Day 3 - Moorea

Day Three: 11 September, 2010 - Moorea

Ia Orana! (e-ah rah-nah) Tahitian greeting


Where the heck is Moorea?  Click the link below to take you there in Google maps.


Map of Moorea

If anyone is/was wondering why the sporadic (an now belated) blog update cycle, when we finally found internet, it was 1000 Polynesian Francs (about $12) per hour.  It was a wireless connection but it was worse than any dial-up we have ever used.  Regardless, we bit the bullet, got 2 hours worth to make our first blog posts, sent out a Happy Anniversary wish to the Lecher and Hart gangs and each checked our e-mails.  We are home now (21 Sept.) so posts will be robust, plentyful and many more pics available.  If anyone ever considers doing a blog while out and about, you may think twice as it is quite time consuming especially with slow connections from remote parts of the world.

Good Morning from Moorea!  We started at around 5:30, made coffee (and Coke "light" for Paula) and watched the sunrise just off the deck of the bungalow.  Unbelievable how clear the water is with chunks of coral scattered all over the lagoon.

Sunrise from Moorea

View of the deck - 1st morning in an overwater bungalow

Looking north just after sunrise

About a 5 minute walk along the pontoons where everyone gathers for breakfast.

Moorea Hilton - Main restaurant

Moorea Hilton - Pool and Reception Area

After breakfast we took a stroll and took a look at the various opportunities for activites before we opted for a little time back on the deck and another swim.  Underwater is a whole new world...

One of many species of butterfly fishes - These things follow you around while swimming

Either a sea slug or urchin, either way I wouldn't mess with it

One of many species of  puffer fish 

A barnicle looking thing that comes in many colors, but spooks easily

Gonna have to research what type of fish this is, but was it ever brilliantly colored

More fishy pics later... time for lunch where we made friends with the restaurant staff and Paula found her next favorite thing to Diet Coke...   

Paula finds grapefruit... and it's green!

Fresh caught seared tuna salad, YUM!

Tahitian and French are spoken mostly but it seems everyone understands FRESH!

We filled a liter bottle with FRESH squeezed juice and we are good to go

Had a few 3 o'clock variety showers pass by but it was really nice to just sit back for a change.

Looking east at passing afternoon showers


Happy Birthday Pat! (Andrew's bro-in-law, hockey player, avid Thirsty Thursday promoter, BUT also a Florida Gators fan), We did celebrate your b-day Tahitian style with the local biere... Hinano.  It's pretty tasty.

The storms DO make for really nice sunsets and the lighting underneath the bungalows adds an almost eery glow.

Moorea sunset - Day 3

For dinner we visited the Restaurant Aito, an open air venue right on the water where we had a HUGE chunck of fresh mahi mahi and a marinated raw tuna dinner that was interesting.  Most of the pics did not come out well due to the lighting but I did manage an unfocused image of the host that carried around the "menu", a chalkboard that he would set in the sand at the various table as new customes came in.  We couldn't read it anywasy as it was in French.