Day 42: Moorea

We had a productive, but unblog-worthy start to our day. I had awakened at 4am and looked out the window to see that the Pacific Princess was still docked in Papeete, but shortly afterwards, at 4:30am, we set sail for Moorea. I guess. I fell back asleep and didn't notice. ;-)

What I did notice (when I finally woke up) was that we were approaching our anchor point in Opunohu Bay on the north side of Moorea and that G was (no surprise) MIA. He wakes up and leaves the cabin and, if the click of the door as he exits doesn't wake me, I just sleep and sleep. Part of it is that I am awake at least an hour later than he is every night, typing a blog post. But most of it is that he just loves the early morning hours on a ship, when even it seems to awaken slowly and come to life. 

Still, we always catch up with each other, generally in the dining room where G knows I'll be eventually. Apparently he is in the habit of checking in there periodically throughout the morning to see if I've arrived; if told I haven't, he goes away and does something else and then returns. I often hear, "Sir G (Really, that's what they call him.  Can you believe?? And I'm the one who has to live with him when this is all over!) was just here looking for you". Today was blueberry pancake morning, and they just sounded so good that I splurged. 

I took some time after breakfast to answer emails that seem to go unanswered for too many days when I'm on a ship. Our travel plans for the rest of the winter are coming together...it looks like we'll be on the Caribbean Princess (I need to set up a shortcut for that on my iPhone) for at least four weeks from early February to early March. And by then we might just be ready to go home and stay home. Or not. We'll have to see how we feel. But, as I've said before, this is shaping up to be our craziest but funnest winter ever.  G did a load of laundry (I keep forgetting to mention that when we overnight in Bora Bora, the passenger laundry is closed) and by the time I was done on the Internet and he was done with that, his early breakfast was starting to wear off and he wanted to get some lunch. 

We walked out on the terrace behind the buffet to this view. Really, does it get any better?

While we were sitting there, the skies that had been threatening all morning finally opened up and it rained hard for awhile. We waited until that subsided a bit and took a tender to the island. I had worn my new black pearl bracelet for two days, getting the length of it adjusted juuussssstttt riiiigghhhttt, and wanted the designer to cut and seal the excess cording. When we arrived at the tender pier, the rain momentarily subsided. My bracelet attended to, we walked just a bit further. The oldest Protestant church in the South Pacific was built here in Papetoai Village in 1822 on the site that was once the royal Marae Taputapuatea, where heathen gods were worshipped. The octagonal church, called Ebenezer, has been rebuilt several times but is still in use. Today, a funeral service for a local dignitary was being held there, and the music coming from the building was beautiful. That was as far as I went for the day, choosing to sit under a tree as close as I could be without intruding to listen and watch. Despite the fact that it was standing room only inside, people continued to arrive, all carrying huge floral displays or what appeared to be gift bags. Every so often, a song was sung just by children, and those were particularly beautiful. This went on for quite a while, and though I could see the police escorts getting lined up, I left before the mourners started to file outside. The whole thing was very interesting and moving.

The church was founded in February, 1822 during the first year of the reign of monarch Pomare III

While I was sitting and listening and watching, G walked down to a small magazin (store) to buy "du pain" (bread) for 53 CFP, which he enjoyed feeding to the stray dogs and fish. 

By the time we returned to the tender pier, about 4pm, it was once again raining hard. We were soaked and somewhat chilly while riding the tender back to the Pacific Princess, but the real cold set in once we had returned to the air conditioned ship. The rain continued for the rest of the day and into the evening, forcing the Captain's Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party from the pool deck to the Cabaret Lounge. Captain Maresca told us that, sadly, tomorrow looks to be the same, with no improvement in the forecast. We have two days at sea en route to Nuku Hiva, and, while I don't mind rainy sea days, I do hope for better weather on the islands.

Captain Fabrizio Maresca and Maitre d' Luigi Pascale start the champagne waterfall festivities

We sat at the party with Cathy and Ron and Janet and Derek, talking like we'd known each other for far longer than one day. This will be a most enjoyable cruise. And, on our way to dinner, we met Tracey, traveling with her mom Nancy and two adorable young sons. Tracey had emailed me before she left home offering to bring us supplies (we have a regular Berlin airlift taking place on our behalf), and we had seen her and her sons on the terrace when it started to rain at lunch as her boys were thoroughly enjoying standing in the rain in their swimwear and were just so darn cute, but it took until tonight for me to connect the dots between the Tracey who emailed and the young boys whose enthusiasm in the rain was so contagious. 

We meet the nicest people when we cruise!!

Derek, Ron and G enjoying the Captain's Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party

The ships is really bouncing tonight, as a thunderstorm rages outside and we're seeing frequent lightning light up big waves. Following dinner, we chose to skip the production show Cinematastic tonight. We enjoy it a great deal, but I'm not sure I'd fare well sitting in the Cabaret Lounge at the very front of the ship. How the dancers will be able to perform, I have no idea. Instead, I'm cozied up in our low, midship cabin, possibly the best spot on the ship to be. We are tired tonight, and a rainy sea day tomorrow may be just what we need to recharge for many more days at sea. 

Day 41: Papeete (turnaround day)

After several days of (as reader Paige says) livin' like a rock star, today we came back down to earth and lived like a local. And it was so much fun that I told G that a large part of me is hoping we don't get a cabin for the December 28th cruise, because we'd have a great adventure exploring Papeete and the island of Tahiti.  

The fun started before we even left the Pacific Princess this morning. We left breakfast in the Club Restaurant to hear Tahitian music coming from the atrium. Several Tahitians had been passengers on the last cruise, and before they disembarked today, they sat down and started playing Tahitian music and singing. What a gift!  All of them, every one, whether they played an instrument or not, knew the words to all the songs, all sung in Tahitian. It was impromptu and perfect and G and I pulled up chairs and sat there listening until they were done. What they were doing, while it might have seemed a bit different, is truly the norm in French Polynesia. Everywhere we go, people are sitting with friends and playing music. I love it!

While I was sitting in the atrium, I turned around and saw more Christmas trees had been set up overnight.

We had a different experience in mind for today (we had been able to check the security webcams at home yesterday from the Intercontinental Moorea, so G wasn't intent on finding fast wifi). We left the Pacific Princess and, as always, took a few minutes to check out the palleted items on the pier to be loaded on the ship.  These boxes had been processed at the Florida Distribution Center on Odtober 5th and took until today to reach the ship.  It's obvious that, when a container doesn't arrive in time on this itinerary, we simply do without (as we did without Coke syrup a few cruises ago). 

There's never a shortage of fresh pineapple, though, as they most likely come from the island of Tahiti.

As we headed to the Tourist Information office right at the pier, we saw, just outside of it, a beautiful display of local fruits and vegetables. Apparently, on the last Friday of every month, they do a local food cooking demonstration right next to the pier, and we had a few samples of cooked breadfruit and plantains before we went into the information center to ask some questions. 

Today's chefs wearing typical Tahitian dresses

We had a goal today to go to a store called Carrefour, just beyond the intercontinental Tahiti and the Faa'a (Fah-AH-ah) International Airport we had arrived at 41 days ago. Carrefour had been describe as the closest thing Tahiti has to a KMart or Super Target. G has been saying since Day 1 that the locals can't possibly be buying everything they need at the same stores we've been shopping at, and he was right. We just didn't know this store existed until a few days ago when another passenger mentioned he had walked there while staying at the Intercontinental Tahiti. A taxi from the pier would have been $26; we were determined to get there by local bus. We were told at the information center where the bus station was and how much it would cost (we loaded up all our change before we left the ship). We had to wait quite a while...one bus to Faa'a arrived but filled up before we got on it, and apparently passengers aren't allowed to stand.  It pulled away and we were left wondering what the heck was going on, but, because of our confused looks, we were taken under the wing of a father and his teenage son who said they were going to the same store, and would let us know where to get off the bus. They did and it all worked just perfectly. You know we love these sort of experiences!

I can't tell you now valuable the Maps.me app has proven to be. I was able to search yesterday to see that the closest Carrefour to the ship was 4.2 miles away, and today we were able to follow along on the app as the bus went toward the airport and beyond it. It's very comforting, and will save us if we end up spending 10 days in Papeete. 

We were so happy to see a store that looked like a store at home that we played the tourist and took photos of signage and the parking lot.

I swear G was starting to tear up at this point.

Christmas decorations were already up, and it was so funny to see snowmen and reindeer and polar bears in Tahiti at all, let alone next to tropical flowers.

Write a letter to Santa and Carrefour will get it to the North Pole!

It all seemed so...normal, and normal was a very welcome feeling today. I can't say that everything in the store was familiar- there were still the same French labels and unknown brands- but I found a few things I needed and was even able to sort out the change we needed for the bus ride home and exchange a bill for coins like a local. It's getting easier...

The Maps.me app showing where we were waiting for the bus to go back to Papeete (the blue arrow in the middle of the map) and Carrefour in the green circle.

The Pacific Princess was docked just above the word "Papeete" in the map above, at the first of those two piers.

Walking back to the ship, we passed this group of guys playing Tahitian music on the street corner.

This instrument was an upturned bucket with a string and a stick attached. The string was strummed, and By changing the angle of the stick, and thereby altering the tension on the string, different notes could be played.

It was at this point where G turned to me and asked "Aren't you getting bored yet?"  This is an inside joke between us. We do get weary of people asking us if we get bored when we cruise for long periods, or implying that we're simple-minded because we don't get bored. NO, we aren't even beginning to get bored. How could anyone?  There is so much to see and do and experience on these islands, and no where more than in Papeete, Tahiti. The locals are incredibly welcoming, we feel very safe here, and we're seeing a lot of gorgeous scenery and blue water and having great fun. We haven't even begun to see and do everything we want to. So, no, we aren't. And we won't. 

Once back on the ship, I pulled my purchases our of my backpack (stores don't have shopping bags down here, but that's okay. Like my Tilley hat, my backpack is part of my daily attire). Hair color!  I found hair color in a familiar brand and color. I am now good until Hawaii, where we'll have to do another shopping trip.

We had a phone message from Cathy who, with her husband Ron boarded the Pacific Princess today. They have been reading my blog, and Cathy was a star and had brought some items from the US for me (Secret antiperspirant being the critical one). They are in an Owner's Suite on the back of the ship and invited us for drinks at 4:15pm. It nearly was that time, so we hurriedly showered for the evening and made our way to their gorgeous suite. Talk about a view of Papeete from their large balcony on the very back of the ship!!  We also met Janet and Derek, and had a great time enjoying wine and hors doerves and conversation until it was time for muster drill at 5:15pm (G and I haven't had to go since our first day...yay!). We all have an excursion planned together later in the cruise and I'm certain we'll be seeing more of them. It's fun to have new friends on board with us!

G and I made a quick stop by the Elite Lounge before going to dinner at 6pm. We were too hungry tonight, having skipped lunch, to wait until the Roulottes were set up behind the ship to eat there. In fact, flourless chocolate cake was on the menu for dessert tonight, so I decided right then to skip a dessert crepe from our favorite roulotte and have the flourless chocolate cake instead. Still, as soon as we were done eating, we walked off the ship. It was Friday night and the whole pier was a huge party, with locals eating and music on a stage and dancers and we were welcome to dance, too. Tahitian society is so family oriented and there were lots of babies and kids of all ages running around and parents weren't hovering, it's so safe and different here. And sitting there, in the midst of all these people and this activity and the roulottes and their good smells, I turned to G and asked, "Aren't you getting bored yet?" 

Not even close. 

Party time in Papeete. Traveling in a part of the world with a different language, currency and lifestyle definitely presents us with more challenges than we'd face in the Caribbean, but the unexpected rewards are many and wonderful.

Tomorrow:  We sail from Tahiti at 4:30am and arrive in Moorea at 8am, then sail at 5pm. 

Day 40: Moorea

(Prepared Thursday evening, November 27th, but I couldn't get on wifi to send.)

Happy Thanksgiving from Moorea!  I'm not sure I've ever felt quite so removed from the holiday...despite the decorative displays around the ship, the fact that this cruise does not depart out of the US and has a truly international passenger mix definitely changes the feel of the day a bit. Of course, that we spent the day on a beach and not going over the river and through the woods also makes a difference. And, finally, Black Friday means nothing down here (and that part I definitely don't miss). 

Bigger news than today's holiday was the fact that two decorators boarded the Pacific Princess today to begin to put up the Christmas decorations that had been brought on board on our last turnaround day in Papeete. They are onboard, we were told, for two days. Two decorators- two days...decorating the Pacific Princess does not require quite the same effort as decorating the larger ships. ;-)

We were up early today, had eaten breakfast and were on a tender by 8:30am. Our plan for the day was to visit the Intercontinental Moorea, the closest resort to Opunohu Bay where the Pacific Princess anchors. Spending the day at the Intercontinental does not require having a friend involved in Tahiti tourism; in fact, any cruise passengers are welcome to use the beach and the loungers on the beach. $90 per person for a day pass adds use of the resort's two infinity pools and a three course lunch and a soft drink. And anyone is welcome to snorkel the lagoon around the resort.   

We are always greeted by samples of Moorea's many fruits and local musicians on the tender pier. 

There are plenty of jewelry tables and excursions available on the tender pier, too. 

A taxi to the Intercontinental costs US$10 or 900 CFP and takes about 10 minutes. It's possible to walk there, but there are no sidewalks and the locals drive like bats out of hell on the island's circle road along the coast, so I can't recommend it. Once at the resort, we were handed towels and let loose to enjoy the facilities and use the water toys (which aren't generally available unless you're staying on the property). 

We were greeted at the Intercontinental with perfumed cold cloths, fresh pineapple juice and a gift bag containing local soaps and moisturizers.

One of the infinity pools at the Intercontinental Moorea

The mountains rise up right behind the resort 

I snorkeled and G kayaked all around the overwater bungalows.

Look at the size of these blooms!

The beach at the Intercontinental is not particularly impressive (the sand is shallow and coarse) but the overall effect is quite nice, with the waves crashing on the reef in the distance, the blue lagoon in the foreground and the mountains behind.

Our view for Thanksgiving Day

We had beers (and tried a new one for us called Tabu) and played in the water both at the beach and in the pools, but skipped lunch, as we had big dinner plans. It was a partly sunny, mostly cloudy but very windy day, and the water was choppy, but that didn't stop me from snorkeling for a couple of hours. I at first despaired of seeing anything worthwhile- the choppiness had stirred up the sand and visibility wasn't great- but finally found some decent coral and a lot of fish that seemed to appreciate it, too. Still, like most of the snorkeling I've done on Moorea, it wasn't 'in your face' good. It required some effort to see the good stuff. 

G kayaked around the lagoon but didn't venture out near the reef. It was just too windy to be safe out that far. However, the wind was perfect for the many kite surfers that entertained us all afternoon, and I remembered that Moorea was where I first saw kite surfing for the first time, ten years ago this month. 

Before the afternoon was over, we were 'entertained' by a fellow sunbather playing music through speakers. It wasn't exactly to my taste, but apparently it was to several others. Three honeymoon couples near us struck up a conversation with each other and started demonstrating their 'reception dances' on the beach, accompanied by various rap-type songs.  Yes, apparently it is no longer enough to eat, drink and dance at one's wedding reception; newlywed couples must now perform a well rehearsed dance, preferably involving the entire wedding party, to kick off the party. "I was, like, SO nervous and, like, the top of my strapless dress fell down and, like, one of the groomsmen was so drunk that he, like, couldn't even stand up let alone dance and we had, like, rehearsed it for weeks and I was, like, really, pissed at him". 

I suddenly felt, like, really, really old. 

About 3:30pm, we gathered up our gear and caught a taxi back to the tender pier. Today was the day I finally bought a Tahitian pearl bracelet I've been looking at from one of the vendors on the pier. The one I chose was a bit different than most and designed by the seller, which made it unique. G helped me pick the pearl (it's a blue-green-grey color) and I love it (and the $45 price tag).

 Back on the ship, I made a quick Thanksgiving call to Mom (for free, using Vonage!  Get the app!) and we showered and went first to the Elite Lounge and then to specialty Italian restaurant Sabatinis for dinner. For most of our meal, we were the only ones dining in the restaurant, and had the perfect view as the Pacific Princess sailed the short distance across the Sea of the Moon to Tahiti. The lights of Papeete appeared outside our window and we stayed at Sabatinis until the Pacific Princess was secured at her berth. No crepes from the roulottes for us tonight...we're stuffed from our Italian Thanksgiving dinner that included lobster and champagne for me. 

The first of the Christmas trees. This one was in the Steakhouse.

Our view of Papeete from our table at Sabatinis (you can see the reflection of its Christmas tree in the window)

We stood on Deck 10 for a long while watching the lights of Papeete. We sail at 4am on Saturday, and have all day tomorrow in Papeete with the Pacific Princess as our hotel. We have several things to get done while we're here and, unfortunately, once again, none of them involve much sightseeing. Papeete is first and foremost a business day for us. 

Sailing yacht Drum Beat docked next to us in Papeete (it is often there). Google it if you're interested...it's the largest sailing yacht ever built in New Zealand. Its masts are taller than the Pacific Princess!

And, finally, the decision was made today to join friends Carol, Grant, Phil and Jan from Edmonton on the 9-night Grand Princess cruise to Mexico departing Los Angeles on January 24th, the day after we arrive on the Pacific Princess. We cruised with them just one time several years ago, and had such fun together. We simply couldn't be so close to them and pass up the opportunity to do it again (Steve and Carolyn, can we talk you into joining us?). G and I will go home on February 2nd and leave again, this time for the Caribbean, four days later. 

Life is, like, crazy. And good. Crazy good. :-)

Day 39: Bora Bora Two

We awoke to grey skies and low hanging clouds, a real pity on Bora Bora.  While it hadn't rained while we were still awake last night, it apparently did, heavily, overnight. We were met with large standing puddles on the island today, and, though it never rained again, it was hot and very muggy.

After breakfast we took the tender over to Bora Bora with the intention of using wifi at a cafe in Vaitape village. We sat down, ordered two beers (the usual minimal cost of wifi around the world) and were logged on by the waitress to wifi. It was useless, and wouldn't even open a web page. Fed up with all the Undernet we've been encountering, G got up and canceled our drink order and we left. Apparently what had been fast ten days ago at this cafe was not fast today, and we already have not fast Internet (aka Undernet) on the ship. 

We wandered around a bit and debated taking the $5 shuttle to Matira Beach, but weren't dressed for the beach and, frankly, it wasn't a pretty beach day. I did find suitable hair color in a tiny Chinese grocery store in Vaitape (and, please note, when I say grocery store I mean a store that sells food, not a store even vaguely resembling a grocery store at home) but it was about US$ 22 a box and I don't have an immediate need. We've heard rumors of a KMart-type store called Carrefour near the airport on Tahiti, and may try to catch a bus there one day. 

Getting a bit weary of being splashed by cars and scooters going by, we returned to the tender dock and went back to the ship. It was almost lunch time by then, so we headed right to the buffet. G got two pieces of pizza and put them down on a table while he went to check out the other offerings. When I arrived at the table there were no fewer than eight flies on his pizza. Gag. After spending overnight in the Bora Bora lagoon, the ship's buffet was absolutely overrun with flies. It's a real issue down here; there's a reason why a huge quantity of items in every store (second only to baby stuff) is rodent and bug eradication devices and sprays. One of us stood watch while the other collected food, but as soon as we were done eating, we got out of there. While flies outside don't bother me too much, inside they are crazy-making. 

We retreated to our cabin where we were shocked to immediately see another one flying around. That was it; we'd had it. Fortunately, after encountering a particularly disturbing number of flies in our cabin on the Maasdam after a stop at Martinique in the French West Indies several years ago, G right then and there purchased what we call our French fly (pronounced quickly, like French fry) swatter, and never travels without it. (And how appropriate to use it on a French Polynesian fly!). He dug it out of his suitcase and went to work, tracking down and disposing of our unwelcome visitor. If we're getting flies in our ocean view cabin on Deck 3, the balcony cabins must be getting more than their share. It was only 1pm by then, but the day had been plagued with little bothers to the point where a movie and a nap in our French fly-free cabin held the most appeal. At some point during the afternoon we watched the replay of Douglas Pearson's lecture on Moorea for the first time (again, we take longer to accomplish the things others manage to do in 10 days), and G shocked me by going to the 3:30pm ring toss contest. He won a bottle of Pol Ciment Brut which he gave to the second place winner in trade for their prize of a Princess pen (he got the better deal, but they were thrilled). 

We were on Deck 10 for our 5pm sailaway from Bora Bora. Sadly, it was not a pretty one, with Mount Otemanu shrouded in clouds and a windy mist falling. We have several more Bora Bora sailaways to look forward to; but I felt bad for our fellow passengers who don't. It was a formal night, so we dressed accordingly and went first to the Elite Lounge for hors doerves and then took our most traveled award bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne to dinner to share with friends Mary Ann and Tom from Idaho at the adjoining table. Our new executive chef has added some seasoning to the rice served with the lobster and it's made it quite delicious. G is not a fan of rice at home; I must find out what the change is and try it. 

Once again, G was part of a Happy Anniversary serenading crew (with our waiter Jose from Portugal and junior waiter Chai from Thailand to his left). Harious!

The featured entertainer tonight is a female soprano. We sat through the last song of the first show and decided it wasn't for us. Instead we listened to the pianist in the Casino Lounge for awhile before calling it a day. We have an early morning tomorrow on Moorea and another busy day planned. We need to pace ourselves!

Day 38: Bora Bora One

We had a big day planned today, as we continued in our quest to 'live large' across French Polynesia by visiting the most expensive resort in Bora Bora, the St. Regis Bora Bora. We were thrilled that we had the opportunity to spend a day at the resort, but, as it turned out, it was even better than we could have expected.

For the first time, I slept through our arrival in Bora Bora; besides, we needed to be in the Club Restaurant early, at 7am. Through the dining room windows, we could see that the day was not as sunny as we had hoped, and several large, gray clouds hung over the mountain peaks. Well...shoot. There was great excitement on board anyway...the ship's crew was being treated to a day on a private motu, and there was HUGE excitement among them all. I am so happy they got the chance to do this, even if the day wasn't perfect!!

It wasn't actually raining as we boarded a tender for Vaitape village, and security officer Tony Maxwell from Scotland greeted us on shore by saying he could swear he saw a bit of sun coming through the clouds. He was right, and that clouds/sun/clouds/sun cycle was the norm for the rest of the day. G and I could reach the St. Regis Bora Bora in a couple of different ways:  by taking a taxi to the resort's base on the mainland and then taking one of the hourly boat shuttles to the St. Regis, located on Motu Tofari, or by taking the free Air Tahiti ferry from the Vaitape wharf to the Bora Bora airport, and then taking the resort's boat shuttle from the airport. Since taxis on Bora Bora are expensive; we opted to go the airport route, even though it added at least an hour to the trip. 

The Air Tahiti ferry to the Bora Bora airport is the one we took our first day on Bora Bora this winter. With enclosed, air conditioned seating on the lower level and open air seating on the second level, it is a great way to see the part of Bora Bora between Vaitape and the airport on Motu Mute.  It started to lightly mist on us halfway to the airport, so we moved down to the enclosed area, but, fortunately, that was the last actual rain we had all day. Once at the airport (very tiny, open air, with a runway protected only by a waist high fence with an open gate), we had a bit of a wait. Each resort on a motu has a reception desk in the airport, but most are manned only when an Air Tahiti flight arrives from another French Polynesian island, about ten times daily. We had arrived at the airport between flight arrivals, and the St. Regis desk was not manned nor was their shuttle at the airport dock. Eventually, though, the guest relations rep showed up and somehow knew to come over to us, greeting us by name. Oh, it's nice when things arranged through a third party work out!  At the same time, other resorts' guest relations reps arrived by boat and took their places at all the desks. I could hear the Air Tahiti flight arrive, and, leis in hand, the reps all moved to stand out in front of their respective desks awaiting their arriving guests. It was as if Ricardo Montalban himself was directing, "Places everyone!  Places!", and travel weary passengers disembarked the plane and, blinking from the sunlight, were welcomed to the fantasy of Bora Bora.  Along with another couple, we had fragrant flower leis placed over our heads and were directed over to the dock where the St. Regis shuttle was waiting. 

The Bora Bora airport

In an unreal moment, we noticed a travel weary single guy standing on the pier with one suitcase. He stood out amongst all the honeymooners. Then I noticed he had a shoulder tote with the words "Princess Crew" on it. We asked if he was going to the ship and he said he was and asked us if we knew how to get there.  He was supposed to arrive with someone else who had been delayed, and there was no one there to greet him. He had been traveling for more than 40 hours from Italy, and was, of all things, a chef at Sabatinis, the specialty Italian restaurant on board. We directed him to the Air Tahiti ferry, and told him that once he got to Vaitape village, he'd see the Pacific Princess and the ship's tenders right there. And then we said we'd see him in two nights, as we are dining at Sabatinis the night we cruise from Moorea to Papeete, Tahiti (which I think is Thanksgiving night, so we'll have an Italian Thanksgiving!). 

The St. Regis transfer, about 20 minutes through that gorgeous blue lagoon, provided wonderful views of Mount Otemanu, Patrick's motu and the Four Seasons Resort. Once we arrived at the St. Regis, we were greeted with heavenly scented cool cloths and pineapple juice, and led to the restaurant on the beach for lunch. We weren't counting on buying lunch, but since the rest of the day was costing us nothing, decided that regardless of how expensive this was going to be, it would be worth it

We both chose mixed satays as our entree (shrimp, beef and chicken) for 3300 CFP each (about $37 each) and they were incredible. Just as nice was our view of the beach and gorgeous blue lagoon. When we were presented with the dessert menu, we decided 'in for a penny, in for a pound'. I ordered the specialty coconut dessert and G ordered three scoops of ice cream (coconut, mango and dark chocolate) and they were beautifully presented. My dessert was coconut ice cream served in half a coconut sitting on crushed ice and topped with nut brittle chunks and tiny cubes of fresh coconut. It was so, so, so good that, like attending Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral in Papeete, it was almost a spiritual experience that threatened to move me to tears. (Must distract myself...focus on bare chested pool boys wearing nothing but pareos. Whew- that worked!). But, really, if everyone had a dessert like that once a week there would be world peace. Guaranteed. 

Our view at lunch

My dessert (front) and G's ice cream, about $22 each

The check arrived and before we could prepare ourselves for what was surely a $120 lunch bill, the restaurant manager swooped in and picked it up. "Non, non, non!  You are guests of zee St. Regis!  It ees our pleasure to have you here!" At that point, G and I gave each other a slow side glance.  Who the heck did they think we are??  The bottle of scotch I owe my Tahiti tourism friend grows larger and older by the day!

We had already been told that there were shuttles going back to the Bora Bora airport at 1:30pm and 4:30pm, so we, of course, chose to stay at the resort until 4:30pm and spent the remainder of the day tooling around the expansive grounds via golf cart and lounging by the pool and generally hanging out on the beach. At the St. Regis, one does not sit in any lounger for more than five seconds before a pareo-wearing pool boy appears with large, luxurious beach towels to protect you from any sweat or sunscreen and just as quickly delivers Hinano beers (at $9 a glass). The St. Regis over water bungalows are all at least $1400 a night, but they have Royal bungalows and villas that cost $1000s...and they were at almost full occupancy!  This place is spectacular. My very favorite area was the Oasis Pool which is a bit like a winding river where each couple has their own private cabana with a plunge pool that connects to the winding river. Who thinks up this kind of decadence?

Main pool, St. Regis Bora Bora 

Oasis Pool, St. Regis Bora Bora 

A hammock between two palms...very nice!

A hammock in the water...heaven!

More of that gorgeous water

Even away from the beach, the grounds were beautiful 

About 4:15pm we made our way back to the shuttle pier in front of the lobby building. We were handed gift bags with parting gifts (beautiful pillow covers for throw pillows back home), bottles of cold water, were draped with more leis, shell leis this time, by white gloved stewards, and led back to the boat shuttle. The guest relations staff all came out and stood on the pier, waving goodbye to us until we could no longer see them. What a way to make people feel special!

I struck up a conversation with a lady traveling alone who turned out to be a travel writer from Texas who had just spent a few days at the St. Regis. Instantly interested (I could do that!) I asked her several questions. She had also stayed at the Brando, the minimum $3000 a night, 3-night minimum stay resort on the island of Tetiatroa, about 40 miles from Tahiti. The island used to be owned by Marlon Brando and the Brando, which just opened last summer, is considered to be one of the finest resorts in the world. Really interested by then, I asked her about her stay at the St. Regis Bora Bora. She was not pleased. "Did you see the wood rot on the bottom of the posts at the shuttle pier?"  (I hadn't.) "Resorts of that quality shouldn't have that!"  Okay, maybe I couldn't do that, not at all. I simply find no joy in being that critical, which is what you have to be in that role. I'll just keep blogging as Yellow Fish...

I was tickled to see, once back at the Bora Bora airport, one couple who had stayed at the St. Regis immediately go to the little snack counter and buy a sandwich to share and two candy bars, and wolfed them down. I understand that; if I spent several days at the St. Regis and had to pay those prices for food, I'd come away starved too. We waited until the 5:05pm Air Tahiti flight landed (once again, it was "Places everyone!  Places!" as the various resort guest relations reps were greeting guests with leis) and joined those people staying at resorts on the mainland on the Air Tahiti ferry back to Vaitape. Following us out of the little airport harbor were the several smaller resort boats headed out with their newly arrived guests. And the cycle continues, ten times a day. 

Our trip to Vaitape and the ship felt much like a return to the Real World, albeit it the real world in beautiful Bora Bora. We were lucky; there was a Pacific Princess tender waiting for us when we arrived at the Vaitape pier...it was nearly 6pm by that time. Back on the ship at 6:10pm, we took the fastest showers ever and were in the dining room by 6:30pm, when the doors theoretically close for first seating dining, but since we sit at a table for two and weren't holding up the rest of a table, we most likely wouldn't have been turned away anyway. We were starved. A $120 lunch does not contain a lot of food (there's a reason the rich are often so slim!) and enjoyed the familiar, not as fancy but still very good fare from the Pacific Princess galley served by friendly Jose and Olexandr. It was good to be home!

After dinner, we went to the Pacific Lounge to listen to duo Great Escape play for awhile. They are a husband and wife duo from Canada who joined the Pacific Princess since we've been here, and are very good. Production show lead singer Llainie Gullickson was performing a solo show in the Cabaret Lounge, and our intention was to go to that and then to the 9:45pm tropical deck party on the pool deck, but cruise director David made an announcement right then that, due to expected rain showers, the deck party was being moved indoors to the Pacific Lounge.  That was enough to make us decide we were more enthusiastic about sleep than an indoor deck party, and we returned to our cabin for the evening. 

Going back to our cabin was a bit like returning home after viewing the highly decorated McMansions in a Parade of Homes...it was the same room we'd been so happy with for over a month; but suddenly the clothesline with G's socks hanging on it, and the Tilley hats, backpack and St. Regis gift bag we'd thrown haphazardly on the loveseat in our haste to get to dinner, and that tiny porthole all seemed to scream, "NOT AN OVERWATER BUNGALOW AT THE ST. REGIS BORA BORA!!"  No, but neither was our cruise fare in the same universe as the prices at the St. Regis, and the service we're receiving is every bit as friendly and welcoming. Princess is home in a way that no 6 star resort ever could be. 

Life is good. Not 'Kardashian good', but that's fine by me. :-)