Day 80: Papeete and Moorea (again!)

Can you believe it? We've come to the end of our stay in Papeete. It's amazing how different this town has been since yesterday. The holidays are over, the weekend is over, everything is open again in Papeete and we're seeing lots of fellow Princess cruisers wandering the streets and shopping at Le Marché. Added to them the few Oceania Marina passengers that are still around, and the streets are once again full of tourists. We had a few days- New Years Eve, New Years Day, Saturday and Sunday- when things were pretty quiet around here. We were smart to have stocked up at Champion last Wednesday morning; we're just finishing up our food tonight.

We were up very early this morning and, after breakfast, ran over to Le Marché for some final Tahitian souvenir shopping. It's obvious that we are going to have to buy a fourth suitcase at Sams Club in Honolulu...we are going home even more heavily laden than we came (we're both at fault; I've lost count of how many t-shirts G has bought). We then packed for a beach day and caught the Terevau ferry back to Moorea. Just 35 minutes after we left Papeete we were in the pool at the Sofitel Moorea. Aaaaahhhhh...instant attitude adjustment. 

Boarding the ferry to Moorea 

Our view for lunch

We had lunch poolside and then relocated to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. The last Terevau ferry back to Papeete was at 4:40pm, and we caught a ride to the ferry dock just as the skies opened up and it deluged. No standing outside on the open deck on the way back to Papeete; we were inside wringing out clothes with everyone else.  Our plan had been to take a taxi right to the Intercontinental Tahiti for another sunset but that wasn't going to happen.  Instead we raced back to the Hotel Tiare Tahiti before the black clouds hanging over the Tahiti mountains also opened up. We did see a spectacular rainbow but that was the end of the visual entertainment for tonight. 

The storm that chased us off of Moorea

We're early to bed tonight, hoping to be up to watch as our home sails into Papeete harbor early tomorrow morning (we're not exactly sure what time). We've enjoyed our ten days here, probably more than an eighth cruise on the Pacific Princess (especially given that it was going out to Nuku Hiva again). Our weather, until late today, was shockingly sunny, but I was taken aback by the heat the entire time we were here. I don't know if it was due to the fact that so many of our turnaround days here had been rainy or that we always had the air conditioned Pacific Princess to return to, but, really, the only time we've been comfortable from a temperature perspective was in the evenings or in our hotel room or in the water. 

I received an email asking if Papeete was much like Paris and I have to say that, besides the facts that they both speak French and that there are baguettes everywhere, and wonderful croissants...no. Not a bit. Papeete is not pretty, and Paris, even when it's hot, is not hot like Papeete. I actually found staying in Paris for several days to be easier than staying in Papeete.

This is what we've learned today:

Our decision to cancel our cruises from Singapore to Sydney and around Australia was the right one for us. We are not city tourists as much as we are water sports and beach lovers. I'm worried a bit now that we'll never get to Southeast Asia. I don't think it's ever not hot there. We've had several people suggest to us over the past few years that we should spend our winters in Thailand. I can say with certainty that's not going to happen. Nor do I see us spending extended periods of time in Hawaii as we once thought we might.

We have been so spoiled by wintering on a cruise ship where we live on the ocean and wake up in a different port every day.  The only alternative to that for us is to stay home, and that's not going to happen in the near future. So when we started our extended cruising thinking we'd do this for five years and re-assess...well, this is the fifth year and I don't see us doing anything too differently going forward. Do we enjoy this?  Oh yes, very, very much. 

Life is good. :-)

Day 77: Papeete (and Moorea)

I've made no secret of the fact that Papeete has been hot. Hot and sunny. I don't know where all this sun was on our turnaround days in Papeete but we've sure had it all this week.  But the sun and heat have taken a toll on me. I start out the day feeling strong but fade by 1 or 2pm. We needed a change of venue today, and we got one.

Following breakfast (we're getting bacon now, too, for unknown reasons, but between the omelet and the fruit and the juice and the croissant and the baguette AND the bacon, it's a heckuva free breakfast), we walked down to the cruise ship pier to see the Paul Gauguin, which had come in early this morning. The Paul Gauguin is such a small ship that there's never a hubbub around it. People were disembarking today, but it was all very low key. And there was no tourist activity on the wharf at all, so nothing really to see. 

We decided at that moment to take a high speed Terevau ferry to Moorea this morning. We checked the schedule...we had exactly 21 minutes to return to the hotel, grab our swimwear and get back to the ferry terminal. We flew, but we made it. For just under US $50 total, we bought two round trip tickets on the ferry. While the locals settled in the air conditioned interior seating, we were right up front on the open deck for the roughly 22 minute crossing of the Sea of the Moon. 

Now, ferries are exciting things to us because we don't have them at home. In fact, my past ferry experiences are limited to Sydney Harbour, Australia; the Outer Banks of North Carolina; Lake Champlain; Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, BC; and between St. Kitts and Nevis.  So the simple act of taking the ferry was fun. 

Our destination:  Moorea, as seen across the Sea of the Moon

The harbor at Vaiare

Once we arrived at the ferry dock at Vaiare on Moorea, we wasted no time taking an Alberts Shuttle for the 5 minute ride to the Sofitel Moorea (500 CFP per person). There we first had lunch overlooking the water and then settled in by the infinity pool for the remainder of the afternoon. Oooohhhh, I needed today. Gorgeous views, gentle breezes, not too hot, tropical drinks and that incredible infinity pool. 

These overwater bungalows are just over $1000 per night.

The infinity pool

We've visited the Intercontinental Moorea, the Hilton Moorea and now the Sofitel Moorea and the Sofitel was, without a doubt, my favorite. The setting with Tahiti right across the Sea of the Moon and a long, crescent stretch of beach is perfect, and its proximity to the ferry and Tahiti can't be beat.  I'll be honest, we did check on bungalows at the Sofitel. The cheapest ones were about US $650 per night with no food. The overwater bungalows go for almost $1500 a night. They had nothing available until Monday night, which is the issue we dealt with when we first were looking at hotels for these ten days off the Pacific Princess. We're paying $150 a night with breakfast at the Hotel Tiare Tahiti; we simply can't justify an additional $500 plus a night, even for just two nights. We can go there from Papeete for the day for around $100. We may well go back, maybe even tomorrow. We enjoyed it that much. 

The mountains above the ferry dock 

Sleeves of coconut, papaya and mango available for purchase at the ferry terminal on Moorea

We took a shuttle about 4:15pm to return to the ferry dock. The last ferry was at 4:40pm, and we didn't want to miss it. The roulottes were just setting up as we walked back to the Hotel Tiare Tahiti but we're worn out. After a full day at a beautiful resort, we're having chips and sandwiches washed down with beers on our balcony. Don't feel too sorry for us; we had a gorgeous sunset viewed right from our table. 

The streets of Papeete look their best in the glow of the early evening sun

Sunset view from our balcony at the Hotel Tiare Tahiti 

There is a strange Chinese ship in port tonight, next to the Paul Gauguin. We've seen a lot of what look to be students from the ship walking along the waterfront. We suspect it's an educational ship of some sort, but are thrown by the many and huge satellites. G wants to knock on their gangway and ask if they can get any TV channels in English. ;-)