John, Deborah and I went ashore this morning in Moorea. We spent all day wandering the road that traces the shoreline around the island. The island is not heavily populated with locals and the part we explored today is mostly for tourists. The other side of the island is where most of the locals live or they commute to their job on Moorea by ferry from Papeete. I still want to rent a bike and ride around the island, but that will have to wait for another day.
Leaving Bella Donna we have to pick our way through the coral to find a way to get to the shore. The water surface is flat and smooth; the ring of reefs around the island makes the water very calm; there will be no acrobatic landing required today. About 200 yards down we find a nice channel through the coral into shore. I was expecting a wet landing, meaning I would have to get out of the dinghy and walk to shore; however, it turns out we can just step right out of dinghy onto a big rock on shore. The nice blacktop road is just feet from the shoreline with just an occasional car or truck using it. The vegetation lining the road is neatly groomed; it looks like Mustique, like a garden. About a quarter of a mile down the road is a very nice Sheraton Hotel made up of individual thatched roof cottages over the water. Doted on the quarter mile stretch of shoreline are one to two acre very nice private residences that reflect the pride the local people have for their home. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of mature coconut palms. Walking under some of them seems to be living dangerously as a heavy coconut to the head must be fatal. About half way we come to a kid's camp. The 8 to 12 year old children are swimming and learning to sail Hobe Cats. There are many identical tents for sleeping and picnic tables for meals; the wash hanging on close lines tells us it is not just a day camp.
The road goes through several small tourist villages. Each village offers shopping, restaurants and bars for tourists. We decide to take a taxi to the biggest tourist village a few miles away. After walking and shopping, we have lunch at a small village restaurant. John and Deborah have the beget sandwich and I the Poisson Cru.
Tomorrow we rent a car for adventure.
God Bless Bella Donna.
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