Rangiroa, French Polynesia

The high winds and rain forced the cruise line to cancel all shore excursions in Rangiroa.  So, we went ashore on the tender anyway and went for a walk along the beach and visited one of the island hotels.

Rangiroa, meaning "huge sky", is the largest atoll of Tahiti and her islands, and one of the the four largest in the world. It has more than 240 motu (islets) separated by more than 100 "hoa", small channels that make up its ring of coral.

The island features warm, blue tropical waters. Even though the sun was not out very much while we were there, the colors on the water were still magnificent.

We gathered under this tree during downpours and when the sun would peak through.  The tree was located close to the tender area. Dolphins chased the ship into the lagoon upon our arrival. 

 

Debbie and I walked down the road to visit the Hotel Kiaora.  The grounds were beautiful. 

Most of the hotels and airports in French Polynesia are covered but are open to the outside.

  

 

This dock led out the the cutest bar. Other than one guest checking into the hotel, we did not see anyone outside. 

Our next port of call is Raiatea, the only port other than Papeete that has a harbor deep enough for the ship to moor at the pier. No tenders, YEA!

Huahine, French Polynesia

The second island we visited was Huahine the "Wild Island".  Huahine lies 100 miles from Tahiti. These first three pictures were taken from the Belvedere de MAROE.

Huahine consists of two islands that are connected by this bridge.  There are four villages on each island. 

The MAROE lookout provided some awesome views of the lagoon. 

The Ocean Princess anchored in the lagoon.  

Huahine has only one waterfall and we got to see it. I love waterfalls!

400 year old stone fish traps still in use today.  

 The rainy season runs from November to April. A lot of rain fell while we were there, but sometimes it felt really good in the 90 degree heat with 85% humidity.

  

We visited a vanilla plantation.  The coconut shells visible at the bottom of the first picture keep the sun from drying out the roots.

This is a good picture of the vanilla bean while it is still on the vine. The vines grow on an orchard, the flower of which has no color or perfume.  The flower is pollinated by hand to produce the bean.  I brought home some vanilla beans, extract and vanilla coffee from the plantation.

Many years ago, a lady who lived on Huahine loved the fresh water blue-eyed eels.  She fed them and took care on them while the rest of the people didn't care about the eels.  When she passed away the village decided to continue caring for the eels and now they are a major tourist attraction.

 There were many eels swarming around to get some of the mackerel that they were being fed.  I took many photos trying to get a good picture of their blue eyes and just could not catch one in the right position.  I purchased this photo on the ship.

At the end of the day, some of the local dancers and musicians came onboard the ship to entertain us.  

Next up is Rangiroa. 

Papeete Tahiti

I just returned from a vacation to the Cook Islands in the South Pacific with my friend Debbie. We flew from LA to Papeete where we spent two days seeing the sights around the island. Upon our arrival in Papeete, we stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel. The grounds were just spectacular.

 

I loved this bar!

These huts are very popular throughout French Polynesia. They are very expensive - starting at $800.00 per day and going up from there. 

 

This was our view from our dinner table at the La Lotus Restaurant in Papeete. 

I loved these lights, fitting in perfectly with 

the scenery around the resort. It reminded me of Disney. 

The top three industries in Tahiti are tourism, pearls and agriculture. Tahiti has 18-22 districts and each has their own manager. There is no crime, no guns and no gangs. 

118 islands make us the Tahitian Islands and 65 of those are inhabited. Approximately 180,000 people live on the main island where the cars number 200,000 and they do not carpool.

 

A three bedroom house away from Papeete costs $200,000 and gas costs $8.00 per gallon. 

We walked to Faarumai Falls, which happened to be owned by our tour guide's family; the result of a human sacrifice in the 1700's. The water fall is over 200 meters tall.

The bottom of the falls. 

 

Check back soon for photos of our next stop: Huahine, Polynesia.

Yakima Christmas Lights

Last evening Susan and I drove around Yakima to look at the Christmas light displays, one of my favorite things to do during the holidays. Here are some of our favorites.

Happy Holidays!