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.