Polynesian Adventure Day 5

 March 4:  Sunny, with scattered clouds and the usual 85 degrees with humidity.  And we had rainstorms, lasting 5 minutes or less.

The rest of yesterday was spent chilling at the villa.  The most ambitious thing that EP and PT did was to walk for two miles along the road passing closed shops and restaurants (it was Sunday after all).  After that we returned to the water.  BS and PT sat in the water for hours in the shade of the trees/palms.

Hibiscus flower.

Ditto.

One of several statues or monuments seen on our walk along the highway.

Ditto.

Ditto again....

Banana stalk.

A cell tower.

A cool looking gate.

Indian Mango, on the villa grounds.

Today, we decided to tour the island, driving counter clockwise.  Our first stop was at an historical church with views to the inland mountains.  

Eglise de la Sainte-Familia, in Haapiti

Breadfruit tree on the church grounds.

A road stop for a classic photo of the landscape.

Oleander.

Sea Hibiscus.

Shampoo ginger.

Next stop - "Tensies" at a food truck bakery with coffee - we got the first slices of a homemade coconut bread.

Next stop - an overlook (Toatea Viewpoint) on the northeast side with the Sofitel Hotel below.

Panorama view.  Tahiti in background under the clouds.

Next stop - a beach (Temae) below the overlook with a great public beach.  Swimming and snorkeling was called for.  Snorkelers spotted sting rays and black tip sharks.  The swimming worked up our appetites, so we had tasty lunches at Moz cafe,

One of the several ferry boats serving Moorea.

Next stop after lunch - The Belvedere de Opunohu, at 820 feet elevation.

The belvedere provides a good view of Mt. Rotui located between the two prominent bays of Moorea.

Captain Cook Bay.

The start of one of several trails at the belvedere.

LS playing with play-do.

Ditto.

We returned to villa after a quick stop for some groceries and almost immediately went into the water.  Dinner was at the Holy Steakhouse (another fine meal).  It was an active day and everyone crashed pretty quickly.

Lobster ravioli.

Taste of the Sea (tapas)

Holy Steakhouse.

Polynesian Adventure, Day 4

 Sunday, March 3rd:  Sunny and warm, and calm so far.

All yesterday, we played in and out of the water, snorkeling a bit and viewing lots of coral fish - white spotted puffer, yellow tang, unicorn fish, orange-spined tang, convict tang, fantail file fish, blue parrot fish,  moorish idol fish, picasso trigger fish,  yellow tail wrassel, long-nose butterfly, humbug docylus, sea cucumbers (two types), and maybe more.  The lagoon is flat and shallow all the way out to the dredged-ship channel that passes in front of the shore.  The channel is the route used by local tour boats to get to the two motu (or sand) islands.  There are restaurants and snack bars on the islands, grills, and lots of alcohol.

BS and SS swam to the islands (BS twice), while the elders supervised LS napping.  PT dragged a kayak and did a quick paddle along the shore.  The house provides two kayaks, 1 single and 1 double.  We will use them to visit the islands later (more on that later).

Last night, after happy hour (Brent made rum cocktails), we had dinner at the O2 Coco Restaurant and Bar.  The place was jumping with live music.  The food was good, the service friendly, and the tables were full by the time we left. 

The sunshine is intense and sunblock is neccesary for us white folks, even with clouds.  Also, reef-safe sunblock is a necessity.

 Photo by SS - SS and LS.

It is now a little later after lunch.  This morning, SS and BS swam, EP, ET and PT kayaked, with LS riding in the double kayak with EP and me, over to the two islands, stopping at the nearest one, and then deciding to go into the inlet between the islands, and ultimately landing on the second island.  SS and BS had a rather hard swim going upstream against a current flowing through the inlet.  The kayaks were stable but without much lateral tracking - EP comment was "I have had better steering in a bathtub."  LS was a very good passenger and sat quietly between my legs.  CP remained at the house with lots of swimming and snorkeling.

Photo by SS - The two-person kayak.

Photo by SS - LS ready to go.

Photo by CP - Loading up.

Photo by CP - Departure.

Our return trip was a bit easier since we went with the current.  BS said his and SS swim back was mostly just floating and riding the current.  They saw large sting rays and manta rays on the way home.

We are now enjoying a siesta after an active morning and lunch.

Polynesian Adventure, Day 3

February 29 & March 1st:  Sunny, with thin scattered clouds, 85 degrees for a high, 81 for the low.

EP, PT and ET spent most of Leap Day prepping for the flights.  We took a Lyft from home to the Portland airport with our 8 pieces of luggage.  We quickly completed the check in and security processes and  retired to the Delta Sky Lounge to await boarding.  

We flew from PDX to LAX arriving after sunset - view from airplane as it descended into the LA basin.

Our next leg was an overnight flight to Papeete, Tahiti.  The rest of our party gathered in an International  Lounge in LAX's Terminal B.  CP arrived from Boston, MA, nearly 4 hours before the Portland contingent, followed in less than hour by BS, SS, and LS.  We all enjoyed sampling the various snacks provided before boarding around 11 pm.  We were offered dinner, most declined, and then slept on the "lie-flat" seats.  Business class flying is the only way to go, particularly for long haul trips.  I watched the movie Oppenheimer  before sleeping.  We enjoyed an early morning breakfast just before arriving in Tahiti. about 6:30 am local time (8:30 by PST).

LS sleeping

We arrived in Papeete at sunrise on March 1, in warm, humid air.

Papeete Terminal

 

Our Air France plane

After passing through passport control and retrieving luggage, we obtained our Hertz rental, a large Peugeot van with plenty of room for ourselves and the luggage.  The drive to the port was during morning rush hour, taking a good 30 minutes or more, on crowded streets.  Other drivers were polite and it was uneventful.  The motorcycles and scooters pass all of the 4-wheeled vehicles by traveling on the median strip or between lanes.

Peugeot Boxer, large enough for 7 people and all of the luggage.  

After some waiting in the hot and humid terminal, we loaded up for a drive into town to catch a ferry from the island of Tahiti to Moorea.

We bought roundtrip tickets for the car, 6 adults and 1 child on one of three ferries going over to Moorea.  We waited about an hour before boarding.  Some of us walked into town to the market.  The ferry ride was nearly an hour in gently rolling sea.  We arrived on Moorea and had an easy drive around the coast road to Villa Tereva Nui.  We met Stefanie, who walked us around the various rooms and describe rather briskly all of the features and precautions.  I not sure I caught or remembered them all.

We all changed into swimming gear and immediately went into the "almost too warm" water.  But if felt great.  We have several hundred of level sand in the "lagoon" in front of the house.  It was slightly windy and there is a strong current so we have to work a little bit to stay in place.

View from the house to the water.

SS and LS testing the water.

Front of the villa.

View inland from villa.

Again

The entry.

Again.

Inside.

Kitchen.

Great room.

Part of the Deck.

After lounging, Brent went to bring back a lunch of cold salads.  We continued to vegetate until finally going out for grocery supplies - two trips.  For our final adventure of the day, we walked a few hundred yards from the villa to a very nice and accommodating dinner.  We all barely made it through eating before crashing.  It was a short evening.

March 2nd:  Great sleeping overnight and fully rested to continue our lounging.  Sunny and warm.  The gang roused at different times, so we had breakfast in shifts on the veranda - juice, cereal, and baguette.  We then took turns wading into the water.  The sea is much calmer, which makes it very easy to spot fish.  There is a generous supply of fish in many colors and sizes, along with sea cucumbers and some live coral.  We can see waves breaking over the boundary reef, maybe a quarter mile off shore, and a few small islands.