While we were still in Papeete, I had checked the forecast for Moorea yesterday and Bora Bora today. It was spot on; we had had sunshine with brief passing showers in Moorea and today was gorgeously sunny and HOT. How much better could it be for our final day- our 83rd day- in French Polynesia?
Even before the day began, when I read the Princess Patter last night, I was thrilled (surprised, shocked) to see that husband and wife duo Elua- Dave and Leialoha- would be joining the ship to keep us entertained and educated in the Hawaiian culture until our return to Los Angeles. This was truly a bonus; they are generally on the round trip Hawaii cruises out of LA. I knew from the Internet that we would be learning lei making and the hula and how to play the ukulele, and, who knows what other goodness is in store for us. Something extra to look forward to!
We slept well last night and were up on deck early for our final arrival in Bora Bora. Again with the memories (I've been very nostalgic these past few days)...my first arrival in Bora Bora in December 2004, when G was supposed to have been with me celebrating his return home after two years of military duty and he was stop-lossed and detained and I went with friend Sheila instead. So many times in our careers, when his military duties or my corporate relocations would keep us apart for days or weeks or months at a time, G would say to me, "Just hang in there. The good times are coming". (Little did we know...) Anyway, back then, in 2004, I was up and on our balcony on the Sapphire Princess two full hours before we arrived in Bora Bora, as Mount Otemanu was just a speck on the horizon and then grew larger and larger on our approach. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Bora Bora! I was in Bora Bora!! Well, today was our 13th day in Bora Bora this winter, and it's still just as thrilling to me as on that first day in 2004, especially when the sun is shining brightly and that gorgeous lagoon is glistening. I don't believe I'll ever lose that sense of amazement.
Today, after breakfast in the Club Restaurant, we dilly dallied a bit in leaving the ship. We knew we were going to take a shuttle (US $5 per person each way) to Matira Beach and enjoy one last simple beach day, but we also knew there was no shade on that beach, and so wouldn't be able to tolerate more than a few hours there without getting fried. We had plenty of time, and it was 10am before we finally boarded a tender to shore.
We had about 8500 CFPs left (about $86), and I was determined to spend it all today on fun or souvenirs. I mean, converting it back to US $ is a losing proposition regardless of where we do it; better to go out with some fanfare. We started by looking for a baseball cap for G (because the 241 hats he already owns are simply not enough). It took a little looking, but he finally found one he liked for 1300 CFP. Success! We also paid with local currency to get a shuttle to the beach (another 1000 CFP). It was a little bittersweet to make the drive in the back of an open taxi down the western coast of Bora Bora, knowing that this would be the last time we did this. How nice that the day was so pretty!
I was surprised that the were only five other passengers from the Pacific Princess on the beach, but I guess that made sense. Entertainment staffer/dancer Natalie had told me this morning they had 417 passengers going out on ship's tours today. Add to that the number of passengers who were doing independent excursions and there were not a lot of us available to just hang out on a beach. I think we all were winners; though the wind was brisk the day was gorgeous for any activity. G was the first one in the water using our float, while I stayed on shore with our things and listened to what I call my "cruise music", which, of course, includes a fair number of Jimmy Buffet songs. I sat there listening to "Changes in Latitudes, changes in attitudes..." while looking at the perfectly crystalline blue water and couldn't have agreed more.
At 3:30pm we caught a shuttle back to the ship and I spent some time walking through the craft market near the pier. After two rounds of the tables, I decided to spend most of the last of our local currency on a three Tahitian black pearl necklace. Two of the pearls are greenish-grey, and match my bracelet. The third is a lighter, more ivory color. It's a wonderful souvenir of this winter in the South Pacific. We have exactly 350 CFP left, about $3.55, and it will go into the drop box at the Passenger Services Desk as a contribution to maritime charities.
By 4:30pm, we were cleaned up for dinner and at our favorite sailaway spot, the terrace behind the Panorama Buffet. We had stored some bottles of our MTP-awarded Veuve Cliquot champagne on the ship while we stayed in Papeete, and we retrieved one at breakfast this morning. It had been chilling all day, and, while we sat there on that open deck watching as the Pacific Princess sailed through Teavanui Pass and out of the Bora Bora lagoon one final time, we toasted our 83 wonderful and safe days in one of the world's most beautiful locales. Captain Ciruzzi had made an announcement that we would be seeing the French Polynesian pilot disembark the Pacific Princess as soon as we had sailed through Teavanui Pass, and this was a first. Unlike on most other cruises where the pilot is brought out to the ship by boat in the morning as the ship approaches an island, and then leaves shortly after it sails that evening, in French Polynesia the pilot stays on the ship the entire time it is in French Polynesian waters. Different pilots, of course, but they do stay onboard for an entire 10-night cruise. That our pilot was leaving was the exclamation point on the statement that our time in French Polynesia has come to an end after 83 days. In fact, our passports were collected when we had checked in for the cruise and are being held to be reviewed by French Polynesian and US authorities.
We spent a few minutes in the Pacific Lounge, which is where the Elite lounge is being held. The views up there at the front of the ship on deck 10 will be wonderful- when there is something to see. For the next five days it will simply be open sea. We had another new dinner menu tonight...we're really enjoying that, and had three courses plus dessert. Well, we were a little hungry, having skipped lunch. That won't happen again for at least six days!
Elua performed for the first time at 7:15pm in the Casino Lounge, beautiful Hawaiian music, then we went to production show Cinematastic in the Cabaret Lounge, then back to the Casino Lounge to listen to piano man Jere Ring. It was a day filled with sunshine and blue water completed by an evening filled with a wonderful dinner and lots of entertainment. How will I cope with five days at sea for the first time since our second transatlantic cruise in 2000? We might all be surprised. I have an iPad full of books and magazines, an iPhone full of videos, a ship full of entertainers, lots of activities to choose from, NFL playoffs and ten more bottles of wine and champage to drink.
Life is good. :-)
