March 17, 2018 – Moorea, Society Islands

Jim spent his birthday in paradise today, and it was a great day – warm, mostly sunny weather on the beautiful island of Moorea, a St. Patrick’s Day party on board Crystal Symphony, dinner at the Prego specialty restaurant, and a show by the traditional Tahitian dance group “O Tahiti E” brought onboard ship in Papeete. 

James Michener said it, Captain James Cook said it, and even Charles Darwin is said to have said it, so we can too: Moorea, in French Polynesia, is probably the most beautiful place on the face of the earth. Its dramatic scenery was made famous as Bali Hai in the movie South Pacific, then again in the 1983 Mel Gibson movie, The Bounty. It has long been known as the Romantic Island. We were lucky today, as the rain from Bora Bora didn’t follow us to Moorea overnight. It did remain somewhat cloudy all day, until Symphony’s departure for Tahiti in late afternoon, when the rain started again.

Moorea (sometimes seen spelled as Mo’orea) is a heart-shaped island, with two fjord-like deep bays on its north shore on either side of a very tall mountain range -- Opunohu Bay on the west side, and Cook’s Bay on the east side. The entire island is surrounded by coral reef and a spectacular turquoise-blue lagoon. The island of Tahiti is located only 11 miles away, to the east of Moorea.

Symphony was anchored this morning near the mouth of Opunohu Bay, and we caught the 8:45 tender boat to the docking point at the Papetō'ai Pier. Our travel agent, through their Signature Connection alliance, arranged for a private car and local guide to take us on a guided sightseeing tour of Moorea, starting at 9:30. While waiting for the guide, we looked at the souvenirs for sale by local merchants at the tables set up at the pier and admired the octagonal Papetō'ai Protestant Church (built by missionaries in the 1800s).

Our guide, Depita, arrived exactly on time, and we began with a short drive along the coast and then along Opunohu Bay, until turning inland for a drive into the lush, forested interior of the island passing by a rather large shrimp “farm,” as Depita called it, and an agriculture school. She then drove on a narrow road up the sides of an extinct volcano to the Belvedere Lookout (at 790 feet) for grand views of the island, especially Mt. Rotui (2,624 feet) in the center, separating the two bays.

There are three other volcanic peaks on the island – Mt. Tohiea (3,959 ft.), Mt. Puta (2,722 ft.), and Mt. Roa (2,499 ft.), which is called Bali Hai in the movie South Pacific.

We returned to the (only) main road – the one that circles the island – and started our 37-mile circumnavigation of the island, in a clockwise direction. We glimpsed a few of the almost-hidden large hotels, such as the Hilton and the Intercontinental. We made a quick stop at the Manutea factory and showroom. Here, they prepare and package many different fruit juices and drinks, especially pineapple, (marketed under the Rotui and Sunwave brands), as well as fruit purees, smoothies, iced tea, and jams. They’ve also expanded into distilling liquors from the pulp of their fruits, as well as creamy alcoholic drinks and pineapple wine. We sampled some of the fruit juice drinks, but turned down the alcoholic drink samples.

 
Next, we circled Cook’s Bay; despite the name, Captain Cook first explored Moorea from his anchorage at Opunohu Bay in 1777, not from the bay now named for him. The scenery on Moorea is different from what we’ve been seeing in other Pacific islands – green rolling hills, backed by tall, imposing mountain peaks with gorgeous beaches and the ever present blue lagoon. This island seems to have it all. We believe so many movies have been filmed here because there isn’t a lot of ultra-modern construction or industrialization on the island. We saw fields of bananas, pineapple, mango, papaya, breadfruit, taro, and avocado. 

There are 17,000 people living on Moorea, but there is nothing even faintly resembling a city. People, houses and small shops are scattered all around the island, and they’re surrounded by nature wherever they live. The only location where there was a build-up was at the Gare Maritime, boat terminal for the ferry boats making the 30-minute ride between Moorea and Papeete (Tahiti) many times daily. We stopped there, and our guide bought us some fresh pineapple at the fruit market. She says she only goes to Tahiti when she has to, because there are too many people, cars, and traffic there. When she visits her daughter, who is a policewoman in Papeete, she always takes fresh fruits to her. 

Jim took some photos from the Toatea panoramic viewpoint on the east side of Moorea Island, right above the Hotel Sofitel, with the island of Tahiti in the background. It’s obvious where the reef is located, separating the turquoise-blue lagoon from the dark-blue Pacific Ocean.

 

As we passed by the west coast of the island, returning to the Papetō'ai Pier, it seemed less “developed” (i.e., less housing and small stores). But the lagoon was still beautiful, and vegetation abounded. It was a good tour, and we especially enjoyed not getting on and off a tour bus at each stop. Plus, of course, you learn more about what life is like by talking to local people on a private tour.

After the tender ride back to the ship, we had lunch on the back deck of the ship with our friends Butch and Diane, who are on the same world cruise itinerary as we are – switching ships in Sydney harbor, from Crystal Serenity to Crystal Symphony and staying on all the way to Fort Lauderdale.

The sail-away was especially beautiful today from the aft end of the ship, with great views of the jagged mountain peaks and spires that give Moorea its unique profile.

Symphony departed Moorea at 4:00 p.m., destined for the island of Tahiti. Total length of the cruise was two hours, so arrival in Papeete was at 6:00 p.m.

At 5:00 p.m., the entertainment team put on a very nice St. Patrick’s Day party in the Starlite Club. We were given one gold hat, one green hat, and green beads to wear to the party, as well as a book of Irish songs. There was a lot of singing, dancing, and drinking. The party was planned by Jonathon Hawkins and Alex (an Irish gal who is one of the singers/dancers). We had a good time, but had to leave at 6:00 to go to the Prego specialty restaurant for dinner. They presented Jim with a birthday cake for desert, even though neither of us had told them that it was Jim’s birthday.

We’ll continue with a description of the late-night local Tahitian dancing show brought on board Symphony, in our next posting -- from Papeete. 

Jim & Ginny