Moorea

When we booked this cruise, we were scheduled to stop in Bora Bora. Moorea was substituted after Bora Bora regulated the size of cruise ships that would be allowed to dock on the island. This turned out to be, at least for me, a wonderful change. Moorea is the type of place that takes your breath away when you first see it. It is one of the most magical, beautiful places I think I’ve ever seen.

We had booked a catamaran snorkeling excursion here. Brian snorkels and I ride along. With my lung issues, it is difficult for me to snorkel, so I enjoy the view from on top. I took a lot of pictures, but not many of them did justice to the beauty of this place in the South Pacific.

The weather was hot and humid but there was plenty of shade on the catamaran and not too many people. The ocean temperature was around 75 degrees. There was some wind blowing and it had really picked up when we docked later in the morning.

After our excursion, we explored a a craft market dockside. The vendors sold souvenirs, art, jewelry and many, many black pearls. I was able to resist purchasing anything! It was very warm and crowded and we were eager to get back onboard and cool down with a cold drink and air conditioning. Lunch was at the grill on the ship. The burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches are very good and the fresh French fries are great.

We spent the afternoon in our cabin. Brian read and I did our weekly laundry. Port days are the best time for using the laundromat. There was no one there and I had my choice of machines. Dinner was fun, as usual, with our table mates. The South Pacific heat had sapped our energy so headed back to our cabin after enjoying an ice cream on the deck. Almost a full moon last night!

We would love to come back here and explore the rest of the island. I can certainly understand how people could come to these islands and never want to leave.

We turned our clocks back an hour last night and we have two more sea days until we dock in American Samoa.