Moorea - September 2001

8/23/01 We sailed to Moorea from Tahiti yesterday. It was raining the first part of the day, but then the weather improved nicely. My brother Don arrived Sat. night, for a week's visit. Sunday we circumnavigated Tahiti in a car. There are some really beautiful spots on the island. We went to the French Polynesia History Museum, a small but extremely interesting museum. We stopped for lunch at the Gaughan Museum restaurant. They had several large fish pens in front of the restaurant; guess the fish on the menu is pretty fresh. We continued around the island, stopping at one of the biggest waterfalls on the island. Allot of beautiful sites! Monday we spent the afternoon in Papeete; always an interesting day, very reminiscent of a small French city. We stopped at a local brewery; great beer. Tuesday we went had a really nice snorkeling trip. We went inside the reef so it would be a little calmer; lots of nice coral and nice small fish. We did the last little bit of grocery shopping, getting fresh fruits and vegetables for the rest of the week. Shopping, even grocery shopping, is something we really enjoy when we're in foreign places. Wednesday we headed out of Tahiti, anchored in Moorea about 2 pm. I dove on the anchor to make sure we were set well, then continued with a short dive around the coral by our boat, while Don snorkeled. There is supposed to be a huge school of rays close to here. I saw a small one, about 6 feet tip to tip. We went to the local Beachcomber hotel, where we had a bbq and watched a traditional dance performance. Today we'll probably go to the local village, then more snorkeling. We're trying to talk Don into getting scuba certified. This area has some great diving; lots of big fish and coral to see, not to mention the more beautiful small fish. Ruth...-
Anchorage between the reef and Opunohu Bay
Landmark octagonal church at the anchorage
Guy and Melissa aboard Pneuma
Michael and Joanne from Destiny
Looking south on the eastern side of the island...note the pass in the background where the ferry from Papeete enters the reef
Canoeists at the Opunohu anchorage
Greg, Markus, Chris, Guy and Melissa at the "belvedere" (overlook) with Cook's Bay in the background
Melissa after a potlock...and pamplemouses
Queen for a day