March 16 - Moorea

Last night we sailed to Moorea Island. Moorea is a South Pacific island and is part of French Polynesia. It's known for its jagged volcanic mountains and sandy beaches. In the north, Mount Rotui dominates the skyline and overlooks picturesque Ōpūnohu Bay and the settlements around Cook's Bay. Much like Bora Bora, Moorea checks off all the boxes when you dream of a tropical paradise.

We booked an excursion to take a circular tour of the island.  It turned out that both Linda and Arlene had also reserved a seat. Our guide was a bit on the crude side but was generally humorous. The roads on Moorea are much better than the roads on the other islands. Our bus was air conditioned and comfortable.

The first stop was on Belvedere Lookout which has panoramic views of the island’s peaks and inlets. Getting out of the bus seat I slipped and, in the attempt to catch myself, I reinjured my shoulder. It is nothing serious, but it sure did hurt of a few minutes.

On the way down from Belvedere Lookout, we stopped at the ruins of an ancient Polynesian temple. It was believed that the temple was protected by the god Ta'aroa. So, the French missionaries destroyed the temple to prove the might of the Christian God. It is still considered that removing a stone from the temple will bring bad luck.

Next, we went to a Tiki village. This was a real head scratcher as it is neither a souvenir shop nor a cultural experience.  It ranks somewhere in between. We then continued the trip with photo stops at some very memorable locations. 

We saw several high-end resorts and a couple of resorts that had been closed due to either 9/11 or Covid.

The highlight for me was seeing the Moorea Green Pearl Golf Club. This is a Jack Nicklaus designed course and the number and size of water hazards on the holes visible from the highway is scary.

At end of the tour, we stopped at the driver’s wife’s Jewelry boutique. It was awfully expensive. She did not get much business from this tour.

This is the last night of the cruise and we all meet in the Grand Dinning Hall, for one last supper until we meet again in 2024.