Day 70: Huahine

Oooooooh. I might just have had one too many drinks at last night's Captains Circle party. Or two. Maybe three; I probably should have stopped after one. At any rate, I slept right past our arrival in Huahine this morning, our last arrival in Huahine this year. Oh well. I've seen Hiro's paddle and his fish hook and even his penis (really...but what else can you expect on an island whose name means 'woman's vagina'?) multiple times, so it's not the end of the world. (Just don't tell Douglas Pearson I said that!).

When I did finally wake up (at 8am!), I was pleasantly surprised to see we had some sun today. Despite all the fantastic weather we've had since we returned to the Pacific Princess on October 18, Huahine had been a stubborn hold out, offering us some combination of rainy, misty, and/or windy weather on each visit. Today started out much better; unfortunately, we were once again in Huahine on a Sunday, and that limited its already limited options. 

I walked into the Club Restaurant for breakfast at 8:30am, just as G was walking out. In the one minute after he had vacated his table, it had been cleared and re-set and we sat right back down there together. He had another fruit plate and I had a fruit plate and cottage cheese and toast and over breakfast we formulated our plans for the day. 

I have been philosophically opposed to paying $8pp each way to take the 20-minute Princess shuttle to the island's only town of Fare on the northwest coast. We did that a couple of times last year, and, though we enjoyed the small stretch of beach there, with its views of Raiatea and Taha'a in the distance, it didn't hold $32 worth of appeal. And, especially on a Sunday, we knew there would be little else on offer in Fare. Instead we decided on our fallback excursion option:  Swimways floats in some blue, blue water. 

We packed very simply- everything needed to be able to get wet- and walked off the ship wearing swimsuits and carrying floats (and in my case a mask and snorkel, because there is always something to see in the water). I wore a pareo on the tender and, once on shore, we walked down along the coast into the wind, looking for a good (safe, not too rocky) launching point. We had eyed an area from the ship that had particularly light blue water, meaning it was shallow and sandy. After a 20-minute walk, we found our spot. I put my pareo in a ziploc bag I'd brought along, we inflated our floats and set out. 

We stayed close to the shore, though, in enclosed Maroe Bay, it would have been difficult to get into trouble. I spent as much time in the water as on it, and though there were limited coral heads, there was still a good selection of fish and several stingrays. As we approached the tender pier, we climbed out of the water at a pre-selected place and walked up the road to do it again. After three times, we started getting hungry for lunch and so stood around a bit until we were slightly dry (we hadn't packed towels), deflated and curled up our floats and took a tender back to the ship. An easy, fun and free way to spend the morning. :-)

We took quick showers and then went to the Panorama Buffet before it got busy with the Huahine folkloric group's arrival. They perform at 2pm and always eat lunch on the ship before they do. We skipped their performance this time and instead returned to our cabin where we (yes, me too!) napped for over two hours. I wish I could do that on a regular basis, because it allowed us to stay up much later this evening. 

We went to the Elite Lounge in the Pacific Lounge to watch sailaway and drink port and eat Stilton and generally enjoy a great start to the evening. It was nice not to have to rush though dinner, and afterward we listened to guitarist Kenny perform in the Casino Lounge and then went to listen to comedian Ritch Shydner in the Cabaret Lounge. 

The weather cooperated right into the evening, and we were able to have the Love Boat Disco Deck Party outside on the pool deck. Lots of dancing and fun later, we are back in the cabin at 11pm, a late night for us. 

Day 44: Huahine

The weather on Huahine today was only partially cooperative. It didn't start to rain until late morning, and even then it was intermittent and misty at most, but we never saw the sun. We certainly didn't have the opportunity to duplicate those gloriously reflective photos I took on Huahine in late September. While it really didn't affect our plans for the day (because we didn't have any), I can't help but feel badly for those passengers for whom this entire trip is a bucket list item (and we hear that over and over from our fellow cruisers).

Still, we were up on Deck 11 forward with the FODs (Friends of Douglas) as we approached Fararea Pass to enter sheltered Maroe Bay between Huahine Nui (Big Huahine) on the north and Huahine Iti (Small Huahine) on the south. (Please refer to my first Huahine post from last year for a map and pronunciation information). When it was windy even within the confines of Maroe Bay, I knew it was going to be an unsettled day. 

We went to the Club Restaurant for the first time since our return to the ship. And the waiters remembered all our favorite foods. Fruit plate!  Mixed berries! (Where did they find them in French Polynesia?). V8 juice!  Scrambled egg beaters!  Life is back to normal. :-)

We took a tender to the island and did nothing but take a walk, but this time we walked on the  road that was one 'block' back from the waterfront. We were instantly transported back to Rapa Nui. Rutted dirt road. Roosters and chickens everywhere. And a sleeping dog in front of every home. It's a little warmer, and it's French instead of Chilean, but this was like Rapa Nui West. 

A road on Huahine...or Rapa Nui...or Taha'a...or anyone if several Polynesian islands

Letting sleeping dogs lie

Interesting fence adornments

Fish traps

It started to mist just before lunch, and, not coincidentally, at that moment we decided we had gotten in our walk for the day, so we made our way back to the ship and went to the Panorama Buffet for lunch before it got busy the way it always does on Huahine. The terrace is closed off, the Mamas of Huahine dance group comes on board and eats before their performance...as headwaiter Antonio said, it's like embarkation day in there when the ship is in Huahine.

It wasn't sunny, and it wasn't raining, so we stayed for the entire folkloric show that took place at 2pm and it was just as cute as ever. I couldn't help but remember that this year may be the last time we'll see those two younger girls who perform in it. Well...shoot. 

We decamped to a hot tub afterwards, which was wonderful when the misty rain started again, and then I moved to the pool for a water workout. Around 4pm we returned to the cabin for a clean up and made it to the Elite Lounge in the Pacific Lounge for Port and Stilton night and sailaway from Huahine. No sun, no sunset, but, as always, our passage through the reef to the South Pacific Ocean was beautiful. 

We are already spoiled by Melvin and Larry Mark at dinner. They've gotten word that G's favorite dinner rolls are brioche and he ate three at dinner. Comedy magician Lorenzo Clark had a tough audience tonight (and was clearly missing the 4-year-old sister/cousin of my Clash of Clans BFFs from Cruise #1 out of Vancouver who had provided the most laughs during his show then), but a lady from the audience tonight was recruited to do a trick with Lorenzo and she was so clueless that I was in tears from laughing at that. As with the 4-year old, sometimes the funniest moments are unscripted. 

We had had an easy day, and were left with energy to both go to the Pacific Lounge for the 50s-60s Rock and Roll Night party (and BOGO for $1 Happy Hour!) and still listen to the piano entertainer in the Casino Lounge (whose name eludes me at the moment). We stayed out until 11pm tonight for the first time in a long while. Go us!  Coming up next are two days at sea en route to the island of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas island grouping of French Polynesia. We've heard through the grapevine that the weather may be rough but I don't care. We will be dry and warm, and won't lose power...or water...or plumbing...or the ability to have hot food to eat. Our experiences on Rapa Nui and Rarotonga have reframed our perspective of what is challenging; an ocean swell and some big waves don't even begin to qualify. 

Day 21: Huahine and our 1000th day at sea!!

Today marked another milestone...our 1000th day at sea!  And I might have mentioned to G once or twice (or 27 times) that I was very clever when I went out on a limb and booked our first cruise (to Alaska) with only three days notice in 1997. I came home from work on a Wednesday and told G, "Guess where we're going Saturday!"  And that started us off...

As far as days in French Polynesia go, this one was fairly unremarkable. I think we were a bit done in by three straight days of sun and sea. We did get up early and watch our arrival in Huahine. The weather again today was glorious; in fact, during these entire 21 days we've only had rain in Hilo (twice) and missed the port of Kauai. The remainder of the days have been beautiful. We've been very lucky. 

The entrance to Maroe Bay, Huahine

The far end of the motu on the left is where Marc of Huahine Nautique holds his beach BBQ

We went to Sabatinis when it opened for breakfast at 7:30, enjoying the view of the mountains surrounding Maroe Bay reflecting in the water below. Our last Sabatinis breakfast (weep!)... we stayed for two hours and savored every minute of it (and several mimosas to boot). 

We tendered to shore about 10am with not a single plan for the day. No plan for a Sunday on Huahine...that means we had only two options: take the $16pp round trip shuttle to the tiny town of Fare on the northwest coast of Huahine (never a bustling metropolis and practically dead on a Sunday) or walk. So we walked. We first turned right from the tender pier and walked along the shoreline of Maroe Bay as far as the bridge that connects the island of Huahine Nui (Big Huahine) to Huahine Iti (Little Huahine). This was not a forced march, in fact, it was very picturesque. We could not get over the fruits growing wild (papayas and mango and bananas. Oh my!) and, in fact, rotting on the trees. The birds must be extremely well fed. 

The island of Raiatea is clearly visible to the right of the motu in the middle. 

During our entire walk today we saw one piece of trash - a Coke can- on the ground. Nothing else. Things are as neat as a pin on these Polynesian islands, and homes, though usually quite modest, are meticulously cared for. 

Eventually we turned around and walked back past the tender dock the other direction, toward the pass through which the Pacific Princess entered Maroe Bay. That was pretty, too, and the road was very flat, which was good, because it was getting hot. Around 1pm we had had more than enough sun and returned to the ship for lunch in the Panorama Buffet. 

The Panorama Buffet always feels crowded for lunch when the ship is in Huahine. First, the back terrace is closed off due to the fly population in Maroe Bay, meaning 30 or so tables are off limits. Then, the Mommas of Huahine folkloric dance group come on board to perform, and get to have lunch in the buffet before they do. The combined effect is that things are busy in there for a few hours, but we had no trouble sharing a table with another couple (it's always very interesting to see what people's onward travel plans are once we arrive in Papeete tomorrow because many are continuing their stay in Tahiti or taking the ferry to Moorea for a few nights). 

We finished lunch in time to catch most of the folkloric show. It was fun to see the littlest dancer, 9 years old last year, a year older and completing more advanced dance steps. 

Then we returned to the quiet coolness of our cabin to rest. Crash, really. The several early mornings and active days have caught up with us. I took advantage of the down time to prepare some extra tip envelopes (I only do this every two cruises or so because it takes time) and do some hand laundry. We were showered for the evening and up on Deck 11 for a gorgeous (and I mean gorgeous) sailaway from Maroe Bay and sunset over Huahine. 

What a perfect cruise this has been!!

We took a bottle of champagne to dinner in the Club Restaurant and continued to enjoy the sunset over Huahine from the huge windows on the back of the ship. We were so busy enjoying the sunset (and the champagne) that we forgot to leave the dining room before the Baked Alaska parade. While this is fun one time per season, we try to avoid it the rest of the time. But tonight, the entire dining room was so jazzed for it that we kind of enjoyed it too. 

We went out in the Promenade Deck to see that huge full moon but it was directly in front of the ship, so we went up to Deck 11 forward where we sat under that moon and finished the champagne, toasting to 1000 days at sea. Here's to the next 1000!

Life is good. :-)

Our photo used on the front page of today's Princess Patter because readers always want a photo!  (Sorry so large...I can't resize it until I get home on my laptop). 

Day 63: Huahine

My first look at my iPad this morning shocked me. Holy hot dog, why did all these "to-do's" pop up today?  Then I remembered...we were supposed to have gotten home yesterday evening, and I had all sorts of things lined up that would need to be done right away. I wasn't sure whether to feel concerned that they weren't getting done or relieved that I didn't have to do them; I decided the latter felt a lot better and decided to go with that. ;-)  While I sorely miss being home (after having every intention of not spending this Christmas on a cruise ship), I do not miss the crass commercialism of the holiday in the US. I actually had to laugh this morning when one of my emails announced, in all uppercase letters, 'THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN!!'  Well, only if we let it. It's all more sedate on a ship and especially in this part of the world where people (the general population, not the tourists who have plunge pools behind their overwater bungalows) live so simply. And sedate is a good thing at this point. Once again I woke up thinking I could spend another 8 hours sleeping. Still, no fever, so I think I can rule out Chikungunya and self-diagnose fatigue due to extreme cruising. 

We weren't certain of our plans for today. We had originally thought we'd rent a car and tour the island, but when we phoned the car rental in Fare from Papeete yesterday, all four of their cars were already rented for the day, as were all their scooters. Seems there was a wedding or something on the island today. It wasn't a particularly pretty day for photos (no rain but almost constantly cloudy) but it was comfortably cool and breezy. We decided a land tour of the island was in order, as we've seen pretty much everything in Fare and done two boat trips already. 

The shuttle the ship uses to transport passengers to Fare for $8pp each way, chargeable to their on board account

When we got to the tender pier, a family of five was talking with the only taxi there, and since he had room in his minivan for 7 passengers, we decided to join them for a several hour island tour. It was a great decision...driver George (who has lived in Huahine for 22 years by way of South Vietnam and France) was an excellent guide and high on patience, which was good, because the family of five included three teenagers (well, almost...18, 15 and 12). I can't tell you how much fun their antics added to our day (as I'll explain later). And, we discovered, we are surrounded by their three cabins in our dungeon down on Deck 3. (I thought I had heard the squeal of a 12-year old girl last evening!). 

Huahine is actually two islands, Huahine Nui (Big Huahine) and Huahine Iti (Little Huahine) connected by the Maroe bridge over Maroe Bay where the Pacific Princess is anchored. (See map on October 26 (Day 8) blog entry). We basically drove around the islands in a figure 8 fashion, first heading up the northwest coast toward Fare, where we stopped at the supermarchė Super Fare Nui (which, again, is the best we've seen aside from the Carrefour on Tahiti).

The town was bustling today...the high school kids, who are all flown to Raiatea 25 miles away for school for 3 or 4 weeks at a time, are home for the holiday, and there was an outrigger canoe race taking place on the beach by Fare. The Super Fare Nui was packed with people shopping for Christmas meals. G and I bought TWO bags of Lays potato chips and three liter-sized cartons of fruit juices (pineapple, mango and banana-vanilla) and were good for the day. Our accompanying family (for simplicity's sake, let's just call them the Kranks, which is how they referred to themselves, as they had decided to cruise over Christmas) stocked up on water and leis and sequined Santa (excusez-moi, Père Noël) hats, which Mom Krank insisted the kids wear in several subsequent photos, which was harious.

Back at George's van, we continued around Huahine Nui in a clockwise fashion, stopping first at a sacred marae at Maeva. Here, each of Huahine Nui's ten district chiefs had his own marae and huge stone walls were erected to defend Huahine against aggressors from Bora Bora. This entire archeological site actually extends up into the nearby hills, and its several structures were restored in the 1970s by Professor Sinoto of Hawaii.

Most of the maraes, which were open temples, resemble little more than a pile of rocks but still hold sacred significance to Tahitians. 

We next visited a vanilla factory in the village of Faie. The vanilla factory sold ice cream cones, and G had a coconut one and I had a taro one, which was fascinating. It was lavender in color and absolutely delicious though I could not tell you exactly what it tasted like. It was probably closest to vanilla or honey, but neither really describes the faste, which was uniquely delicious. 

Tour guide George shows us vanilla beans on a vine. 

Using US $ instead of local currency usually results in a poor exchange rate. In this case, 200 CFP = about US $2.10

Our next stop was to see the famous Huahine blue-eyed eels below a bridge in the center of Faie.  Legend says that it was huge eels that brought fresh water to the village.  As much as the whole idea of blue-eyed eels was fairly repulsive to me, I couldn't help but want to see them before we left French Polynesia. Yes, there they were, in all their blue-eyed glory, and they would have been nothing more than a quick photo op but for the Kranck kids, who quickly crawled down into the little ditch/stream which brought out some local kids and all of them alternately laughing and screaming made the stop so much more fun. 

Pretty disgusting, doncha think?

The Kranck kids were initially a bit more reserved than the local kids...

...but Liam eventually got braver. The local boy on the left was like an "eel-whisperer". He could get them to come right up on that rock. 

We continued south then, across the Maroe bridge with its great view of the Pacific Princess at anchor, and then drove counter-clockwise around Huahine Iti. Along the way, George explained the state of Chinese (since the Chinese came to French Polynesia many years ago to work in the sugar cane fields), French and Polynesian relations and it's all quite fascinating and, needless to say, fraught with conflict and periods of love and hate. He also pointed out all the fruit and flowering trees we were seeing on the thickly lush island hillsides. 

Community fish traps catch white snapper. 

The Pacific Princess at anchor in Maroe Bay

The kids were dying to stop at a beach by then, which was fine with G and I, although we hadn't worn swimwear. We stopped at Chez Tara, a small restaurant on the beach where the kids purchased ice cream and the Krancks snorkeled and swam and G and I lounged in the most simply perfect loungers, curved fiberglass sitting right on the ground. I wanted to steal one to take to the Hotel Tiare Tahiti to sleep in.  

The sun finally came out just enough for the lagoon colors to shine. 

Christmas with the Kranks...and tour guide George. What a fun day...teenagers liven up anything!

At 2:30pm, we climbed back in George's van and finished our drive around Huahine Iti back to the Pacific Princess tender pier. A tender was waiting for us when we arrived, and we returned to our cabin, for once without a lot of beachwear and toys to rinse out. G wasted no time going up to a hot tub and I started this blog post (love it when I can do that prior to 10pm!) and showered before he returned. We were up on Deck 10 for sailaway and then in the Elite Lounge at 5:30pm. Despite our potato chip snacking, we had skipped lunch and were hungry. 

Dinner with Jose and Justin was salad and a seafood skewer, with three scoops of red currant sorbet for dessert. We caught most of guitarist-comic Dan Riley's 7pm show and stayed to listen to the Pacific Princess orchestra, once again complete with four musicians. G still has energy tonight, and is out and about, but I am trying to finish an e-book before it goes *poof* off my iPad (it's an Overdrive book due in three days). I returned to the cabin tonight to find- horrors- our disembarkation form to be completed. This form asks us what time we will be disembarking the Pacific Princess on December 28th. I will complete it by writing in "You can expect to start to attempt to possibly pry my fingers off the ship's gangway just after dinner time" and turn it into Passenger Services tomorrow. 

;-)

Day 53: Huahine

We were On Deck with Douglas this morning as the Pacific Princess cruised through Farerea Pass on the eastern side of Huahine and settled in its anchorage in Maroe Bay (see October 26th blog entry for a map). We were thrilled(!!!), as was everyone else, to see a brightly sunny morning. While we have not had the best of luck weather-wise in Papeete, on the islands themselves we're doing pretty well, despite the fact that we are firmly in the rainy season in French Polynesia. 

We lingered over breakfast in the Club Restaurant; with no firm plans for today, we could afford to. When we returned to the cabin, we packed for a 'Princess Cays-type' day, meaning we had some beach stuff (including our tarp), ice in our metal water bottles, beverages, snorkel gear (less fins) and towels. Lightly loaded, we were not. We thought we'd take the shuttle on the tender pier to the town of Fare, on the western coast of Huahine Nui, but weren't exactly sure what we'd do once we'd arrived there. 

The shuttle costs $8pp each way, and must be charged directly to your onboard account. Once on shore, we simply showed our cruise card to someone who wrote down the information and handed us four one-way tickets, two of which we immediately relinquished when we climbed aboard the...well, I'm not sure what to call it. It wasn't a bus, exactly. 

It was about a 20 minute ride to Fare, a twisty, turny trip. The road was single lane asphalt in excellent condition but the ride was still rough. On either side was a two-foot wide gravel shoulder used for passing. En route, the scenery was gorgeous, mountainous and verdant, with absolutely no trash anywhere. If asked, I'd have to say that's the most noticeable difference between French Polynesia and the Caribbean...things down here are simply kept up better. 

Fare itself was more a village than a town. We first walked down the "main" street in search of a magazin (store) selling cold beers. 

The little building on the left is where the shuttle dropped us off. 

Downtown Fare

I'm always on the lookout for funny signs. This one qualified...

...as did this one. As G said, "You don't see that one everyday". Unless you live in Fare, of course.

We were shocked to find a grocery store that was second in size only to the Carrefour near Papeete. Shocked!!  We were even more amazed to find ice cold Bud Light Lime in bottles, our very favorite beer. It's the first time we've seen them since we left home. We were having such good luck that G repeated something he's been doing for a couple of weeks now...our second floatie died and has been tossed, and our remaining floatie is still usable but can't be folded up any longer. We know now to buy two new ones every summer; they simply don't survive more than one winter's use (especially with us cruising five months last winter). Live and learn. I would have been content to just continue to share our remaining floatie, but G has been on a mission to find another. Between you and I, I think he was hoping/expecting to find that same Swimways Spring Float here in French Polynesia, and was carrying a photo of the one we have left to show different store owners. Ha. But, believe it or not, in today's store he found an inflatable swim ring, one of the traditional kinds that requires 66 breaths to fill, compared to our Swimways that requires six. But still...it's something. Even Carrefour didn't have a swim ring for anyone over two years old. 

While he was doing all that, I took note of the pain (bread). The price didn't even need to be posted; it's 53 CFP, of course (controlled by the government, it's such an integral part of everyday life in French Polynesia). 

But the plastic sleeves to carry the pain are not government price controlled, and cost nearly as much as the bread itself. I've never seen anyone other than us use one. 

It's always interesting to note that the selection of shoes in any store is pretty much limited to an entire aisle of flip flops and Croc-type footwear. No one wears anything else down here, except to run or to dress up (and even then the footwear might still consist of flip flops, in leather for men and with a flower trim for women). What a life!

Having purchased the Bud Light Limes and the floatie (and not having to tie up a register for five minutes while we figured out the local currency...progress!), we set out for the only beach in Fare, whose name I cannot find anywhere, maybe because it's simply known as the Fare Beach. 

It's just a few minutes walk from where the shuttle dropped us off, right along the waterfront.

Surprisingly, it had more surf than we've seen on any other beach in French Polynesia. Usually, the surrounding barrier reef and motus get all the waves and the mainland beaches have flat water, but there is a pass in the barrier reef just in front of Fare large enough to allow waves to reach the shore.  They weren't huge waves (you can see the large waves crashing on the reef in the distance), but they were waves. If you look really closely, you can see Raiatea in the distance on the horizon. 

I made a beeline for that water. It was really très chaud today, and the sun was unrelenting. It was very satisfying to swim in that crystalline water and look across the way at Raiatea and Taha'a, about 28 miles away, and, specifically at Mt. Tapioi on the north end of Raiatea, knowing I had conquered that hill (and would never have to do it again, so help me God!). G spent some time blowing up his new toy and trialing it. He pronounced it not nearly has good as the Swimways float, but said that it would allow us to do what we want to do in Rangiroa (stay tuned for that). 

The beach in Fare was quite a bit better than the public beach on Rangiroa, but still pales (and I mean pales) in comparison to the best beaches in the Caribbean. French Polynesia is simply not the beach destination that the Caribbean is, but that's okay. It offers so much more that is so much better that it's still, by far, the comparative winner in our books.  Water shoes or sandals are absolutely imperative here though; nearly every beach has a rocky entry at a minimum, and even the sand contains lots of small rocks. But the water...unmatchable!

The last shuttle back to the ship was leaving Fare at 3pm, but we caught the second last one and were back on the ship by shortly after 3pm. G promptly dropped everything and headed up to a hot tub while I washed and rinsed and aired out and Fabreezed everything in preparation for next time. G returned from the hot tub saying it was deluging outside. How could that be; the day had been so perfect?  As soon as the Pacific Princess cruised back out of Farerea Pass and the shelter of Huahine Nui and Huahine Iti, it was hit with a gale force wind that caused the ship to pitch. The metal water bottles I'd had drying out on the vanity went flying, and I could hear similar noise from the cabin next door. Luckily, it's smoothed out a little but it's still a bouncy night out there. 

We were starved by dinner (having skipped lunch) and enjoyed three courses plus dessert. Once fed, we immediately realized how tired we were and returned to the cabin. G claims he's going back out tonight but my contacts, dirty from today's beach time, are already out; I'm not going anywhere. 

And, finally, it's Day 53, half way through the first part of our Winter Odyssey. 53 nights from tonight we'll be sleeping in our own bed. Actually, 53 nights from now we'll be doing laundry and digging out from under a pile of 3 1/2 months of mail while surfing the net at over 60 Mbps download speed and watching over 100 TV channels, pausing and reversing them over and over,  just 'cause we can. 

Oh, who am I kidding?  53 nights from now we'll probably be heating up gloves in the dryer and stretching cleats onto the soles of our boots to go out and shovel snow by porch light.  But only for four days, just long enough to remind ourselves why we cruise all winter. ;-)

Day 48: Huahine

We once again did Marc's Huahine-Nautique full day snorkel excursion and motu picnic today and it was even better than last cruise, with only 10 of us and all of us friends. And, this time, I actually met Marc, who was playing in Las Vegas the last time we were here and that's why we never saw him. And he's a really nice guy!

The day was partly cloudy but mostly sunny, and, due to the revised itinerary this cruise, we arrived an hour later in Huahine, at 10am (and sailed at 6pm). Cathy and Ron, Janet and Derek and G and I were all on the very first tender over to the island. We boarded another of Marc's motorized outrigger canoes, this one with actual pairs of seats facing forward (much more comfortable and easier to see all around us) and we made our way under the Maroe bridge and out to the same area in the lagoon on the western side of Huahine Iti. There we snorkeled in fairly shallow water for quite awhile. Our boat captain today was Armando, and he was excellent, providing us informative facts about the island and the things we were seeing as we traveled back past the Pacific Princess and over to the next bay where the pearl farm was located on the water. 

Having just seen this same pearl farm last cruise. I opted to instead snorkel around the pearl farm, which was located on pylons sunk into a huge coral head. This was some of the best snorkeling of the day, and I was excited to see the nets full of pearl-building oysters suspended under the pearl farm. G took advantage of this time to lounge in his float in the water, which was probably around 85 degrees.

Armando then took us to the beach on the southern end of Motu Marimaora where our lunch would be served. That was where I met Marc, already there preparing the grill for our picnic.  Those of us who were interested in more snorkeling could go back on the boat with Armando to do a long drift snorkel between Motu Marimaora and mainland Huahine Iti, and G and I both went, although he just floated in the current. Friend Tracey and her mom and young sons had done the land tour on the island with Marc and were joining us on the motu for our lunch. Tracey and her 8-year old son went with us on the drift snorkel and Kian was a fish in that 20-25 foot deep water. He was happy to inform me that his friend told him that there was a case for an iPhone that made it waterproof AND lava proof (which might come in handy when we visit the Big Island of Hawaii in January, what with its increased volcanic activity of late). I thanked Kian for this valuable information. ;-)

Jenny found shark pillows, live (and heavy) sea creatures

By the time we returned to the motu, lunch was almost ready. All that was left was the demonstration of the preparation of poisson cru, which is raw fish and fresh vegetables marinated in lime juice and coconut milk. I am in love with this local dish, and have to say that Marc's is some of the best I've ever tasted. The bar was opened, grace was said in Tahitian, and along with a wonderful lunch of grilled mahi mahi, tuna, swordfish and chicken, saffron rice and salads, I had about eleventy rum punches. Sitting in that hot sun on a picnic table in the water surrounded by iridescent blue water and eating that lunch...life just doesn't get much better. The entire time on the motu we were entertained by two musicians playing Tahitian music and singing. 

There was more time in the water, after which Armando gave us a lesson on the value of the wild hibiscus tree. The flowers have medicinal value, the leaves make plates and mats and can be used as toilet paper, and the bark of the tree can be used for roping and to make the "grass" skirts worn mostly for folkloric shows. Too soon it was time to re-board the outrigger canoe and return to the Pacific Princess tender pier in Maroe Bay. We took the next tender back to the ship, arriving just after 4:30pm. It had been a wonderful day!!

What followed was the usual routine:  wash and rinse and hang up/set out to dry all our swimwear and gear, shower and then go to the Elite lounge at 5:30pm. We watched from there as the Pacific Princess picked up its tenders and sailed out of Maroe Bay just before 6pm. Dinner was just salads topped with chicken breasts and sorbet for dessert; we were still full of lunch and punch. Comedian Tony Daro is entertaining tonight, and the tropical deck party is starting at 9:15pm. We will have to give both a miss...tomorrow is another busy day and we are worn out.