountains, which made an amazing silhouette at dawn. As we got closer we could see lots of luxury houses scattered over the hillside - dream homes! We approached the harbour and were greeted by a group of surfers who had just paddled out ready to play in the waves in the harbour entrance. We continued along the beautiful coastline of Papeete, the main town of the island, eventually docking alongside an incredible luxury yacht (that was roughly the size of 10 detached houses!) and another cruise ship.

I had a quick call home to wish my little brother a happy birthday :-). And then off to meet for our tour - Snapshot of Tahiti. We made our way ashore, pausing briefly to see the local Tahitian musicians who had arrived to welcome us, and picked up our coach (thankfully air conditioned, as even at 9.30am it was roasting!). The coach drove along the island's main road which goes all the way round the coast, as we admired the incredible green hills on one side and turquoise waters on the other side. The first stop was a place called Point Venus, which is where many early navigators arrived, and is named after Captain Cook's scientific observation mission of the planet Venus. There we saw the island's only lighthouse, a monument to Cook, and a fascinating display of stones brought from all the different groups of Pacific Islands, dated according to when the Bible was brought to the different places (many of the early settlers were missionaries, and the Catholics, Protestants and Mormons all rushed to try and get the best locations for their churches/ temples!). There was also a memorial to the HMS Bounty, which as you know if you read my history lesson the other day came here in 1788 (and didn't want to leave!) The best parts of the stop for us however were the black sand beach (as the island is volcanic) where lots of locals were enjoying the sea, and the stray dogs that were fishing in the shallows! 

Next we headed for the Arahoho Blowhole, which is a geological phenomenon where the rough sea waters force themselves through holes in the rock, and then spurt out at the top by the road. It was fascinating, and the views all around were amazing.

Another pretty drive took us to the Taharaa Viewpoint, which as the name suggests has amazing views back to Papeete and to Moorea (tomorrow's destination) in the distance.  (We could just about make out our ship!)

The final stop was the James Normal Hall Museum. He was the author of the famous Mutiny of the Bounty book and the museum was a recreation of his house complete with all his old furniture and books. It was set in beautiful gardens full of tropical flowers, a breadfruit tree which is a descendent of one of the ones that Captain Bligh took to the Caribbean, and some chickens! (Apparently lots of people on the island keep chickens to eat the many biting centipedes which are in abundance there!) 

We returned to the ship and had some lunch, then set out again on our own. Luckily it had got a bit cloudier and windier by now, making it just hot rather than unbearable! We had a few shopping missions for the afternoon and succeeded in most of them - JL found himself a sturdy glasses case for his new sunglasses, and a copy of Charlie Hebdo, and I found postcards and a post office! I couldn't find a nice magnet so I have decided to make my own using one of the beautiful Tahitian coins I got as part of my change!

We picked up a map from the tourist office which had a walking tour on it, and for the next 2 hours I took JL on a guided tour of the town, looking at various impressive administrative buildings, churches and cathedrals, tree lined streets, lush parks, statues, war memorials, covered markets (decorated with a mixture of Valentines Day and Chinese New Year banners!), and water features. My favourites were the lily filled pond which had belonged to the Polynesian Queen Pomare, the 300-400 year old Banyan tree which the painter Gauguin used to climb and sit in on a daily basis, the seaside park full of outdoor exercise equipment (a playground for adults!), and the hotel which Henri Matisse stayed in when he painted his view of Papeete harbour. JL liked the story of the road which was called Bruat Avenue, but was then renamed Pouvanaa a Oopa Avenue (bearing in mind every vowel in The Tahitian language is pronounced, this one makes quite a mouthful!). He was also very excited to find some Banyuls in one of the wine shops! (But at £30 for a 500ml bottle we decided not to indulge!)

We eventually got back to the ship, with rather sore feet, at which point I collapsed in the cabin with a cup of tea and JL went to get himself a large beer in one of the bars. A very hot day - but no sunburn - yay!

After a long shower and a short rest, it was time to go to dinner. We had a table by the window so got to watch the sunset. We then went to the theatre to watch the local Tahitian cultural group who had come aboard - drummers, singers, and beautiful female and male dancers in fantastic costumes. They got a well deserved standing ovation.

JL then went and had an early night while I went to the onboard cinema to see the evening's film which I missed at the cinema - Pride (true story about the group of gay activists from London who join together to support a group of striking miners in Wales - it was wonderful and made me cry!) 

I took one last look out of the balcony window at Tahiti (where the ship was staying until 5.30am!) and then fell into bed exhausted!

Day 39 - Sunday 15th February 2015 - at sea

Day 39 - Sunday 15th February 2015 - at sea

Walk/ stretch/ gym again to start the day, followed by breakfast. Then line dancing for me and pool for JL. We met up for the port talk about Bay of Islands (New Zealand) in the theatre - it looks so beautiful!! I quickly popped into my knitting group to get the next instructions, but the one sewing needle as in use so my teddy will have to wait!

We had lunch and then JL went to hear Ed Derbyshire talking about the future of space exploration, then Diane Janes talking about a strange unsolved crime... He then went to table tennis and he won!!! [JL: a two week Mediterranean cruise for two!!  * ]Meanwhile I went to the theatre to see Bruce Morrison (the guy who did the amazing Les Mis show last night) who did a lecture/ creative performance about the life of Queen Victoria - not something I would normally be interested in but he is such a great performer that it was fascinating!  Afterwards I went to the gym, and then read my book on the balcony with a cuppa. 

We went to dinner and then to see the Headliners perform their ABBA show for the second time (still fab!). Then back to the theatre for Marc Paul, the mind reader, who again had us baffled! Back to the room to get ready for our first day ashore for 11 days tomorrow - Tahiti!

(Sorry for the rather brief blog, but I know tomorrow will be crazy busy so I've written it the night before for once!)

[* only kidding!!!]

Day 38 - Saturday 14th February 2015 - at sea (Valentines Day!)

Day 38 - Saturday 14th February 2015 - at sea (Valentines Day!)

We started the day with our usual walk and stretch/gym, then had breakfast. On returning to the cabin I was very excited to find two towel swans with a red rose and a Valentines note from my dear husband! :-)  

I went to line dancing and then Knit and Natter where I finished knitting my bear - I now just need to sew him together but unfortunately the entire class are sharing one sewing needle! Meanwhile JL spent his time by the pool and reading.

After lunch I went to my party dance class which was exhausting! I then read and did some exercise in the room before getting ready for formal night. JL went to two lectures - Diane Janes talking about the life and work of Agatha Christie, and Ed Derbyshire talking about the space industry. He then went to play table tennis and got to the final again!

We went down to dinner to find the restaurant all decorated in red balloons and hearts for Valentines Day! We had a yummy dinner (as always!) and then went to see the two classical pianists play some romantic classics. We then went to the theatre to see Bruce Morrison do his second show, which was a tribute to 30 years of Les Miserables. It was AMAZING. He sang a number of songs from the show but also narrated it with lots of history of how the show was originally put together, how it was changed from the original French, and how it was received by critics etc. He even sang one song in French. He got a well deserved standing ovation at the end.

Day 37 - Friday 13th February 2015 - at sea (Pitcairn Island)

Day 37 - Friday 13th February 2015 - at sea (Pitcairn Island)

As the weather was getting incredibly hot, we decided to try starting the day with a swim this morning instead of our usual walk. The pool was still in the shade at 7.45 so there was no danger to my still sunburnt shoulders! Unfortunately lots of other people had the same plan, so the pool (which is only about 10m by 5m in size) was a little crowded, but it was still very nice and I did 40 'lengths'! We even had time to walk a lap after we'd got changed, and then I went to stretch class while JL continued walking.

After breakfast I went to line dancing as normal and JL went to the Crows Nest to watch for the arrival of Pitcairn Island, which we were due to sail past at around 11.00. Sure enough when I came out of line dancing we were just approaching it, so I grabbed my camera and lots of sun lotion and went to meet JL up on deck. We spent the next hour or so doing two complete circles of the island (one in each direction so everyone could see it!), and taking lots of photos. The sun got too hot for me after a while so I went back to the cabin and watched from the balcony instead. To appreciate what we saw you need to know the story of the Mutiny of the Bounty (which I didn't at the star of this cruise!) so I will attempt to summarise here for those of you like me!

In 1789, Captain William Bligh was taking his crew to Tahiti on the HMS Bounty to gather breadfruit trees to take back to the West Indies to supply the slave trade. When the crew arrived on Tahiti, they discovered that they rather liked it (especially the women) and didn't want to leave. The captain obviously made them leave, and from then on relationships between him and the crew were fraught with difficulties. One sailor, called Fletcher Christian, got so fed up with the Captain and his behaviour that he organised a mutiny, and set the captain and 18 of his loyal crew afloat in a 7 metre long boat.  The mutineers then sailed the Bounty back to Tahiti where some of them settled, and the rest of them went in search of a place where they would not be found, and decided on Pitcairn Island, as they had discovered it had been plotted in the wrong place on navigational maps, and therefore would be near impossible to find. They burned the Bounty off the island and settled there. 

Meanwhile, Captain Bligh had managed to navigate the small boat to Timor in the Dutch East Indies where he caught another ship back to England and reported the mutiny to the authorities. The British government sent the ship HMS Pandora to capture the mutineers, and it succeeded in arresting 14 of them from Tahiti. The ship then ran aground on its way home and 4 prisoners and 31 of the crew died. The remaining crew managed to continue the journey and bring the 10 living prisoners back to England where they were tried and punished.

Not all of the mutineers were captured however, and those who settled on Pitcairn Island continued to live there with their Tahitian wives, and their descendants still live there. The current population of the island is 48 people, but having sailed round the island (which is just 18 square miles in size), this is not likely to increase! The island's hills have incredibly steep sides, plunging down into the choppy waters, with no beaches or obvious landing points, and rocks all around. There is one shed which houses the island's few longboats - these are the only boats which can land on the island. The only 'town' (Adamstown) is on one side of the island, a scattering of houses up and down the hillside. There are a few dirt tracks and the only transport is by quad bike. The remaining land is vegetation or rock. 

[JL: I knew what to expect with Easter Island:  a few trees and some vegetation near the main settlement, but a barren, hostile land elsewhere, not a pretty Island at all.  But it has hundreds of statues on the coast line and by the quarry.  And its mystery...  But Pitcairn couldn't be more different.  It's a strikingly beautiful place, with peaks and deep valleys and trees and plants everywhere.  Paradise?  Maybe not when you get 4 hours of electricity a day and one supply ship from New Zealand supplies you and the other 47 "prisoners" twice a year with enough food etc to last you six months, and to get on and off the island, you need to be part acrobat, part stuntman...  See the photos on Facebook... ]

We went to lunch and had a table by the window so we could watch the second fascinating sail around the island, and then waved goodbye to it as we set off towards our next destination - Tahiti. :-)

I spent the first part of the afternoon chilling out in the room, and then went along to the theatre where they were doing an interview with the Headliners Theatre Company singers and dancers. It was very interesting hearing about their different experiences and some behind the scenes stories about the shows. I then did a circuit training class.

Meanwhile JL went to see Ed Derbyshire talking about comets and asteroids, spent some time by the pool, and then went to table tennis where he got to the final!

We had an early dinner and then went to see the evening's passenger talent show (much to JL's horror!) where we saw lots of brave people singing, dancing, and reciting poems. The best bit was the tap dancing group (you may remember I went to one of the classes but gave up as I had the wrong shoes!) who performed a group dance. After this we went to see the multi-instrumentalist Michael Grant playing a range of pieces on the saxophone, clarinet, and piano, including one song where he literally played his sax and clarinet at the same time for part of it! A great show.

Day 36 - Thursday 12th February 2015 - at sea

Day 36 - Thursday 12th February 2015 - at sea

We started the day with another sweltering walk round the decks, then stretch class/ gym, and breakfast.  I then went line dancing while JL went to the pool and then to see Ed Derbyshire talking about the space shuttle programme. I had a nice chat to my parents (the Internet miraculously worked!). I then went to knit and natter where I learnt how to make my teddy's arms!

We had lunch and then I went back to the crazy party dance class (at today's session the entertainment host commented that the last time she had taught these dances was when she used to work at Butlins and taught them to groups of kids...!). JL went to see Diane Janes who did a question and answer session.  He then went to the pool and played table tennis. I read on the balcony and then went to Fab Abs.

We had dinner and then went to the next concert by the duo of pianists. They played a range of pieces including parts of the Peer Gynt suite which was amazing. From there we went to the theatre to see the comedian Lloyd Davis doing his second show which was again very entertaining.  [JL: best joke of the show which I dedicate to my brother-in-law Jack:  A couple go on holiday to Israel after 30 years of marriage.  Unfortunately the wife dies in an accident.   The husband is given the choice of either taking the body back with him to the UK (cost £5000) or having his wife buried in Israel (cost £50)...  He thinks about this dilemma for two seconds and says: "I'll take her back with me".  The official who made the offer can't believe it... "But, this will save you £5000! The husband then says:" look, 2000 years ago a fellow was crucified and buried here, and after 3 days he was out and about ...  SHE'S GOING HOME !!! ].  

Then to bed, after putting the clocks back for the third night in a row! (I'm enjoying all these extra hours in bed but am kind of dreading the opposite when we sail back the other way across the Pacific in March!)

Day 35 - Wednesday 11th February 2015 - at sea

Day 35 - Wednesday 11th February 2015 - at sea

We went outside this morning to walk our mile and it was HOT! And humid. I went to get my mat for stretch class afterwards and did the first 5 minutes and then gave up as I was feeling all faint. I went back to the room and JL brought me breakfast in bed! I abandoned line dancing as it was outside today and I decided my skin needed a bit of a break from the sun after yesterday. JL went to read his book and swim, while I chilled out in the cabin. I made it down to knit and natter to get instructions for how to do my bear's legs though!

We had lunch in the buffet restaurant for a change as I was still not feeling 100% and couldn't be bothered to sit waiting for the service in the main restaurant. I then retreated back to the room where I tried the Internet several times with no luck (I guess being in the middle of the Pacific Ocean isn't the best place for a great signal), finished my teddy bear's legs, read my book, and watched a documentary about French Polynesia and Hawaii (dreamlike!). Meanwhile JL went to see his two lecturers talk about first space and then ghosts! He then went to play table tennis and then more pool / jacuzzi time.  By the end of the afternoon I was feeling more human so I did the next day of my abs challenge and then got ready for the formal night.  [JL: can you hear Eric Clapton singing in the background?]

There was no early concert this evening so instead we went to the Crow's Nest and enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail and mocktail while watching the world go by (well, the sea go by!). We had our meal and then went to the theatre to see the male duo Vocal Tonic perform a range of songs including Don't Stop Believing, Bring Him Home, Close Every Door, and even Let It Go! Very enjoyable.