Moorea, Tahiti, French Polynesia - November 24, 2013

Moorea is an island in French Polynesia, part of the Society Islands, roughly 9 miles northwest of Tahiti. Moorea means "yellow lizard" (Ie. Geckos) in Tahitian. Early Western colonists and voyagers also referred to Moorea as York Island. The island looks the way you probably imagine a tropical paradise to look (even unsightly power cables are buried underground to further the paradisiacal effect). Moorea is about 10 miles from west to east. There are two almost small symmetrical bays. The one to the west is called 'Opunohu Bay which isn't very populated. The main surrounding communes of the bay are Piha'ena in the east and Papeto'ai to the west. The one to the east is the Cooks bay but is also called the Pao Pao bay. The other communes are Piha'ena to the west and busy Maharepa to the east. The highest point of Mount Tohi'e'a is at the center of Moorea and can be seen from the two bays and Tahiti. If you are visiting French Polynesia on a budget, Moorea is the place to go. Moorea is like Tahiti but cheaper and less touristy. It's mostly rural and farming is big. There are chickens everywhere; the roosters crowing at 6 am can get old after a few days. Everybody speaks Tahitian and French. Anybody working in tourist services will speak enough English to get by, although it's not well spoken by the general public. The roads are surprisingly good and the main roads are all paved and quite wide. There is virtually no public transportation on Moorea, and taxis are expensive. Money goes fast in Tahiti and on all the islands. French Polynesia has the third highest cost of living in the world after Switzerland and Japan. The local currency is the CFP Franc.

We had a great six hour plus tour today with the friendly people with Cruise Critics - this was our first tour with them. Marianne organized this Snorkel, Manta Ray with Motu island three hour break wonderfully. All 39 of us had great smiles throughout the day. As this is quick timing today, we are in our next port now, I will let the pictures better define our day. And yes for those who know about about best breakfast experience ever, I did repeat with a most incredible viewed breakfast experience this morning. Ah, paradise.