Thursday 4/23/03 Moorea, French Polynesia<br><br> We were up early to watch the Dawn Princess sail into Opunohu Bay on the North Coast of Moorea, some 130 miles Southeast of Bora Bora. The sun had already risen at 5:17 A.M., so the craggy, emerald Mt. Rotui was already peaking out from the gray wisps of cloudy garlands capping its erose peak.<br><br> Breakfast on deck 14 was lively, as many passengers talked excitedly of the day’s tours. Moorea, or “yellow lizard” in Polynesian, is drop dead gorgeous as a scenic venue. The 53 square mile island, shaped like a butterfly, is a popular destination for upscale tourism. Cook’s Bay and Opunohu Bay are visited regularly by cruise ships. The Paul Gauguin was at anchor there already. The 4-masted Windjammer was to arrive later this morning. The tour buses would be full today.<br><br> We assembled in the deck 7 Vista Lounge and then walked school fashion, through the ship, to the gangway on deck 3 for boarding the ship’s tenders. The 20 minute ride into Papetoai village, ashore, was quick and uneventful. The air has hot and heavy with humidity even at this early hour.<br><br> The pier area is a simple jetty with a stone rest room and a nearby municipal building for the gendarmes. Several tents had been put up by local vendors hawking jewelry and Moorean arts and crafts. It had rained heavily a few hours before and the small rain puddles made the walk through the open field interesting. A dozen or so of the huge, air-conditioned land cruisers were waiting their aging cargos for the day’s tours.<br><br> The driver took us first up through the Governmental agricultural reservation, which covers 1/3 of the island, to the hills above and a scenic spot called the “Belvedere Lookout.” From here, about 2,000 feet above the ocean, we could look out on both Cook and Oponohu Bays. The deep blue of the far ocean, azure sky, studded with white puffy clouds, all accented the deep emerald of the lush vegetation on the island. We looked appreciatively for a time before being rounded up to continue our tour. The other buses were lumbering up the narrow roads as we came down. It made for interesting driving.<br><br> Along the sides of the road, our guide pointed out thin Mahogany trees, acacia, tulip, “lipstick” trees, guava, banana, teak, lice and Chinese chestnut trees along the roadside. The diverse arboreal growth is colorful and eye pleasing to look at. The “lipstick” tree had small fuzzy buds that when rubbed on lips or fingers had the same effect as rouge. Many of the island women wore it in place of costlier lipstick, hence the name of the tree.<br><br> About half way down the slope, we stopped at an ancient Marae. These are limestone temple sites where yearly the islanders had sacrificed humans in a ritual to please the great god Oro. In that older men ran the tribe, no nubile maidens were sacrificed, only men. These sacrifices are laced through the Hawaiian legends as part of the reason the ancient Hawaiians had fled the harsher culture of Bora Bora and Moorea. The temple area had fallen into disrepair, but a small grass-roofed hut and some printed information boards filled in the blanks. Nearby is a small waterfall, but we didn’t have time to walk the mile or so inland. Reportedly, the islander who owns the land you walk across to get there, charges a $2 levy on anyone crossing his land, capitalism in the tropics.<br><br> We stopped by a small grove of pineapple plants on the reservation. I always thought they grew on trees. Small bushes, with thin and wiry leaves, are carefully tended by laborers and then harvested for their sweet fruit. All around us was a profusion of flowers. The beautiful Japanese pagoda flowers hung from roadside trees. The tulip flowers were simply beautiful. Moorea is a gorgeous arboretum and botanical gardens that is a pleasure just to ride through and enjoy.<br><br> Along the coast road, we could see the island of Tahiti rising up from the ocean, some 11 miles away. The 4-masted Windjammer and the Paul Gauguin were sitting at anchor in turquoise Opunohu bay, the palm trees were swaying in the breeze, against the brilliant backdrop of multi hued sapphire sea, azure sky and emerald hills. It is a riot of soft tropical colors that dazzle the eye and smile the face. This island is the most beautiful in the chain and the one we would most like to return to.<br><br> The Moorea Sheraton again has those delightful grass-hutted rondevals, with glass bottomed floors, sitting on piers looking into the bay. The Moorea Pearl Beach and other luxury resorts compete for the high-end tourist trade. Curiously, the club med resort had closed two years back and not re-opened. <br><br> The bus limbered by the huge ferry facility. A large car ferry and a smaller and swifter catamaran ferry made regular, daily trips to nearby Tahiti. All high school students have to commute daily to Tahiti as well as many workers who commute daily. It must be a pleasant daily ride. The parking lot was crowded with cars of the many commuters. Everything on Moorea seemed to be prosperous and thriving.<br><br><br> The 4-hour tour ended at noon and we then browsed the vendors in the pier area for a time. The heat and humidity were intense, so we decided to hop the tender for the air-conditioned comfort of the Dawn Princess, sitting placidly at anchor in the bay. As we ascended the gangway, a blast of the cool air hit us and we again felt like E.T. returning gratefully to the mother ship. We re-hydrated ourselves and then sat for another gourmet pizza in La Scala at lunch. It revived us considerably.<br><br> An hour sunning on deck 12, in the intense tropical heat, enervated us. Even a dip in the small pool couldn’t revive us, so we headed to the cabin for a 2-hour nap. We slept like dead crocodiles in a swamp.<br><br> We were up in time to visit the Windjammers lounge on deck 14, to watch the 5:34 P.M. sunset, as we talked to the London kids, Janice and Jazz. The setting sun, against the backdrop of the aforementioned island beauty, was glorious. I think it is the simple pleasures like this that we most enjoy about the days activities. At 6:00 P.M. sharp, the Dawn Princess weighed anchor for the brief 11-mile sail to nearby Tahiti.<br><br> The Florentine room again summoned us to a memorable repast. Shrimp appetizers and a cold pear and walnut soup were exquisite. Then, Lobsters tails and a light parfait, all washed down with a Mondavi Merlot and decent coffee completed this wonderful dinner.<br><br> Topside, after dinner, we watched the Princess nudge her way into Papeete Harbor. She was berthing out in the commercial port for security reasons. We could watch half a dozen freighters lading cargo, the men and fork lifts scurrying here and there, noisy and busy at work. The Panamanian cargo vessel “Elsbeth” was lading cargo nearby.<br><br> We descended to deck 7, saw and talked with Laura and Kevin Hanley for a bit, before returning to the cabin to read and relax before surrendering to the welcome arrival of the sand man. It had been an interesting day on a lush tropical isle in the South Pacific.<br><br><br>
