Day30 – Feb 3 – Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
We’re in Tahiti! Today is all about culture, markets, and beer. We begin the day with a “West Coast Discovery Tour”, where we explored Tahiti’s ancient cultural grounds, and three lovely grottos. After the tour, we head to the indoor market, and enjoy several local beers. How could a day get any better?
Day 31 – Feb 4 – Raiatea, French Polynesia
Today is a special day for us – we are going diving! It has been over 10 years since we have been diving, and we are a little apprehensive. However, as soon as we do our “backroll” off the side of the boat, muscle memory takes over. We descend slowly, have no issues with our boyancy, and have a fabulous dive! I’m sorry that there are no diving pictures, but Melanie is already talking about buying a “Go Pro” for our next trip!
As we head back to the ship, we run into our cabin attendant, Ahmed. He is leaving us in Sydney, and we’ll be sorry to see him go! As we found out that he has three children at home, we are sending chocolate home with him for the kids.
Day 32 – Feb 5 – Bora Bora, French Polynesia
We didn’t have an excursion today, but instead walked around town on our own. We were welcomed by a musical group playing ethnic music, and then did a little shopping. Melanie found some water shoes in a local store, and we bought some local beer glasses for our pub at home. (As though we need more beer glasses!) We also ran into our butler, Roy as we were walking through town. We are very happy that he is staying on with us until Southampton!
We were scheduled to be here for two full days, but because of the path of a cylone, our captain decided to get ahead of it and reposition back to Papeete at the end of today. As safety is everyones’ first priority – there were no complaints!
Day 33 – Feb 6 – Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
As we were just here two days ago, we decided to have a lazy day walking around the town. We revisited the market, buying several local necklaces. We also re-visited the church in the center of town, which is designated as the “zero” kilometer, which all other locations are measured from. I’m also including pictures of a rubber tree and the angry coast line showing the initial impacts of Cyclone Nat.
Day 34/39 – Feb 7 – 13 – Sea Days
As we tried to outrun the cyclone Nat, we were forced to cancel the stop at Cook Islands. We were disappointed, however as I mentioned earlier, safety is the Captain’s first priority. We reverted to our new “normal” sea day schedule – work out, breakfast, morning activity (lecture, blog working, spa), lunch, afternoon actvity (lecture, dance class or spa), cabin time for computer work (paying bills, planning excursions, answering emails, etc.), dressing for dinner, pre-dinner drinks, dinner, and show. During this stretch we also had our “White Night” party, when we have a crew parade with many of the crew members carrying the flags of the countries represented onboard. It is a chance for the guests to cheer the crew, and show them our appreciation!
