French Polynesia - Day Two - Island of Moorea

The next day we arrived in beautiful Moorea AND beautiful weather.  We were tendered to shore (Celebrity really is organized and makes everything hassle-free with no long line-ups).  Avis was waiting there to take us to our rental car (it is so worth it to book ahead, we were given first priority, as other passengers were wanting to rent a car).  

Again, we drove around the whole island (it's way smaller than Tahiti).  Went up to the Belvedere Lookout, stopped at a white sand beach to swim & had lunch at a restaurant on the only golf course in Moorea.  Again, there are not a lot of beaches on these islands, but the water colour is amazing and surreal.  There are only little communities around this island with a school, general store, some eateries, a gas station & a church.  This IS Tahiti.  Enjoy the pics.

Good morning MOOREA!!!

We were tendered to a place just around that point of land.

Love this picture!!!

This is how they display their cell phone towers.  aha

That is Tahiti in the distance.

The beach we spent some time at.

From my view in the water.  That's Bob standing in the middle of the pic.

You can see the land from just under the water.  Bob thinks this is very artistic.  haha

Wish you were here to see this.

Can't stop taking pics of the water.

Moorea Golf Course

My lunch and the best Cheeseburger I've ever had!!!  I love the way they say Cheeseburger in French Polynesia,

I needed a napkin bib for this burger.

The Golf Course washroom.

Our car.  At least they drive on the right side of the road here.  No stress.  haha

Belvedere Lookout

Closer up, you can see our ship.

Sunset in Moorea from our balcony.  Goodbye Moorea.  :(

The next day was Bora Bora (gets better).   Although we didn't drive around Bora Bora, we got to go around it and see it from a small boat.

Stay tuned.

French Polynesia - Day One - Island of TAHITI

Well, we just finished our 3 days in French Polynesia (Tahiti, Moorea & Bora Bora).  All the islands are considered 'Tahiti' although Tahiti island is the main island with the most population & it is the least interesting & least beautiful out of the 3.  It has no 'real' beaches and the beaches they do have are all black sand or black rocks.  Still beautiful (looks a lot like Hawaii), but not what you would expect if you didn't do research ahead of time.  The island of Moorea is more like the Tahiti people think of & have been shown in photos.  

It was funny because we actually saw several Tahitians walking down the street with bags of french bread baguettes.  This is definitely a french speaking community.  Many of the locals we talked to, although super friendly, did not speak English.   There were lots of street-smart dogs everywhere and the island is very clean (although not as clean as Moorea & Bora Bora).  

The weather was overcast and rainy when we arrived in Tahiti.  The sky never cleared up and the rain was off and on (mostly off).  Super hot (35 C) and humid.  We were met at the cruise dock by Hertz and were taken to the airport to get our car.   We drove around the whole island (going up some side roads up residential areas).  The island is just over 100 kilometers in circumference.  Here are our pics from the Island of Tahiti & it's city Pape'ete.

That evening the ship put on a great Tahitian music & dance show with the local entertainers.  

Woke up a couple of hours before we docked and when I opened our curtains, this is what I saw.  This is actually the island of Moorea (which is very close to Tahiti Island).  There is a ferry service between the 2 islands.  Many of the Moorea residents work in Pape'ete on Tahiti.

Docking in Pape'ete.

Our rental car.

The rocks on this beach in the previous pic.

There are numerous churches on these islands.

Typical of all the coastline.

One road off the beaten track (the whole island is lush).  There is no dry side like the Hawaiian Islands.  Tahiti is pretty much the same distance from the equator as Hawaii, but of course it's in the southern hemisphere.

Not sure if this a memorial or just an opportunity to put a nice little garden beside the road. (That's a turquoise garbage bag on the right side of the picture).

Don't know the name of this fruit.  I couldn't understand what the ladies at the fruit stand were saying.  haha

We tried buying this papaya from the ladies at the fruit stand but they didn't have change for the denomination of Franc I had, so they insisted we take it for free.  What lovely people.  I gave them a Canadian 5 dollar bill and they thought that was great.  haha

We shared the papaya, eating it with our hands.  

Interesting flowers

Fern Grotto and cave

Pape'ete (from the ship)

Moorea in the distance

Tahitian show at poolside on the ship that night.  

Tahitian Musicians

Interesting without flash

 The next day we were in Moorea & the next day Bora Bora   The weather was perfect for the next 2 French Polynesia islands.  Will now prepare the next 2 posts.  Hope you enjoy.  Moorea & Bora Bora will blow your minds.  Stay tuned.