01/17/12 Bora Bora

Two days in a row on beautiful islands is some kind of wonderful and we were very lucky weatherwise—it has rained for the last 5 days here, but today was sunshine with steamy temperatures in the 80s. Bora Bora has been known as the “Pearl of the Pacific” even before modern advertising.  The island was named by Captain Cook, poorly it seems, since there’s no “B” in the Polynesian language. The locals pronounce it more like “Pora Pora”. One of the great moments of history came when the U. S. Navy discovered it in World War II. An airport was built and guns placed at viewpoints around the island. It became a logistical base, but all of the battles stayed thousands of miles away. Bora Bora had to be the greatest place to be deployed in the South Pacific.

Like Moorea, Bora Bora is surrounded by a barrier reef and lagoon. The first picture shows approaching the island by boat. There is only one channel through the lagoon that brings you into the administrative center, Vaitape. The island has some services, including a small medical center and elementary schools. For serious hospital stays and education beyond elementary school you must go to Tahiti by air. In spite of the lack of some services, this island is home to some beautiful and expensive resorts, with names like 4 Seasons and Sofitel and “rooms” in little cottages built over the water.

We chose to tour the island in a 4WD jeep-like vehicle. In addition to driving around the island (it’s only 15 square miles), we drove up into the hills for some glorious viewpoints. As you can see by the second picture, the roads into the interior were less than perfect and we were shaken around quite a bit. We got to one of the gun placements with beautiful views across the channel and around the reef. And the third picture shows our last stop on the hill containing the cell and TV tower. We did not get into the water. The only public beach was a way from the ship and, actually, not real great. The large hotels have confiscated all the good beaches, as you might expect. Talking to some people who did snorkel, the conditions were much like those we experienced on Moorea yesterday.

We’ve had 2 beautiful days in Paradise. Now we have a day at sea before arriving at Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Hopefully we’ll make a landing. Seabourn has tried to land here the last 2 years on cruises, but the swells have been so large that using the tenders was considered too dangerous. Will the third time be a charm????

01/16/12 Moorea

We’ve made it to Tahiti and docking in Papeete feels like being part of a large city.  Friends who drove around the island say it feels crowded the entire way around. We decided, however, to leave the crowds behind and take a ferry to Moorea—12 miles away. It’s the home of the legendary Bali Hai and background for Mel Gibson’s “Mutiny on the Bounty” from the 80s. It’s lush and mountainous with a lagoon, bounded by coral reef,  that is a beautiful turquoise.  It’s almost too much for the senses. Unfortunately, all is not perfect in the South Pacific and it rained off and on all day, but the clouds made the mountains very mysterious looking.

In the first photo, you can see Tahiti in the distance from a viewpoint in Moorea. The second photo captures the sacred Mount Mouaputa. The entire island used to be a giant volcano and Mount Mouaputa the lava cone in the center. A massive eruption millions of years ago caused a big chunk of the island to fall off, leaving Mount Mouaputa standing guard over two beautiful bays. The third picture is “Bali Hai”. For those who have seen the musical “South Pacific”, this is the mountain that is pictured in the distance as the mystical island Bali Hai. Interestingly, Bali Hai was made up by James Michener—the words have no meaning in English or Polynesian. By the way, before leaving NC, we watched the Mary Martin version of “South Pacific” and the Glen Close version of “South Pacific” and we prefer Mary Martin. We got these beautiful shots by driving up into the interior of the island to the Belevedere Lookout.

Then it was into a boat, skimming across the lagoon. Interestingly, there wasn’t much coral and what there was has died do to overuse of the bays by we humans. There were few fish that we saw, but there were a lot of stingrays and black tipped sharks. The stingrays were about 2 feet across and very gentle. As they glided past your legs and over your feet, the underside is very soft. The sharks were about 3 feet long and we didn’t get very close. Unfortunately, the weather was nasty, so we didn’t do the snorkeling we had hoped to do.

We ended at a picnic on the beach of a small island in the lagoon and as the fifth photograph shows, we enjoyed the local beer.

Hiva Oa

This is Hiva Oa, the largest of the Marquesas Islands. It has 2000 inhabitants, mostly in Atuona, where we’re docked. It’s noted for whom died here. Paul Gauguin spent the last 2 years of his life here and there’s a cultural center named for him and his reconstructed house—The House of Pleasure. But there are no paintings—not one! Jacques Brel, the Belgian-born popular singer died here in 1978. He too has a museum, including his private plane.

As you can see, it’s a lovely island. You would recognize in a minute that it’s in the South Pacific. We, however, did not make it ashore. The seas didn’t seem rough on the ship, but the tenders to the pier were bobbing around like crazy. The Captain said it was just outside his comfort margin, but he felt it OK to go ahead. We took seasick medicine and went to the tender dock and just as we were ready to step on the dock, a wave washed over it and drenched everyone on it. Fortunately, we were the first people out of range. We turned around and decided we would enjoy the island from afar. I know, I know, we’re cowards!

Papeete on Monday—should have a great report there. We’re taking a trip to Moorea. Before then, 2 days at sea.

01/12/12 Nuku Hiva

Greetings from Taiohae, Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands. These islands are part of French Polynesia and are northeast of Tahiti. Unlike much of the South Pacific, they are not surrounded by reefs, so the sand is volcanic. Not great sand and an abundance of midges/noseeums make beaching here a low priority. Additionally the islands are arid, so there’s not the lush greenery. Nuku Hiva is the largest of the Marquesas Islands, with about 2700 inhabitants and Taiohae is the center of the Marquesas Islands government. French is spoken and few understand English.

We did get off the boat this morning and walked about a mile and a half around town—Betsy without her boot, wearing low hikers. There’s no air conditioning and all the buildings, including church and school are open to the outdoors. One of the highlights this morning was a visit to the Notre Dame Cathedral of the Marquesas, shown in two of the pictures. The interior is simple, but full of magnificent carvings. One picture shows a carving of the Virgin and child, with Polynesian features, and above their heads, the Polynesian cross.

For the literary types, this is where Herman Melville was inspired to write “Typee”. His characters, however, had to sneak away from the island to avoid cannibals.

5th Day at Sea

5^th day at sea. We wondered if we would be bored to tears by now and the answer is NO! Time has included some naps (Betsy), reading (both) and playing Spite & Malice (Rick is winning by 5). But there have also been some excellent lectures by Bulent Atalay, a professor, writer, physicist and artist. He has written books, one of which is about the 2 Leonardos (Fibonnaci and Da Vinci) and is currently writing one about Beethoven, Newton and Leonardo. There has been much discussion about the Fibonnaci (sp?) sequence and perfect rectangle—things this math major hasn’t thought about in years. It brought back memories of teaching  8^th graders about the perfect proportion using the movie “Donald Duck in Mathemagic Land”. We haven’t been so excited about the guest lecturer, who discusses Naval History…..  We read downloaded newspapers in the library to keep up with things. The trip has been restful and enjoyable so far.

Big day today. Betsy is starting to wear shoes! I’m slowly weaning myself from the “boot” I’ve worn since my stress fracture was diagnosed. Of course they’re big old ugly sneakers, but my knee enjoys the lack of extra weight of the boot.

We’ve traveled 2200 miles and have 700 miles to go before we arrive in the Marquesas Islands day after tomorrow. Our first stop will be on the island of  Nuku Hiva. This afternoon we cross the equator and the temperatures are getting warmer—upper 70s. The water temperature is in the low 80s and, for the first time today, the sun is out. Life is good!

The Ship Has Come In

Nixon Library was very interesting. With the exception of Watergate, he had the makings of a great president. He submitted a universal healthcare proposal to Congress and the Democratic congress wouldn’t consider it. He also started the EPA. Given the situation today, he might be a democrat! Enough politics….

This is our home for the next 60 days—the Seabourn Odyssey. She’s parked next to the Queen Mary and you can she that she’s pretty small by comparison—hope it’s a smooth ride. We have prescription seasick medicine, Bonine and watches that zap electrical impulses to pulse points in your wrist—we’ll let you know what works. We survived the Drake Passage on our trip to Antarctica, so I assume these same things will work on the Pacific.

Bon Voyage! Our next update will be in a few days at sea.

The Journey Begins

Do we have enough stuff?? 8 bags and 7 hours later, we're at our hotel in Long Beach. It looks like it would be an interesting city to explore if it wasn't for the booted stress fracture! Today we locate the garage where we'll store the car and the port, so we know where to go tomorrow. Then it's off to the Nixon Museum, where we understand the Watergate Room has been updated to actually admit that some shady dealings actually did occur!!!