Moorea Sunset

Ferry back to Papeete

When we first arrived to Papeete International in Tahiti we took a small 10 person propeller plane to transfer to Moorea. It was a quick 5 min flight. Our our way back we took a 30 min ferry ride. The waters were so choppy that we were both a bit sea sick.

Newborn kittens

We went to visit a Black Pearl wholesaler in her home and here are her newborn kittens. Black Pearls are a huge business in French Polynesia. Vendors will even pick you up from your hotel just to get you to come in and look with "no obligation to buy" of course.

Dr. Michael Poole's Dolphin Eco tour

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The Moorea Dolphin Center was a unique experience in it's own but the dolphins there are captive and are trained by humans. Dr. Michael Poole's Dolphin Eco tour gave us a glimpse of seeing dolphins as they behave in the wild. The dolphins in this footage are spinner dolphins which are smaller in size compared to the bottlenose dolphins we saw at the Moorea Dolphin Center. Not suprisingly, Dr. Poole has very strong opinions about the The Moorea Dolphin Center. He also doesn't waste much time when it comes to his research. While on the tour, you could often see him voice recording his observations.

Dolphin Center

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Turtle Sanctuary and Dolphin Center

On Thur, we went to visit the Turtle Sanctuary and Dolphin Center at the InterContinental Resort. It was an absolute thrilling experience to be physically so close to the bottlenose dolphins and to be able to touch them.

Random scooter stops

Lagoon Tour - BBQ on a Motu + Rays

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We stopped on a motu island to have a BBQ and here are some more Rays. If you want to get the attention of the other fish, all you have to do is put a chicken bone in the water. The wild chickens are also cannibals as they love BBQ chicken (you can hear them in the background of the video).

Moana Lagoon Tour - Ray feeding

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On Wed, we went on the Moana Lagoon Tour where you sail around Cooks and Opunohu Bay. We stopped at one designated area where you could snorkel and watch small sharks being fed from a short distance. At a second lagoon stop, we were allowed to play with the Rays while the tour guide was luring them near with fish. Here, Viks is playing with a Ray. The Rays have a smooth, slimy, gel-like feel on their backs but the tails are prickly. You definitely don't want to be caught by their tails. However, they are pretty tame and with so many weekly tours, I assume the Rays in these parts are very accustomed to humans by now. Such beautiful creatures.

Fire dancing

It wouldn't be a "complete" experience without some fire dancing right? One of the fire dancers is the gentlemen who maintains the resort pool and yes his body does get burned from time to time.

Carameline

I don't know about the other French Polynesian islands, but food is really really expensive in Moorea. We got a package deal from Costco Travel which included Resort breakfast and dinner (each of those meals alone are easily ~$100 US). We brought a lot of our own bottled water and snacks but of course we wanted to try out some of the local eateries. Carameline was just a few minutes walking distance from the resort and had pretty good snack food at a relatively decent price.

4 x 4 Safari Tour - Tom

Hangin' loose with our tour guide, Tom. He was pretty entertaining and a good storyteller. There were a few amusing exchanges between our tour (Albert Tours) and another tour but it was all in good fun. Since tourism and black pearls are the two main economies, if you are a local you pretty much know everyone else in the business and are friends with everyone on the island.

4 x 4 Safari Tour - Jus de Fruits de Moorea

If you want some good booze, this is the place to be. They give all the tourists a tasting of their various liquors. Tahiti Drink was my favorite. From what I remember, it's a lovely refreshing combination of their pineapple brandy and their various juices. Hinano is the beer of choice in Tahiti.

4 x 4 Safari Tour - Gardens and Pigs

4 x 4 Safari Tour - Magic Mountain

Getting up to the top of this mountain was exciting as the climb was very very steep. Unfortunately the weather was not sunny as we thought it would be as we came in during the tail end of the summer wet season. Nonetheless the views were breathtaking and there wasn't a day where we were forced to stay indoors.

4 x 4 Safari Tour - big fern near temple

4 x 4 Safari Tour - temple

Here are the remains of one of the temples where human sacrificial ceremonies were performed.

4 x 4 Safari Tour - Belvedere lookout

4 x 4 Safari Tour - fruit plantation

On Tue, we did a 4 x 4 Safari Tour covering all of Moorea's points of interest. Here we're at a fruit plantation inside a volcanic crater.

Scooter trip around the Island

On Monday morning, Viks went snorkeling around the OWBs and later in the morning we did some kayaking in the lagoon just outside the resort. Beautiful clear waters and rich coral reefs as advertised in all the web site photos. In the afternoon, we rented a scooter and just explored around the island ourselves. It was my first time riding a scooter so I was a little timid for the first half hour. But it soon became second nature (like riding a bike) and we had a blast going around the entire island in less than 3 hrs. The views of Cooks Bay and Opunohu Bay were awesome. The locals always had a friendly smile and waved hello at us. In addition to the scenic views, you could see many wild chickens, stray dogs and lots of quaint houses. We also saw many of the locals burning things in their backyard during the afternoon and what we found out the next day was that the locals burn tree branches, fallen leaves, etc. to produce smoke which keeps the mosquitos away at night. Not suprisingly, Peugeot was the most popular car make on the island. It really is amazing how life moves at a much different pace in Moorea. There is a also comforting sense of preservation as the number of "tourist traps" have so far been kept to a minimum.

Moorea Pearl Resort

We got some help from a French visitor to help take our picture. The first picture is the front of the resort. The second is a view of the resort restaurant. The Pearl is smaller than say the Intercontinental with less "attractions" and "sizzle." I actually preferred the Pearl for this reason...less crowded, more intimacy, and just the right mix of simplicity and understated elegance.

Overwater bungalows

Here is a view from the Resort restaurant and pool area where you can see the Overwater bungalows. The vast array of tropical fish species and coral reef just under the Overwater bungalows was simply amazing. Snorkeling was a great way to see all the tropical fish. But even if you're not a swimmer, you could still marvel at the fish by throwing bread pieces & crumbs into the lagoon. If you feed them, they will come.

Garden Bungalow at Moorea Pearl Resort

Viks and I just got back from a week long stay in Moorea. It was our delayed "real honeymoon" / one year anniversary.

We stayed at the Moorea Pearl Resort. When we arrived at the reception, we were warmly greeted with a lei and refreshing glass of juice. Given the humid weather, I pretty much gulped mine down and thought to myself, "Thank you can I have another?" Here are a few snapshots of the bedroom of our garden bunglalow. The rooms were clean but I did find it odd that there were no clocks with the exception of the tiny LCD display on the air conditioner remote. This was ok for me as I wanted to not feel bounded by time and schedule as much as possible. There were also no bugs in the room as experienced by a few reviewers on tripadvisor.com . The Resort staff were always warm, greeting you with a smile and a "Bon jour" or "Y'Orana." (meaning Hello/Good Day). I'm sure I butchered "Maruruu" (meaning thank you) but the locals do appreciate the effort.

Over floss?

Last week my dentist noted how my gums have greatly improved. Pockets that were 4s, 5s were now 2s & 3s. I told my dentist that in the recent months, I had double brushed in the evenings and also flossed daily. As a result of knowing that my gums are now improved, I am even more paranoid about them reverting back to 4s and 5s. So now I floss more vigorously but holy cow, my gums do get sore. My floss of choice: Plackers & Glide.

Random stuff this past week

- I am disappointed for the Bruins last week but excited for the prospects next year.
- For my rental this week, I got a free upgrade to a Mustang convertible..too bad it rained.
- Some sad news has come up recently but I am hopeful that things will turn for the better.
- Sigh..I've think I've gained back a pound from all the great food this week (esp Giovannis Pizza).
- After nearly losing my shirt, I came back and got 80% return from Poker night at Jason's ..relax, it was just a $5 buy in. Was nice to see Wilco, Jenn, Josh, Jason again.
- Brought back a few of my favorite Beethoven Piano Sonatas performed by Alfred Brendel.
- So glad to be finally back home tonight.
- I want to see Inside Man and Lucky Number Sleven this weekend.