French Polynesia - Bora Bora or bust! Part Two

            MOOREA, FAKARAVA, RANGIROA

welcome champagne

excellent library

We explored our room and the ship, and took
a short break in the lovely library. Later, we said goodbye to Papeete, and enjoyed the scenery while we recovered from our long flight.

It was a hazy day when we anchored offshore at our next destination. Moorea,  meaning yellow lizard,  is located 19 km. west of the island of Tahiti. It is unique in that it has both white sand and black volcanic sand beaches.  

Mount Tohivea and Mount Rotui are tall,   
jagged and memorable landmarks.

We stepped ashore, received a flower which we now knew was not a snack, and enjoyed the local music and dancing with which we were greeted. Unfortunately, I did not realize that my lens would fog up from the heat, so at this point, my photos were still a bit hazy. (I used proper lens wipes to avoid this problem in future)

We boarded our Ohana Catamaran cruise excursion and went on a lagoon tour. The water was a pristene pool colour, and the current was noticeable as people attempted to snorkel. Locally grown fruit and assorted snacks were served and they were delicious.

I'm not ashamed to admit that this sight made me cry. I couldn't believe where I was...not Bora Bora yet, but near enough to see some over the water bungalows off in the distance.

In Fakarava, we opted to check out the local souvenir stands and wander along the scenic street. We opted for the early morning since we thought it might be cooler. After about 15 minutes of perspiring through all our clothing and feeling the burning sun's scorch, we headed back to the ship. First, we took some photos of the scenery and interesting buildings. Again, we were greeted with flowers and local talent.

We found the plants,the churches, and the school to be of particular interest. We were informed that the main religion on the islands is Christianity and that the majority are Protestant with a lesser number of Roman Catholics. There are also some Buddhists and Jehovah's Witnesses. The churches serve as centres, integral parts of the community, providing support and entertainment.  

School

We didn't get off  the ship at Rangiroa, but opted to stay aboard. The town was some ten kilometres from the tender pier and the only tour available was a glass bottom boat ride.

Instead, I spent some time reading about French Polynesia and learned that the Society Islands which we were visiting were one of five groups of islands and atolls comprising French Polynesia.

*** I have no idea why some of these descriptions are underlined. I can't seem to get rid of the lines.

Still to come  -   PART THREE - BORA BORA, RAIATEA, HUAHINE.
        PART FOUR - PACKING ESSENTIALS