In Tahitian the word for thank you is maruru (marooroo) and goodbye is nana (nahnah). In Hawaiian you say mohalo for thank you and aloha for both goodbye and hello.
The great adventure begins. Oh, it's Friday the 13th you say. This place is paradise; we consider ourselves protected from any bad luck by the fact that we are here. The sky is blue, the sun is bright and the Polynesian breeze is warm, but not too warm. The guide books say Moorea is the most beautiful French Polynesian Island. They say you must slow your roll to open up and accept the gentile pleasures this island has to offer. We have sufficiently slowed our roll from big city pressure and speed of Papeete. Now it is time to drive the perimeter and into the center of the island to see how people live here. John took his bike ashore last week and rode the 37 miles in 2 hours and 15 minutes. He was focused on the opportunity to exercise, but he could not ignore the beauty of the island as he worked his way around. Based on John's local knowledge we take off.
The coast is made up of little villages, resorts and homes. The entire island is shaped like an equilateral triangle. The base with two large bays faces north and the two sides face south east and south west. The entire base is the tourist strip. We are anchored in the west bay, Opunohu the site of Cook's landing, and the east bay, Cook's Bay, in which Captain James Cook never landed. At the head of each bay a road leads toward the center of the island which is also the crater of the ancient volcano which formed the island millions of years ago. The road from Cook's Bay passes by the Agricultural College. The views from the cradled valley are of the jagged peaks once part of the wall of the volcano. The two roads meet at a common Y where they allow you to drive from one bay to the other. The third road at the Y leads to a dead end near the center of the island where there is a trailhead; the trail leads to Lookout Point. At the end of this trail you can see both bays and Mt. Rotui, which separates the bays. Seventeen mile away is Papeete on Big Tahiti; Moorea is also known as Little Tahiti.
Moorea is kind of suburbia to Papeete. Locals live on Moorea, but drive to work in Papeete using the rapid regular ferry service. The ferry terminal is on the east side of the island in Vaiare Bay. Some locals leave their car parked on the road and walk or ride Le Truck to work once in Papeete. Others live so close they just walk to the ferry; Moorea does not have regular Le Truck service; there is just not enough demand for it.
Also north of the ferry terminal is the airport. There are flights to Papeete that last only a few minutes, but are not practical on a daily basis. I think they are used mostly by tourists who are making a connection with flights to and from Papeete.
Around the airport is an 18 hole Jack Nicolas designed golf course. Nearby is a Sofetel Resort that is the most perfect outstanding thing I have ever seen. Like the Sheraton Resort near Bella Donna, each guest room is a separate stilted thatched roof structure built right in the lagoon with deck and steps leading down to crystal clear water. There is a huge, long, white sandy beach with thatched sun shade. There are kite boards and Hobe Cat sailboats for rent. There are several little thatched structures where food and drinks are being served. A huge pool is provided in the middle of whatever Polynesian structures are land rather than lagoon based. Just say WOW!
We do a little grocery shopping at Champion as all stores in French Polynesia will be closed Saturday and Sunday for Bastille Day. Donna is coming in Sunday.
God Bless Bella Donna.
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