The sun was rising behind the island of Tahiti as we docked in Papeete. When the ship was cleared by the local authorities at 7am, G ran over to the ferry dock to verify the schedules. We had checked online yesterday but one repository of current Papeete to Moorea ferry information does not exist; there are two ferries and old ferry schedules for both pepper the Internet.
It was hard to say goodbye to so many new friends that we met on board this cruise, and we saw many of them this morning in the buffet. We especially love meeting the honeymoon couples (and not all of them are young kids). While we all look to those seniors married for many years for inspiration, the newlyweds also remind us of what love was like in those early days (so very, very long ago!). They are so cute!
Nearly everyone faces a long flight- or two or three- to get home, although several people are extending their vacation with stays on Tahiti or Moorea or Bora Bora. G commented to me that this was our first 'easy' turnaround in French Polynesia this year. Although our first turnaround in Hawaii certainly required no effort on our part, since then, every ten days we've been faced with disembarking or embarking and/or flying somewhere. Today we could just play!! And, boy, did we!!
We were loaded down with G's wetsuit and both of our snorkels, masks and fins, towels and enough sun screen to sit on the sun itself, and walked off the ship and over to the ferry terminal about 7:45am. We rode the 8:10am Terevau ferry over to Moorea with fellow passengers Scott and Lynn, who were flying home that night but wanted just one more day on Moorea. They rode with G on the bow of the ferry and actually saw two whales (!) but I sat inside with all our gear. It is way too windy on the bow to be controlling bags of things. The ride to Moorea takes about 25-30 minutes, and once in Vaiare, where the ferry terminal is located, G and I looked for the Moorea Lagoonarium shuttle van that we had read meets the ferries, but didn't see it anywhere. In the interest of time, we just caught a taxi for 1500 XPF instead.
Coming in to Vaiare Bay, Moorea
We have been reading online about Moorea's Lagoonarium for two winters, but it had never worked out for us to get there. It's the second highest rated thing to do on Moorea on Trip Advisor, and people do rave about it, but it is in a most inconvenient location on the island for cruise ship passengers. While cruise ships anchor in either Opunohu Bay or Cooks Bay on the northern coast of the island, the Lagoonarium is located south of the tender dock at Vaiare. Taxis are very expensive on Moorea and getting one from a cruise ship tender dock to the Lagoonarium, though possible, would take a lot of time and money. It's easier to do the Lagoonarium while staying on Moorea or as a day trip from Papeete. We had wanted to do this while staying in Papeete between Rarotonga and reboarding the Pacific Princess but the weather didn't cooperate. Today's weather was sunny and calm and couldn't have been better.
We were dropped off by our taxi driver at a dirt and gravel parking lot with a one room building on it, and that is where we bought the tickets for the day. The price was 32000 XPF, just under US $31 per person, and only cash was accepted. With the U.S.$ continuing to strengthen, I am getting a better exchange rate every time I get cash. If you're coming to French Polynesia from the U.S., definitely don't pay for things in US $ !! We waited just 5 minutes or so for a motorized outrigger canoe to pull up, and walked through about one foot deep water to board it. Our pilot was Wilfred, who runs the Lagoonarium and was our host for the day, and also one of the nicest guys around.
As much as I had read and heard about the Lagoonarium, I could not picture it in my mind. I knew it was located on a small motu off the eastern coast of Moorea, and that the strong current required that snorkelers hold on to ropes to keep from being swept away. I knew there were fish feedings twice a day, so it wasn't entirely a naturally occurring population of fish, stingrays and black-tipped reef sharks. But I guess I was picturing a fenced in aquatic population. And it's not like that at all.
It was just under a five minute ride over to the motu, where the canoe pulled up against a dock. I was immediately stuck by how darling everything was...driftwood hand railings and shell curtains everywhere. Driftwood 'trees' were decorated with more shells, there was driftwood furniture and a series of little huts for shade. It was obvious that this place had once been a campground or hostel or something. Each hut had two elevated wood sleeping platforms with shelf storage above them, but mostly they offered shade and a place to change, if needed. Wilfred gave us a tour, showing us where the one bathroom and shower was located, and pointing out the little kitchen area where there was cold water and hot water for coffee, tea or hot chocolate. It was already a hot day, and I remember thinking that only the French would want a tiny cup of hot coffee on a hot day, but, boy, did I change my mind later!
Wilfred settled us in a hut that we had to share later in the day, but that had been the reason we'd got there so early. Later arrivals don't get the use of the huts, which are important to have a place to store stuff and also for shade, because there is none on the motu. We were shown how to navigate the snorkel course; it was an entire maze of ropes and buoys and we could explore the outer perimeter or cut across the middle using the shorter path. Our only cautionary instructions? Wilfred asked if we were strong swimmers (G told him I was a fish and Wilfred corrected him. "She's a mermaid"). And he asked that we stay within his vision if we took the kayaks out. In 20 seconds I was in that water and taking the longest route around the coral gardens.
I was immediately reminded that the current is strong...I lost myself in chasing some huge fish and had to swim my way back to the rope, which wasn't easy without fins (I had brought them but didn't figure I needed them with the rope to hold on to). I didn't do that again, but became very adept at holding on to the rope by wrapping my legs around it, giving me freedom of movement. I knew I was getting tiny scrapes and scratches from it, but didn't care. I was in snorkel heaven!
The coral around the Lagoonarium is in the best shape of any I've seen since Klein Bonaire in the Caribbean. In fact, it's even better than there. The difference is that, by installing the rope system, Wilfred has insured that the coral doesn't get trampled. It's a pet peeve of mine that people who can't swim feel they can use coral to stand on while snorkeling. No!!! While it's inevitable to rarely brush up against coral, especially in a current, any contact damages it for years. This coral was beautifully healthy and colorful.
I lost myself in snorkeling until G floated by in a kayak asking how I was doing. When I looked up, I was shocked. I was at the furthest point of the rope course, just feet away from the waves crashing on the reef. I thought the current was getting stronger and stronger! By then, I was pulling myself along the rope with two hands, with my camera slung around my wrist. I had never been that close to a reef before (because I wouldn't dare without the protection of something to hold on to), and it was quite a rush. After the waves crash on the reef and pass over it, there is a secondary, smaller wave that forms that was passing over me. So cool!
But the best was yet to come...out there, at the furthest corner of the rope course, right against the reef, I found clown fish. Nemo!!!! There were at least four of them, in that same soft car wash coral I'd seen them in near the reef in Raiatea. I held on to the rope with my legs and watched them for a long time. They are so cute the way they hide in the waving coral, but then peep out. By themselves they made my day.
By the time I returned to the motu, I had been in the water nearly two hours and was freezing. And that's when I figured out why Wilfred had hot beverages for us to drink. I sat in a plastic Adirondack chair next to G in the sun, fully covered, of course, drinking hot chocolate and warming up.
At 11:30am, Wilfred did the first of two fish feedings, and some people only get in the water to watch this (and some don't get in the water at all, but watch it right from shore). There were thousands of fish, and several stingrays and lots of sharks all getting in on the action. While you know that G is the stingray whisperer, I am all about the fish and sharks, but have to admit that seeing the stringrays swoop and dive in that deep, healthy coral was a beautiful sight. The feeding lasted until noon or so; and then I headed back out for another lengthy snorkel, and returned to the far corner to see "my" clown fish again. :-)
It was the best snorkeling I've ever done and I would compare it favorably to the best dives I've ever done. I was one happy camper!
I returned to the motu again about 2:15pm. I was starting to wear down a little, battling that strong current for several hours. Wilfred did another fish feeding at 2:30pm, so I stayed in the water for that one, but around 3:30pm we asked him to take us back to the mainland. We knew the last Terevau ferry was at 4:40pm; but didn't know if we might have to wait for a taxi to take us to the ferry terminal in Vaiare. As it turned out, we didn't. The Lagoonarium shuttle was waiting to take us back for 800 XPF. That gave us almost an hour wait at the ferry terminal, but a rain shower passed over while we were waiting, and we stayed nice and try under the roof. We were starving, and bought a plastic sleeve of the freshest Moorea pineapple imaginable for 250 XPF and ate them to get us through to dinner. While bus terminals in the U.S. might offer candy bars and sodas, on Moorea we had a choice of mango or coconut or pineapple in narrow plastic bags.
We mostly rode in the inside of the ferry returning to Papeete, so tired were we. And I have to admit that the beautiful Pacific Princess at dock in Papeete harbor was the very best thing we'd seen all day. It was only a five minute walk from the ferry back to the ship, and we re-boarded it 9 1/2 hours after we'd left that morning. After quick, but very hot showers, we went to the Club Restaurant (open seating the first night of the new cruise) and ate prime rib (G) and pasta with chicken (me) and drank merlot and had flourless chocolate cake for dessert. And, once we were full, we immediately realized how exhausted we were.
We crashed in bed, and were asleep in seconds. It had been a fantastic, but long day, and G pointed out over dinner how often I've been saying "This was the best day EVER!!" lately. However, I will confess to having felt a tad melancholy (I was sooooo tired) on the ferry ride back to Papeete, but hadn't said a word about it. Only 35 more days on the Pacific Princess! (Only...I can see your eye rolling from here!) We are 52 days into this incredible adventure and I couldn't help but feel it was nearing the end. But G can read my thoughts, and at that same moment said, "Isn't it amazing? We've had 32 days on the Pacific Princess so far this season. We're not even half way through yet! Just think about all we have to look forward to!"
That's my guy! And the fact that he can see the glass as more than half full when I see it as almost empty is why he's my guy!!
Life is soooooo good. :-)