Mo'orea, Society Islands of French Polynesia

Mo’orea, Society Islands of French Polynesia          Saturday, February 17, 2018

Around 9:30am we had a lovely tender boat cruise into Opunohu Bay to the village of Papetoai, landing at  the oldest European church in the South Pacific.

                                          It’s octagonal-shape makes this structure unique. 

The Queen Elizabeth was anchored in Cook’s Bay. We were greeted with fine Polynesian music and dancers.

Upon our arrival, the Avis Rental Company picked us up and took us to the Inter-Continental Hotel to finalize the paperwork. What a fantastic structure….open air. No air conditioning except in the restrooms and dining rooms.

                                              The views of the water were splendid.

We drove the car east heading for Belvedere….a winding road up a narrow paved path to the highest peak that can be reached by car.

The views of the sea, the jagged peaks of Mount Rotui and surrounding mountains were incredible.

We saw pineapples growing on the hillsides, as well as cattle and horses grazing in the limited flatlands.

We enjoyed the ride up and down the mountainside and then continued to stop along the waterfront to take in some of the gorgeous scenery.

                                                   Larry always enjoys  talking to the locals.

 There was only one gas station on the island. Not one traffic light. Most of the populated areas were basically villages with a Quickstop store and a few  small businesses.

We watched the car ferry arrive…around 50 cars got on and off. The high schoolers travel by a smaller ferry everyday at 5:30am to school in Papeete, 12 miles across the sea. Now that is an unusual ride to school.

We stopped at the Jus de Fruits de Moorea and sampled the Tahiti Punch, a blend of pineapple juice, vanilla and alcohol.

                                                                               Tasty!

                                   The famous huts overs the blue waters look very inviting.

Mo’orea is famous for its black pearls…quite an expensive investment for the perfectly round ones. They are farmed on all the islands and take five years to produce.

The island basically caters to the tourist trade with restaurants, hotels, and activities like jet skiing, golf, scuba diving, and parasailing. It was very laid back.

We covered 48 miles driving the entire circumference (37 miles) of the island. Our plans to snorkel were nixed by a tropical downpour.

We tendered back to the ship around 4:00pm …with the sail away at 5:00pm. Wheeee….another great day in a tropical island paradise.