Day 65: Rangiroa

Nothing. I got nothing today. Well, almost nothing.

As I've mentioned in the past, I am a very good wife, and have graciously shared my cold with G. And then, so he doesn't feel lonely in his suffering, I managed to have to visit Dr. Tim for the first time, as my cold seems to have morphed into bronchitis. We spent the day alternating between the Promenade Deck and our cabin, tucked in with the two extra blankets steward Douglas has kindly brought us.  Until sailaway, our meals today were skipped except for the occasional cups of tea or soup we fetched for ourselves from the Panorama Buffet (we are not room service people).  We re-lived the bombing of Pearl Harbor at least three times (it just had to be Tora! Tora! Tora! Day on TV, didn't it?) and watched four episodes of The Love Boat. 

Even discounting our maladies, we have truly suffered. 

Finally, by 4:45pm, and with a fourth viewing of Tora! Tora! Tora! starting, I could bear it no longer and announced I was going up to the back of the Panorama Buffet to watch our final sailaway ever from Rangiroa. G decided that he would join me about 5 minutes later, and we watched as Tiputa Pass disappeared in the distance and the Pacific Princess began to sail west along the north coast of Rangiroa. 

We stayed out there for awhile, eating a small dinner from the choices at the buffet (I have consumed enough soup for a lifetime!) and then, just as the opportunity for a good sunset seemed to disappear into a dark cloud, light started appearing on either side of it, and we went up to Deck 11 to sit in two chairs for an hour and watch as the sky changed from one color to another. The sunset alone made this a good day, but even better is the fact that we are both recovered a bit tonight, and are into the less sneeze-y, sniffle-y, cough-y part of our illnesses. Tomorrow is another day at sea (our last for this cruise) so our recovery should be complete by the time we reach our next island (which I think is Raiatea) in two days, and our appetites restored by tomorrow night, when we dine at the steakhouse on board. 

This little chain of uninhabited islets is all that comprises most of Rangiroa 

And I've already started a shopping list for the Hilo WalMart:  Sudafed, guafinisan, dextramathorphan, throat lozenges, nasal saline...and a small box of tissues with lotion would be nice, too. 

Day 59: Rangiroa

Today held two surprises for us, both of them very welcome, so it was a good day. First, we awoke to sunny skies, a real shocker after yesterday's gloomy rain and wind. And, second, for the first time in our nine visits to Rangiroa, the Pacific Princess was unable to tender passengers into the usual dock on the west side of Tiputa Pass. We spotted the issue before we'd even entered Tiputa Pass; a large crane on a freighter was clearly visible from the other side of this narrow island. While anyone here for the first time would not know the difference, we immediately realized that our tender plans would have to change.

Our usual Rangiroa tender dock was occupied

(And, to have a better understanding of what I'm saying and to see a map that further clarifies it, you can click on the Rangiroa label on the right side of my blog and go to the oldest post, probably around October 22, 2014.)

We went to breakfast in the Club Restaurant while we awaited some news. Captain Ciruzzi announced that they would require an extra few minutes to get things set up (we later learned that they had had no idea that the freighter was there until they, too, saw the crane from the bridge while the Pacific Princess was still outside the lagoon) . The shore party (first) tender, with the Princess canopies and tables and signs and first aid kit, etc. had to travel past Tiputa Pass to the island on the other side, where Tiputa Village is located.  This made the tender ride about twice as long, but there was an equally nice pier over there, and shore excursions by boat really weren't affected. Shore excursions by land now required a boat transfer to the other side of the pass, and I suspect our friend Rex, who manages the Shore Excursions Department on the ship (we call him Shorex Rex!) was probably tearing his hair out.  

We took a tender over to Tiputa Village about 9am, thrilled with the sudden opportunity to see something we had not managed to get to last year. We knew that the other side of the pass is where a larger (but still small) population of locals live, and there was a post office right next to the pier, and a non-denominational Christian church, and a Catholic Church with doors wide open, so, of course, I had to walk in there to check it out. It appeared to be quite old, but was quite charming in its simplicity. 

Calendar written in Tahitian first, then French

The holy water founts were clam shells!

I managed to ask a local girl if there was a beach, and was directed to turn left (gauche) at the magasin (little market) and marchez, marchez, marchez (walk a ways) to the plage (beach).  Well, this was a beach in name only (and maybe not even that). Broken coral on a steep slope led to some beautiful tidal pools in about a foot to 18" of water, right next to the waves crashing on the reef. This was the ocean side of the island, so swimming was out, but we waded and soaked and felt the waves rushing in between a break in the coral wash over our backs. The water was very warm and so it was kind of a natural hot tub. 

Some of the pink coral that makes up the pink sand

Many yards contain the graves of ancestors, but even the ones in cemeteries are beautifully decorated 

Afterwards, we made our way along the water to the edge of Tiputa Pass. I looked closely as we walked, but never saw any of the dolphins that are known to play there (but saw plenty later in the day!). There was an old lighthouse on that side of the pass that did not appear to be operational (there was no light). But we had frequently seen this from the ship when transiting the pass, and it was fun to see it up close. 

The entrance to Tiputa Pass from Tiputa Village

It's easy to see from the water color that the pass is deep enough for small ships to enter

There was a swimming hole of sorts on the lagoon side of the island, and we took a few minutes to swim in that crystal blue water. The usual snorkel trips to the Aquarium area on the lagoon side of Tiputa Pass were offered for $40pp, but we are kind of snorkeled-out for a few days, and not in the mood to expend the energy swimming in the current that we knew would be required.

You know we love to go into the little (and I mean little) markets on these islands. They carry only the bare necessities, but apparently this stuff qualifies. It's a hair gel, but we've seen no evidence of extensive hair gel use in French Polynesia. Instead, G Googled it and found an alternative use:  to keep drummers' hands tacky so their drumsticks don't slip when they get sweaty. That made more sense...there are definitely a lot of traditional drummers in French Polynesia!

Eventually we returned to the ship for a late lunch in the Panorama Buffet, and then I stayed behind lounging on the Promenade Deck as G took a tender back simply to get some of the gorgeous pink sand we had seen on the pseudo-beach to add to our 'Sands of the World' collection at home (displayed in glass decanters on the fireplace mantle). We started doing that on our honeymoon 32 years ago and have sands of every color imaginable by now. 

G returned to the ship on the last tender at 4:30pm. He was still showering as I went up on Deck 10 for sailaway, and was thrilled to see dolphins in the lagoon very close to the ship. I think the sound of the ship leaving stirred them up. Then, we watched together as the Pacific Princess sailed back out through Tiputa Pass and the telltale mass of seabirds sitting on the water's surface alerted us to the fact that a pod of dolphins had upset the fish who swam to the surface of the water and fell prey to the seabirds. It's a dog eat dog...er, everything eats fish world out there. The day had been very sunny and hot, but the sky clouded over and rain began to fall as we sailed away from Rangiroa. How lucky were we with today's weather?

The big U-turn required to sail back out of Tiputa Pass

The tender pier we used today

The lighthouse as seen from Tiputa Pass

The swarm of birds eating the fish chased by the dolphins

We stopped briefly in the Elite Lounge, enjoyed Italian night in the dining room, walked on the Promenade Deck and returned to the cabin early. We are tired tonight. I think our 59 days have caught up with us a bit. Thankfully, tomorrow is another glorious day at sea. They are (shockingly) becoming our favorites.

The times, they are a-changing. ;-)

Day 49: Rangiroa

I had such high expectations for our arrival today in Rangiroa, the largest island in the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia. It's one of my favorite islands that we visit on these cruises, and sailing through narrow Tiputa Pass into its vast lagoon is always a thrill. I wanted to see it all this morning...sunrise was scheduled for 5:18am and we'd be sailing into the lagoon around 6am, so I set the alarm for 4:45am. I had laid out clothes and sandals and ship's card last night, to allow me to quietly sneak out the cabin in the dark, without disturbing G. 

Ha. 

As is so often the story in my life, drama ensued without warning. I went into the bathroom to wash up and insert my contacts, stepped back into the dark cabin, picked up my clothes and sat on the bed to dress...and realized that my left contact (a rigid gas permeable hard lens) was not on my eye. Back to the bathroom I went, and began the too familiar exercise of rolling my eye and massaging and lifting my eye lid in an attempt to locate the missing lens. No luck. I dropped to my knees and began an inch by inch search of the bathroom floor, which took all of about 20 seconds. Still no luck. And at that point I had no choice but to turn on the cabin lights and solicit G's help. So much for not disturbing him!

And that is how we spent our time from before 5am to nearly 6am. My left eye was pulled and prodded and searched; my right eye, in the off chance that I had, in my early morning grogginess, put two lenses in the same eye, was equally abused. The cabin carpet, so patterned that one could lose small pets in its wild print was examined in great detail. Towels were shaken, sheets were stripped from the bed, the sofa was de-cushioned...this was a major search and rescue effort. Alas, the contact was never located, and I had to fall back on First Spare Left Contact (there are also a First Spare Right Contact and Second Spare Left and Right Contacts). I've learned...every winter results in at least one loss, and I come prepared with as many backups as there are officers on the ship's bridge. 

I finally made it up on Deck 11 forward at 6am, just in time to watch as the Pacific Princess navigated beautiful Tiputa Pass against the 6 knot outgoing tide and entered the expansive Rangiroa lagoon. But, between you and I, if Douglas Pearson had told me that I would have seen whales and dolphins and flying fish and if I had been up there just 10 minutes earlier...I would have had to sit and cry. 

Navigating Tiputa Pass 

By 7am, the first tenders were making their way to shore. Our hours in Rangiroa today were a little different; the last tender was leaving shore at 3:30pm. Typically we can stay later than that in Rangiroa as we have a sea day following it, but, due to this cruise's stop in distant Nuku Hiva, we have to quickly get back to the Society Islands and Bora Bora by tomorrow morning.  

G and I met up in the Club Restaurant for breakfast around 8am, and his minute steak breakfast special seemed to take a long time to prepare. It was nearly 9:30am when we returned to the cabin and gave just one more half-hearted attempt to locate the contact lens. When we didn't, we packed up two floats and my snorkel gear and boarded a tender for shore. 

We had had a plan for Rangiroa last year that we were never able to implement. We had brought two Swimways floats with us that were carry overs from the winter season before, and one of them broke midway through our last French Polynesian season, scuttling our plans. We're wiser this year, and brought with us not just two new floats of our usual type but a Swimways float that is a longer lounger. 

Today we launched our floats from the left side of the tender pier and floated along the shoreline as far as the public beach, not a short distance. I spent more time in the water snorkeling than in my float (so typical) and really enjoyed myself. Though the length of the coastline is largely rocky beach, there are coral heads all along the way. Once at the public beach, we walked along the only road on that narrow part of the island back to the tender pier. The walk was hot and sunny and, in combination with the swim/float/snorkel to the beach and the early morning contact brouhaha, left me exhausted. 

We returned to the ship in time for a late lunch and then sat in the Promenade Deck watching the outriggers surf the tenders' wakes between the ship and shore. While the morning had been brilliantly sunny, clouds moved in by 2pm or so. Actually, rain showers had been forecasted for the day, so we felt very fortunate to have had the beautiful start to the day that we did. 

Tiputa Pass in the distance and the snorkeling area called The Aquarium is mid-picture

Outrigger canoeists surfing the tender wake

We decided to just hang out on the Promenade Deck for sailaway back out of Tiputa Pass to the open ocean. We eventually got cleaned up for dinner, and went to the Elite Lounge, where I sneaked some large Parmesan cheese chunks to the dining room for Italian night. A spinach salad with pine nuts and pecorino, a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, Parmesan cheese shards and a glass of Merlot...does it get any better?

Since we had left port so early, we could actually see the numerous, very small islets that make up the string of islets that is Rangiroa, with the small "hoa" channels, most barely wide enough for a canoe, some dry, separating them. There are only three navigable passes into the Rangiroa lagoon, and only one of them, Tiputa Pass, can accommodate a ship even as small as the Pacific Princess.

Eventually, we even saw the similar, but smaller atoll of Tikehau off the starboard side of the ship as the Pacific Princess cruised south between the two islands. That prompted me to open the Moon Travel Guide to French Polynesia on my Kindle app on my iPhone and read about the island to G over dinner. It reminded us a great deal of dinners at home, where we shared books about Rapa Nui over dinner. 

Maybe it was that, maybe it was the fact that it was Sunday and we are functioning in a different universe than the one in which NFL and college football scores are big news (and I miss it) but mostly I suspect it was that very early wake up and extremely active day that left me a smidge homesick for the first time this season. We are in our cabin early, watching TV on our iDevice (G) and doing comfort reading (me). Our arrival in Bora Bora is not until 9am tomorrow...a good thing if ever there was one. 

Day 65: Rangiroa

When was the last time we did something for the first time?  Well, today was the first time our obstructed ocean view cabin (aka our cabin with a porthole) was turned into an inside cabin.  As I've said in the past, not all first time experiences are wonderful, life changing ones, but finding the satisfaction in them simply because they are virgin territory has served us well in the past. I'm trying to hold on to that thought tonight, as the ship rocks and rolls and huge waves crash against the side of the ship just inches from my head. Trying to...

I don't know how late G was up listening to music last night. I fell asleep early and woke feeling more rested and less sore than I have for days. He didn't wake until 8:30am. A first!  I stayed in bed quietly finishing my book (yay!) until after 8:15am, but knew that, if I wanted breakfast in the Club Restaurant (and I always do), I needed to get moving. It was a port day and would close for breakfast at 9am. In the process of me sneaking into the shower, G finally woke up and joined me for breakfast.

It was not a promising day, weather-wise. In fact, this morning it rained quite hard at times, but the real issue was the strong wind from the northwest that never abated. We had originally considered two options for today; the first was to put our floaties into the water just west of the tender pier and float down to the public beach, or at least as far as the Kia Ora Resort. That didn't sound feasible...the wind would be pushing hard against us the entire way. Our second option was to take a boat shuttle over to Tiputa Village on the other side of Tiputa Pass, but we reconsidered that when we saw the white caps in the Rangiroa lagoon and huge waves in the pass. If we did get to Tiputa Village and, for some reason, the boat shuttle was shut down, we'd be stuck there and would need to take a flight to Raiatea in two days to catch the ship. No, thank you. 

In the end we decided to eat a second breakfast (always a satisfying option) and went up to the Panorama Buffet. We could sit outside on the terrace behind the buffet, but only at the first row of tables; the second row was getting wet from the blowing rain. There we sat, and sat, and sat, watching the huge list the Pacific Princess was experiencing in the wind. The ship must not have been at anchor... it was turning and drifting constantly, and there was a marked difference in the distance between the top of the railing and the horizon on one side narrowing and then changing the other way on the other side. I assume the thrusters were being used to keep it in place (no need to ruin that new anchor chain!), but it made for an entertaining view as we turned first port to shore, then aft, then starboard. Entertainer Jere Ring came and sat with us and we enjoyed a long, fun conversation (always the case when Jere is involved).

A panoramic photo of the terrace behind the Panorama Buffet. Notice the ship's listing to the left in the high swell. 

Eventually the rain stopped, and we went down on the Promenade Deck to watch the tender operation up close. They were certainly bouncing on the waves, but we thought we should go to shore, just to walk down to the pension Chez Josephine with its deck located right on Tiputa Pass, to watch the waves and any possible dolphin activity. We packed up two beach towels and our Tilley hats in case the rain picked up, and walked down to the tender pontoon. 

That was as far as I got. Watching the tender move up and down against the pontoon convinced me almost immediately that I did not need to have a Hinano on the deck at Chez Josephine's that badly. I had a massage scheduled for this afternoon and did not want to be seasick for it. I encouraged G to go anyway (he did) and I returned to the cabin, suddenly finding myself with an unscheduled part of the afternoon. Apparently, other passengers were also deciding to stay on board, and I know at least one excursion, probably the drift diving, was cancelled this morning and by afternoon the remaining excursions were also cancelled. 

I was stopped by our new cabin steward, Lerio, before I even got in our cabin door. She explained that, due to the high winds expected this evening and into tomorrow (oh joy!), our porthole cover had to be closed and latched down. I always knew that this was a possibility, and had heard of it happening during stormy days at sea, but this was our first experience with it. Sure enough, we are closed up tighter than a submarine in here tonight and I am a bit trepidatious about just how bad the weather might get. I am so grateful to Princess for moving us into our cabin in "the dungeon" for these cruises. Well, actually, when we added this cruise and the January 7th cruise, we booked this specific cabin.  But we wouldn't have known how much we'd appreciate it in rough seas unless we had been upgraded to it starting October 19th from our originally booked inside cabins. 

Our submarine-like porthole

Cruise director David was making an announcement just as I stepped into the cabin, about new activities added to the afternoon schedule due to the cancelled excursions and the bad weather. I decided instead to use the "alone time" to color my hair. I was overdue, but had considered just leaving it until the hotel in Papeete. When presented with this opportunity, I couldn't resist. This was the hair color I had bought at the Carrefour near Papeete, L'Oreal brand, and the instructions inside were only In French. However, I have 20 years of experience at this, and needed to know only how long to leave it on (and 30 minutes is 30 minutes in French or English!). That kept me busy for a while, and then a while longer for me to use toothpaste to scrub a bit of it off the bathroom sink. It was a good project for the afternoon, and now I am set at least through WalMart in Hawaii. 

Monday Night Football was being shown in the Casino Lounge starting at 3:15pm, so I went there for 25 minutes just before my massage. If I've said it once I've said it 100 times: "Only a free massage at the Lotus Spa on a cruise ship could keep me away from a Broncos football game!!", but...well, who ever would have guessed that would actually happen. Part way into the first quarter I made my way up to the spa. (So excited was I!!!).

It's not MUTS (the big screen by the pool) but watching football on the Pacific Princess is quite cozy. 

I had requested massage therapist Nina from Poland, because next-tablemate (last cruise) Kathy had had three massages from her and raved. Well, I see why. I've never had the best luck with spa treatments on cruises, but the main reason (aggressive pushing of spa products) wasn't even the slightest issue today. I receive a therapeutic massage every two weeks at home, and have been missing them quite a bit. Nina was small but mighty and took care of any residual aches and pains from our ATV excursion. 

I returned to our cabin with just enough time to shower before I met up with G in the Elite Lounge. We got our wires crossed- I spent time on Deck 10 for a painfully windy sailaway in hopes of seeing Rangiroa dolphins one last time- but bar waiter Nick brought me the message that G had given up waiting for me and gone down to the Casino Lounge to watch the Broncos game. Ugh...they had been behind 20 to 7 when I had returned to the cabin after my massage. That certainly changed in the 3rd quarter and we enjoyed watching those three TDs in quick succession but, after the second interception in the 4th quarter, accepted the inevitable and went to dinner in the Club Restaurant. 

We had just soup and sorbet and made it to the 7pm comedian's show. He was...okay. 'Nuff said.  Lead vocalist Lanie sprained her ankle in the welcome aboard show this cruise and we haven't had a production show since while she recovers. Honestly, this ship is bouncing so much tonight I'm not certain a production show could be safely performed. We exited the Cabaret Lounge right into Christmas caroling in the atrium. I have never had such a fun caroling experience on a cruise. The intimate size of the Pacific Princess makes experiences like that so much more home-y. 

That's blog reader (and blogger) Paige and her husband Lee wearing matching Griswold shirts in the upper left corner. 

The tropical island night is being held tonight, but in the Pacific Lounge instead of on the pool deck, due to the weather. I can't think of a worse place (at the top of the ship in the very front) to be right now. At 9:40pm we are back in our cabin. It's not good but it's the best we can do. We love this small ship, but openly admit that, on rough seas, it doesn't provide the most comfortable ride. 

I'm not certain I'll even get wifi tonight to get this post published, since the ship is bouncing like a cork and may not be able to hold on to a satellite signal. I also have photos and videos to add, but they'll have to wait until we return to Papeete in (just) five days. 

Day 55: Rangiroa

The sun was shining in our porthole shortly after 5:30 this morning. We may not have the best luck, weather-wise, in Papeete but on the other islands we've been remarkably fortunate. G and I had thought, before we left home, that by December (which we'd been warned over and over again was the rainy season in French Polynesia) we'd be having all day, every day rains. In fact, that was actually one reason for our original decision to return home on December 18th. Now we know differently.

I watched from the Promenade Deck as the Pacific Princess cruised through Tiputa Pass and into the Rangiroa lagoon (but didn't see the dolphins, sadly). G and I met up for breakfast in the Club Restaurant before 8am, and fueled up with the usual (delicious fresh fruit, cottage cheese and six grain toast) while deciding how to spend our day. We have finally (and seemingly suddenly) reached the point where our future visits to some of these islands will number only ONE, on the December 18th cruise. On our cruise from French Polynesia back to Los Angeles, we will spend one day each in Bora Bora and Moorea before we head north to Hawaii, but have no days on the other islands we visit. So we're coming down to the end (can you even believe it?), and have to seriously consider how we spend our days, especially the sunny ones like today. 

Once again, the draw was the public beach and drinks at the Kia Ora Resort. There is not a lot else to choose from on Rangiroa, and our only other major option is to take the ferry over to the other side of Tiputa Pass, to Tiputa Village. But beyond the church there, we've not been told of a strongly compelling reason to make the effort. Still, we'll have one more opportunity next cruise...

We packed for a beach day (and I always throw my mask and snorkel into my backpack, just in case there's any worthwhile snorkeling, and there is, a little bit, at the public beach), slathered ourselves with SPF 50 and made our way to the island.  We intended to take the boat shuttle to the public beach but they told us that the last return shuttle would operate at 2pm, much too early when the last tender isn't until 4:30pm. I was prepared to walk to the beach (make a note of THAT) but there was one of the (only) four taxis on the island leaving at that moment, and we instead boarded it to the beach. 

What a difference one cruise makes. Unlike last cruise when we were in Rangiroa with the Aranui 3 and they were holding a BBQ on the beach, today there were just a handful of people there. G floated and I snorkeled, and as we did, clouds started to roll in until our initially sunny day had turned quite overcast. Once the 2pm boat shuttle left, G and I were the only cruise passengers left, and shared the beach with just a local family of four having a picnic. It was so quiet we could hear the waves crashing on the reef on the ocean side of the island, especially as the wind picked up. 

After awhile we packed up and walked down to the Kia Ora Resort for our favorite coconut ice cream smoothies in the overwater bar. It was quiet there, too; this is definitely the low season in Rangiroa!  Finally a family from the ship with three young (and adorable) boys showed up and G gave them the rolls he always packs to feed the fish from the Kia Ora pier. I don't know who enjoyed it more- the boys (who ranged from about 1 to 6 years old) or us, watching their absolute glee when the fish would surge and splash. 

Eventually we walked back to the tender pier, once again taking the second last tender of the day. Once on board, we cleaned up for the evening and went to the Elite Lounge (Breeza Marina night!), then a three course plus dessert dinner, then production show Motor City. Tomorrow is a sea day as we make our way back from the Tuamotu Archipelago to the Society Islands. Again, it's our last sea day before seven port days in a row. This is a fast-paced itinerary and we love it. 

Day 47: Rangiroa

Every day we are in port, every single day, reminds me of that Norman Rockwell painting where a family is going to the beach in the family car. In the morning, they're clean and excited and anxious to go, but by evening they return sticky, dirty and tired. Yep, that's exactly what it's like. 

We were On Deck with Douglas as we approached Rangiroa this morning, to be greeted by the ever-present dolphins dancing on the ship's bow wake. We headed to the Club Restaurant as soon as the Pacific Princess entered Tiputa Pass, though. I woke up starving at 5am; a strange but welcome sensation on a cruise ship. 

The view of Tiputa Pass from our breakfast table as the Pacific Princess made its way to its anchor point in the Rangiroa lagoon. 

The weather today was perfect, sunny, not windy and not too hot. We decided to combine the snorkeling I wanted to do with drinks at the Kia Ora Resort that G wanted, and so packed for a beach day. We were excited to once again see the Aranui 3 at anchor in the lagoon unloading items by crane onto a barge for delivery to the island. Once on the tender pier, we took a boat shuttle for $5pp to the public beach, where we saw that the Aranui had set up a BBQ for its guests. Most of them that we talked with seemed to be from France and Switzerland but I know that there is always a considerable number of Americans and Brits on board; too. 

Our view of the overwater bungalows at the Kia Ora Resort from our shuttle to the public beach

G enjoyed using our inflatable float while I snorkeled around the coral heads on the beach. I have to say that, if all one wants is a good beach, the Caribbean offers more and much better ones. We've seen nothing to equal Carlisle Bay Beach on Barbados or Eagle Beach on Aruba. And, as G likes to point out, getting a tan while reading a book is available at a much lower cost in the Caribbean. But these islands offer scenery and water color second to none, with a depth of culture that is more difficult to find in the Caribbean. The public beach on Rangiroa is primitive and rocky, buts it's hard to top its views. G enjoyed our collapsible float while I snorkeled around the many coral heads, all the while wearing my Tilley hat and long sleeved rash guard to keep the intense sun from frying me. 

The rocky sand led us to hook my backpack around a palm tree

The view from the lagoon beach across the narrow island; the ocean is just beyond the trees. Rangiroa is just a narrow strip of coral. 

The lagoon view from the beach

We eventually walked right along the beach past Top Dive dive shop and a tiny beach restaurant to the Kia Ora Resort. We both ordered tropical fruit coolers which were served with beautiful tiare blooms. 

As we sat there, the Aranui 3 picked up its barges, having collected its passengers from the public beach, and sailed out of the lagoon. G had taken a minute to examine the barges at the beach. They had bench seating to be used for transporting passengers that could be removed when transporting cargo. Quite clever!

The Aranui 3 behind the Pacific Princess, making its way back to Tiputa Pass to leave the Rangiroa lagoon

We had been with some of the dancers/cruise staff and other passengers at the beach and at the Kia Ora. While we were waiting for a shuttle to return us to the tender pier, everyone jumped into that beautiful water for another swim. Look at that water...how could we not??

Even after we returned to the tender pier, G and I couldn't resist still another swim and hopped in the water just beyond the pier. We were on the second last tender to return to the Pacific Princess; we're developing a habit of stretching our days as much as possible. Once back on the ship, we had just enough time to rinse things out and get showered before we needed to be up on deck to watch sailaway. Once again, the dolphins were just beyond Tiputa Pass to 'wave goodbye' as we left the lagoon. 

The Panorama Buffet was closed tonight for a special event for the crew. We were so hungry we grabbed some French fries from the grill, and then went to the Elite Lounge for hors doerves. As we sat there, with those floor to ceiling windows, we watched as the Pacific Princess sailed along the northern coast of Rangiroa. It reminded us quite a bit of cruising up the eastern side of Eleuthera after a day at Princess Cays; both islands are similar in physical properties, but Rangiroa is basically a flattened, shoe shaped hoola hoop-type ring of over 240 islets. As we reached the northwest edge of the atoll, it was easy to see the islets and 'hoas' (non-navigable channels) between them. 

Dinner was fast, just salads topped with chicken after all the snacking we'd just done, and we were at the 7pm early show of guitarist Dan Riley in the Cabaret Lounge. I wish I could say that we were staying up for dancing and more fun, but we are tired and have another full day tomorrow on Huahine. Blog and bed are higher priorities...I hope the Undernet cooperates. 

Day 35: Rangiroa

Once again; I have had to let typing my blog post slip to the next day. I'm just lucky that we have a sea day again today; slipping is not an option when we have several ports days in a row, as we will, beginning tomorrow. I would never get caught up. It wasn't even a case of having energy to type the post but not to do battle with getting it uploaded; I'm not even typing this until the next morning.  Simply stated, we're having a lot of fun down here!!

G woke me yesterday by singing 'I Left My Heart In Rangiroa' at about 6:30am. Unfortunately, he should have left his heart at least 45 minutes earlier; we missed the dolphins surfing the wake as we approached Tiputa Pass on Rangiroa, and Douglas Pearson informed the group on Deck 11 at the front of the Pacific Princess, in his best professorial tone, that we needed to be up there early, REALLY early for these island arrivals. That was much easier to do when we were still jet lagged from our trip down to Papeete but is getting harder every day. Still, we watched for the fourth time as the Pacific Princess approached Tiputa Pass. The tide was rushing back out of the pass, creating a tremendous current through which the ship had to navigate, then cut immediately to port to make its way around the little desert island with a single palm tree, which marks the location of the beautiful snorkeling area called The Aquarium. It was another beautifully sunny morning. (Rainy season?  What rainy season? Our weather luck continues...)

The outgoing tide created whitecaps on the water

We went to breakfast in the Club Restaurant so I could get my fav fruit plate, then immediately moved to the terrace behind the Panorama Buffet so G could get his fav pepperoni omelet with extra cheese (and his cardiologist shudders). It still amazes me that the Rangiroa lagoon is so large that one can't see across it: in fact, all that is visible even from the height of Deck 9 on the ship are the islets just to the east and west of Tiputa Pass. The other 200+ islets that make up Rangiroa are lost over the horizon. This atoll has to be (not) seen to be believed. 

Uncertain of our plans for the day (we could have done the default public beach but were looking for something different. I'm waiting until my sunburned shoulder from our last visit here finishes peeling before attempting another 'all beach' day), we dressed for a land day and made our way to the island via tender. A week ago, I had canceled a dive excursion with Rangiroa Plongée. We are already getting so much water time, and have now learned that we can set up excursions right on the tender pier that we've decided to simply book snorkeling and dive trips the same day, based on how we feel and the weather. Before we arrived in French Polynesia, before we knew what to expect, it made sense to have things lined up ahead of time, but now we know, and with the luxury of time and options, we've been slowly disengaging ourselves from some of our prescheduled commitments. In other words, we're starting to do exactly what we do in the Caribbean...wake up, check the weather, see what hurts and what doesn't, and proceed accordingly. Didn't take us too long, did it?  ;-)

The public beach as seen from the Pacific Princess in the Rangiroa lagoon

Once on the island, I was immediately greeted by a representative of the tourist bureau, and offered a beautiful woven palm crown into which had been tucked many fragrant tiare and frangipani blooms. For free. Now, we're very often greeted on these islands with tiare blooms, but never with a whole crown. I looked around and saw several other ladies already wearing the same thing. What a welcoming gesture! The neat thing about this particular crown is that it was adjustable, and the size depended on how much of the woven fronds were pushed into a small loop at the back. It was really quite ingenious...the greeter placed it over the crown of my ever-present Tilley hat, but, later in the day, when I was sitting in the shade, I simply made it smaller and wore it directly on my head. I spent the rest of the day basking in the cloud of scent from the tiare and frangipani flowers, and loved every minute of it. 

We decided to take the free shuttle bus which runs down to Gauguin Pearls pearl farm. First, it gave us a view of the narrow strip of island past where we'd already been (previously only as far as the public beach), and we were driven through Avatoru village (don't blink!) and saw the airport and the school to which kids come by boat from the other nearby islets. High schoolers have to board during the week on Raiatea or Tahiti, and that is something we've heard frequently on the smaller islands of French Polynesia. 

Every so often, the narrow road would pass over single lane concrete bridges. What runs under these are the narrow 'hoa' channels, which are non-navigable and often don't even contain water (depending on the tides). Taking this short trip via the shuttle bus definitely gave us a better appreciation of how this island is made up of 240 islets. 

We arrived at Gauguin Pearls pearl farm which, unlike the pearl farm on Huahine, was located on land (but, of course, next to the water. Everything on Rangiroa is next to the water, either the lagoon or the ocean, because the island is not much wider than the road that runs down the center of it). As a group, we were directed over to an open shed where we received the best explanation and demonstration of the Tahitian black pearl culturing process we've yet seen. Instead of simply being told about the process to culture pearls, we saw it in action, and I really have to recommend the (free) trip to Gauguin Pearls if you want to get a good understanding of how it is all done. 

A pearl expert trains for two years at the only school that exists for pearl culturing (which just happens to be on Rangiroa) to learn how to set the white 'bead' from the Mississippi River mollusk (that still slays me) and the pearl graft in the gonad sack (not quite so squeamish about that by now). We saw that process being demonstrated, but the huge excitement occurred when we saw pearls being harvested. There is something amazing about seeing a shell pried opened a bit and a beautiful Tahitian pearl extracted. Then (quelle surprise!), we were able to shop in their store and purchase pearls and other gift shop items if we wanted but at no time was there any pressure at all to buy anything or even enter the gift shop. It was all very nicely done. I did spot a leather bracelet with a single black pearl on it that I liked, but the price was $281. There is a similar one- no doubt with a much lower quality of stone, but who cares?- on the pier on Moorea for sale for $45 that I have my eye on. 

Pearl necklace, valued at about $20,000

When we left Gauguin Pearls, the shuttle bus dropped some people off at the public beach. But G and I stayed on it a bit further to the Kia Ora Resort, where we asked to be dropped off. Now, we had heard conflicting stories about the Kia Ora's lack of hospitality toward cruise ship passengers who just happened on their beach, and particularly toward those who were so bold as to sit in one of their beach loungers. But we also knew that several of the bar crew had gone there last cruise for lunch. So we thought we'd see how we were received. Well, when we walked in the open air lobby and asked if we could have a drink and perhaps lunch, we were warmly welcomed and allowed to wander the small, but beautiful grounds.

The lobby of the Kia Ora Resort (the Pacific Princess is at anchor in the distance)

We made our way to the restaurant but decided the overwater bar just adjacent was more what we were looking for.  There we both had drinks; G opted for a generous serving of Cuban rum and a Coke, but I chose a non-alcoholic mango and coconut cooler. I was thrilled when it was served with a pineapple wedge and more flowers, and along with my floral crown, every time I lifted it to my mouth to drink it was like being in a florist shop. For a long while, we were the only customers in the bar, and it was one of the prettiest things I'd ever seen and I thought it looked exactly like a cover for Islands magazine. There were glass panels in the floor through which we watched the fish in the lagoon below, and the azure blue water sparkled in the sun. The Pacific Princess was anchored just beyond the resort in the lagoon and we could see the ship's tenders crossing back and forth to the tender pier. 

My drink, and a glass panel showing the lagoon below

We were having so much fun sitting there (really, living like celebrities) that we ordered a small lunch and I got a Perrier and the whole afternoon cost us about $50, but provided us a really wonderful experience. We never tried using the beach (we weren't even dressed for it), and I'm sure that, had we shown up with snorkel fins and flying the Princess flag (the blue and white striped beach towels), we might not have been allowed to feel so welcome. But what we did do was so perfect that we want to spend an afternoon there again on a future cruise. 

The beach at the Kia Ora (look, but don't touch!)

Our view for the afternoon (Life. Does. Not. Get. Any. Better. Than. This.)

The view from the Kia Ora pool

By 3:30pm, a few clouds started to move in and the wind picked up a bit and that was a most welcome change, because we faced the walk back to the tender pier, which was not a long one (maybe a mile), but which, we knew from experience, could be beastly hot when the sun was out. It was quite a thrill to hear the huge waves thundering on the reef just off the coast on the ocean side of the island, and that kept us motivated as we made our way along the uneven road back to the pier. If it weren't for the fact that there are occasional vehicles and a few houses and pensions and people, that part of the island reminds us a great deal of walking to Lighthouse Beach on the southern end of Eleuthera from Princess Cays. 

It was 4:15pm by the time we arrived back on the Pacific Princess, and the skies were dark enough that we didn't rush to an open deck to watch sailaway. Instead, we showered and got ready for Breeza Marina night in the Elite lounge and then a very simple dinner of (for me) sliced, grilled chicken breast on mixed greens with honey mustard dressing, and, of course, sorbet ('cause there's always room for sorbet). We wanted to finish dinner early enough to attend the 7pm show in the Cabaret Lounge and waiter Jose accommodated us, as he always does. 

Comedian/musician Dan Riley performed, and we thought we remembered him from Caribbean itineraries, and we did. He is an extremely talented guitarist who injects some humor into his show, and we enjoyed it very much, but, honestly, by the time it ended, we were half asleep, which is why this post had to wait until the next day. 

Unfortunately, this was the evening that several toilets chose to take the night off on the ship, and I had to stay half dressed so as to make a quick getaway to the (working) public toilet one deck up. What is it about having a non-working toilet that makes me need to use one every five minutes (it was a lot like camping that way)? Finally, about 10pm, I was awakened by the telltale automatic multiple flushes that always indicate a plumbing problem has been resolved (isn't it funny that the toilet flushing during any other night does not wake me up, but when I'm waiting for it...?), but we've heard that a few were still out this morning. Oh well, it's part of being on an older ship at sea, but, for us, the inconvenience lasted only two hours. 

There were plenty of other entertainment options available last evening- 70s night theme particularly comes to mind- and God bless the people who can go all day and then party at night. We simply cannot. But we're cruising in the manner we enjoy, interspersing less active days with active ones, and eating and drinking and spending in moderation all the way. It certainly works well for us. 

Life is definitely good. :-)