Back to Paradise, part 3

   Thursday, December 12th -- Moorea

  Moorea has been described as the most beautiful island in the world by no less than Arthur Frommer, the founder of the series of travel guides that bears his name. One does not have to visit every island in the world to doubt him. Few could possibly be any prettier than this one.     
    Just over 50 square miles in size and with some 16,000 residents, Moorea is only a few miles from the main island of Tahiti. Like many of these islands, it was formed eons ago as the result of volcanic activity. There hasn't been any of that for a long time, but there is a lot of rain; the islands average about 12" of rain in December, but the squall we experienced in Taha'a would be the only precipitation we'd have to deal with on this trip. 
     Sue and I were booked for different excursions this morning. She would head inland for a hike on the Three Coconut Trail, while I would do another dive. Like most cruise lines, Gauguin offered a wide variety of excursions for its guests, contracting with local providers for adventures ashore and in the water, even in the air with helicopter tours. The tours are designed to offer guests of any age and ability a chance to experience the beauty of the islands. The tour Sue chose was one of the most strenuous on the list.
     A van transported Sue and a few other hardy souls to Belvedere Lookout for a fabulous view, and then up a dirt trail to the ridge separating the island's two main peaks, Mouaroa (2887') and Tohivea (3960'). Along the way their guide pointed out many of the island's plant species. At some points on the trail the grade was steep and the footing anything but sure, but she soldiered on and made the entire 3.5-mile trek in good shape.

The entrance to the trail, at Belvedere Lookout

Mt. Tohivea awaits, daring the hikers to approach her.

The intrepid hiker on the ridge. 

   
   My dive turned out to be my deepest yet, just past 60 feet, and the first one in which I encountered sharks. Most of them were the smaller, non-aggressive black-tipped sharks, but there were a few larger lemon sharks, which can get up to 10 feet in length. Our dive masters assured us that any sharks we would meet would be harmless, but the first time you actually see them in the water---and you're in there with them---is a bit unsettling. Like almost all species of wildlife, though, on land as well as sea, if you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone. 
    

The black-tip reef sharks were numerous but passive.

The lemon sharks, though, were more curious.

Less intimidating: the sea turtles, especially this one we found in her cubbyhole.

There was animal life that didn't swim, too, like many varieties of anemone. 

My third and last dive of the trip was the best.

    
    After our morning excursions, the afternoon was another one in which to relax. Early in the trip I'd discovered that the ping-pong table was out of commission, a huge disappointment, but I got over that quickly as soon as I discovered the Gable biography, not to mention the interesting people that hung out at the pool bar every day. 
    Tonight's dinner was a salute to Polynesian cuisine and culture. I had the mahi-mahi steak, which was excellent, and our dining experience was enhanced by music and dancing provided by the ship's on-board troupe, known as Les Gauguines.

As always, the presentation of the food was an important part
of the dining experience on board.



They sang, they played, they danced, they were everywhere. But could
Les Gauguines play ping-pong? Alas, I would never find out.

     

    We retired after another full day, but with a bit of melancholy, for tomorrow would be our last full day aboard.



    Friday, December 13th -- Moorea

    We were determined to make our last day on Paul Gauguin our best yet. That would be saying something, so to make it unique, we decided against an organized tour and voted to venture out on our own, exploring the island in a rental car. So it was that Sue and I, joined by Steve and Barbi, came ashore and climbed into a small 4-door Fiat, surprisingly roomy, with a 5-speed manual transmission and, thankfully, air conditioning. I volunteered to drive; I think the last time I'd driven a stick-shift was on another trip, in 2010 with Sue and my parents in Italy, when we'd driven from the port of Ravenna on the Adriatic up into the Apennines to the microstate of San Marino.
    I was confident that navigating the roads--make that road--of Moorea wouldn't be nearly as challenging as driving the switchbacks up an Italian mountainside, and I was right. We sallied forth to circumnavigate the island, with Steve riding shotgun with the map and the girls in the back seat.
    Our first goal was to make it up to Belvedere Lookout, where Sue had started her hike the day before. The view, as she'd reported, was spectacular.

Barbi and Steve at Belvedere Lookout. Openohu Bay is in the upper left,
Cook's Bay at the right, with Mount Rotui in the middle.

    We went back down the mountainside and headed eastward around the island. It was a most pleasant drive of about two and a half hours, and nobody was speeding. Moorea has several resorts, a small airport and what surely is one of the world's most scenic golf courses, the Moorea Green Pearl Golf Course. 
    On the western side of the island we came to a small shopping area, Le Petit Village, and stopped to get gas and use the facilities. There were souvenirs to be had, of course, including a nice tropical shirt for yours truly. I was thinking of channeling my inner Magnum, P.I. look but Sue convinced me to go for something more subtle. 

  
   One of Moorea's most spectacular resorts is the InterContinental Resort & Spa Moorea, a sister resort to the one Sue and I had stayed at on Tahiti. We paused to get a view of their over-the-water bungalows.

    

    We finally arrived back at the pier where Gauguin's tender would pick us up. Waiting for us were the usual local vendors with their displays of pearls and other native art. One of the things Sue and I try to do on every trip is bring home a piece of art, and our collection ranges from a German cuckoo clock to a large fan Sue got on the Indonesian island of Bali. Early on during the cruise I'd noticed that Polynesian woodworking is exquisite, and I picked up a very nice manta ray on Raiatea. Much of the woodwork looked like this: 

The Polynesian tiki, or in Tahitian, ti'i, represents the first man
or woman of creation.

    
    At the pier, two of the Gauguines were ready with cold water and wet cloths for our faces and necks. Both were very welcome and so was her smiling face.

       
    Back on board we spent another leisurely afternoon in reading and conversation. Our final dinner that night was in one of the ship's two specialty restaurants, La Veranda, where we were joined by two friends we had made on the voyage, Carlos and Rick from Florida. Before we dined, many of the ladies and not a few of the gents took advantage of a class in how to make a lei from flowers in the hallway outside the restaurant.

     The final show in the lounge this evening was a Polynesian folkloric dance troupe, O Tahiti E, to be followed with an appearance by the newly crowned Mr. Tahiti 2014 and his friends, performing a Marquesian Haka dance. It was a bit too late for us, so we bade farewell and turned in. I figured the ladies might regret it, so later I found Mr. Tahiti's site. Apparently he and his mates have put together a calendar for the new year. 

   
    As for the haka, it is a Polynesian warrior dance that was made famous in recent years by the New Zealand rugby team, the All-Blacks. They perform it on the field before the start of a match, and if you're on the opposing side you have to be of stout heart not to feel intimidated. You can see a YouTube version of the haka here. It must've worked for the All-Blacks, who captured the 2011 World Cup of Rugby on their home turf with a bruising 8-7 championship match win over France, after which the team performed another haka for its fans.

     
    But we were in dreamland by the time all the fun took place down in the lounge as our vessel plied its way slowly the few miles over to Tahiti. 


   
    Saturday-Sunday, December 14th-15th -- Tahiti to home

    Paul Gauguin came into port in Papeete early in the morning and we prepared to disembark. Fortunately, unlike the very large cruise liners, we didn't have to report first thing in the morning. You have to put your luggage outside your cabin door by around 9pm the previous night, but the next morning you can have a leisurely breakfast and say your goodbyes without feeling rushed.


Clouds hung over the mountains as we pulled into the Papeete harbor.

While we waited to disembark, Sue took a crack at the ship's
communal jigsaw puzzle.

   The disembarkation went smoothly and we took a cab back to the Intercontinental for the day. Our flight to Los Angeles would not leave till nearly  midnight, so rather than spend a dozen hours or so sitting around the airport, we decided to grab another afternoon alongside the pool. This time we had a panorama room, even better in some ways than the bungalow we'd stayed in during our first two nights in the islands.

   The pool was just as inviting as it had been a week before. By about 7:30 we were ready to make our final goodbyes and took a cab to the airport. Then it was only a matter of waiting for the flight. We tried not to think of the 24 hours or so we would spend in transit.
    There's no way to deal with the 8-hour flight to Los Angeles except to sleep through it as much as possible, and fortunately that wasn't a problem. I'd deliberately avoided taking a nap in the afternoon just to make sure I'd nod off once we got into the air. When we arrived at LAX it was about 10 in the morning local time and things were busy. We had to pick up our bags and then check them again for the flight to Minneapolis. Then a short wait at the terminal, and we got to spend a few more minutes chatting with our friends Barbi and Steve, who would be on the same flight on their way home to Richmond.



Ever the traveler, Barbi kept her neck pillow in place between flights.
Or maybe she just forgot.

   
    From Minneapolis it was another two-hour drive home to frigid northwest Wisconsin. When you return from the tropics in the winter, there's nothing quite like that first blast of cold air you feel when you exit the plane onto the jetway. Fortunately we'd parked in a covered section of Park 'n Fly and the car started reliably on the first try. It was nearly 9pm when we got close to home and the thermometer in the car registered 22 below zero, meaning we had experienced a temperature drop of over 100 degrees in less than 24 hours.
   Welcome home, indeed.

    As we've settled into another brutal Wisconsin winter, one thing that keeps us warm is our memories of the islands. We made some great friends and enjoyed some of God's most wonderful creation. Someday, we shall return.
    Is tomorrow too soon?

    

Back to Paradise, part 2

Sunday, December 8th, 2013 -- Raiatea

    The longest leg of our voyage aboard Paul Gauguin was during our first night aboard. After setting sail from Tahiti just before midnight, we dropped anchor off the island of Raiatea on Sunday morning. Beautiful weather greeted us; in fact, every day was beautiful. We had booked an excursion for the afternoon, so this morning we decided to attend a local church service. First, though, it was time for breakfast on the pool deck.

     We came ashore in the island's principal town, Uturoa, where unfortunately the shops were closed. A pleasant walk of a few blocks brought us to a Protestant church and we were welcomed inside. There was no air conditioning but the large windows were open and it wasn't bad at all. The pews soon filled up and it became apparent the congregation was going to conduct its annual Christmas pageant. Several members, both adults and children, rose to read from the Bible and give their own testimony. Although it was all in Tahitian, the sincerity of the people was evident and the singing was sensational. Click here to read Barbi's excellent account of our visit.

    We returned to the ship for a change of clothes and lunch, and then went back ashore for our tour. Sue and I were joined by Barbi and Steve and two other couples for our 4wd trek through the interior of the island and along the coast.
    Raiatea is the second largest of the Society Islands, behind Tahiti, and was the religious center of ancient Polynesia. From this island, Polynesian mariners in amazingly large and seaworthy canoes traveled as far as Hawaii to the north, New Zealand to the west and the Easter Islands to the east. The famed English explorer Captain James Cook arrived in 1769, and from a native he learned the remarkably advanced Polynesian navigational theory. Cook sailed on to the west, finding New Zealand and then the eastern coast of Australia.

Captain James Cook, English mariner and explorer,
whose three round-the-world voyages charted lands
previously unknown to Europeans. Unfortunately for the captain,
he ran afoul of some Hawaiians on his last voyage
in 1779 and was killed.

        We drove inland through the Faaroa Valley, visiting coconut and vanilla plantations, and witnessed the many streams that flow throughout the hills. The islands are rather sparse when it comes to wildlife, but our guide managed to catch a crab so that we could get up close and personal with one of the few species that is fairly common.

    Raiatea covers only about 65 square miles and has exactly one paved road. Our Land Rover was hardy enough to get us through the interior and back to the coast, where we examined Marae Taputapuatea, an ancient Polynesian religious shrine. This one was established around 1000 AD and was actually a multi-purpose facility, serving as a meeting place for priests and navigators, a learning center, and a religious site where all manner of plants and animals, sometimes including humans captured from other islands during war, were sacrificed.

    We parted company with our guide after visiting the marae and prepared for the second leg of our trek, this one on the water. We boarded a large outrigger canoe for a voyage up the Faaroa River, the only navigable river in French Polynesia. Fortunately, this canoe had a motor. On the way our new guide described many of the plants that are native to the islands. Eventually we turned back to the coast, stopping first at a riverside refreshment stand which served bananas and coconut milk.

   


    Emerging from the Faaroa, we cruised along the coast, back to Uturoa and the ship.

    It had been a full day on Raiatea, but there was one more event to complete our Sunday. Like most cruise ships, Paul Gauguin has a formal night on board, where we would meet the captain and his officers at a reception before heading to dinner.

Me in my new summer suit, Sue in her 1920s-style dress, ready for Formal Night.

Our cruise director and I evidently shop at the same store.

   


Monday, December 9th -- Taha'a

    

    It was a short jaunt overnight to our next island, Taha'a. Only about 35 miles square and home to some 5000 inhabitants, Taha'a and Raiatea share the same coral reef, and in fact the two islands probably were one in the ancient past, as Tahiti now is. In the satellite photo above, Raiatea is at the bottom, then Taha'a, with Bora Bora in the upper left.

     This would be our first day of diving on the cruise. Sue and I earned our scuba diver certification some years ago and had dived many times in the Caribbean and off the Mexican coast. Gauguin has a built-in marina at the stern of the ship with a ramp extending out from the hull. We set forth on yet another beautiful morning aboard a Zodiac boat along with other divers and our divemaster, a young Frenchman named Thomas. We went down to about 20 feet for a brief refresher course in various drills and then set out to explore the reef. Needless to say, the islands offer underwater adventures that are breathtaking. One of our dive companions, Dr. Mike Delitta of Axiom Medical Services in Houston shared some of his pictures with us. 

 

So far the weather had been exceptionally great during our time in the islands, but when we got back aboard the ship we had our first rain, and it was more than just a shower, it was a veritable squall that rolled over the ship as we were having a light lunch with Steve and Barbi.

  
     The squall passed quickly and within minutes it was sunny again, allowing us to set off for our afternoon destination, a motu off the coast of Taha'a. Around the reefs of most Polynesian islands are smaller islands, known as motu, and Gauguin had one just for us.     The beach was terrific, there was ample shade under the coconut trees, plenty of barbecued chicken and hamburgers with all the trimmings and beverages in abundance.

    It would be hard to have a more relaxing afternoon, that's for sure. We returned to the ship and enjoyed a fine show that evening, starring our cruise director, Michael Shapiro, backed by the ship's band. The next day we would begin a two-day visit to an island whose very name conjures images of the exotic South Pacific: Bora Bora.

Tuesday, December 10th -- Bora Bora

  

   

    The ancient Polynesians believed this island, which they called Porapora, meaning "first born," was the first to rise from the ocean after Raiatea. The first European to set eyes on the island was Captain Cook in 1769. British missionaries arrived in 1820 and converted most of the islanders to Protestantism, staunchly supported local rule and kept Bora Bora out of treaties signed by other islands with the French. It was only a matter of time, though, and the French annexed the island in 1888. It was a smart move.

    Bora Bora is only about 11 miles square, less than one-third of Taha'a, and unlike Raiatea, has no source of fresh water. The island has about 9,000 inhabitants, who rely on rain and imported supplies for their water. A supply ship from Tahiti makes the rounds of the islands every day.

    Despite its small size, or perhaps because of it, Bora Bora is home to several resorts, most of them located on the motu that surround the island along the reef. A small airport is located on Motu Mute, on the northern edge of the reef. Sue had visited many of the resorts on her previous trips, and they are nice indeed. Gauguin anchored just offshore from the island's main town, Vaitape, and we made our second dive of the trip. On this one we reached a depth of 55 feet, a new record for Sue.

After the dive, it's time to relax in the lounging area near
the pool bar, with a good book and conversation.

      I had found a fascinating book in the ship's library, Clark Gable: A Biography, by Warren G. Harris. I remember my grandmother raving about him, but the only movie of his I'd ever seen was his most famous, Gone with the Wind. Before that film, though, he had appeared in a movie that told the true story of one of the most famous naval adventures of all time, and it happened right in these waters.  

Clark Gable (1901-60), Oscar-winning actor and man's man. One of his
most famous roles was as Fletcher Christian in
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), and soon
we would hear the true story of the infamous mutiny.

   

   After dinner we made our way to the lounge for the evening's show. This would be a variety show, "Krew Kapers," starring members of the ship's crew, and they proved to be a very talented bunch, including one of the waiters as Charlie Chaplin. One of the volunteers he coaxed out of the audience was yours truly.

     

    For the grand finale, Barbi got the nod to join the cast.    

    It had been another great day in a string of great days. Our second day on Bora Bora promised even more, as we would explore the interior in an off-road adventure.

Wednesday, December 11th -- Bora Bora

    I had done an off-road trek on Tahiti over some pretty questionable roads. Those roads would be super-highways compared to what we would encounter today on Bora Bora.

Shrouded in early-morning clouds, the peaks of 
Mt. Otemanu and Mt. Pahia await.

     

     We came ashore in Vaitape and were greeted by our affable native guide, Joshua. Along with Barbi and Steve, we were accompanied by a couple from Canada and one originally from the Czech Republic and now living in North Carolina. We piled into Joshua's battered open-air Land Rover with me riding shotgun. Not too far out of Vaitape we turned off the paved road and headed inland.

After breakfast, we get ready for our off-road adventure.

A Bora Bora native provided an escort for our tender to shore.

During WW2, Bora Bora was home to 5000 US troops, sent to defend the
 island against Japanese invasion. They installed a pair of these WW1-era 
7" guns at each corner of the island. With a range of some 7 miles, 
they would've been seriously outgunned by Japanese battleships, 
but the enemy never showed up. Our GIs probably didn't mind 
waiting out the war here, though.

At the top of a ridge we were treated to breathtaking views of the island.

    After some time on the peak, we headed back down to the coast. Polynesia is widely known as a prime source of pearls, and we discovered there are actually "pearl farms" where pearls are literally grown and harvested from clams. Joshua stopped at one of the farms and showed us how the process works.

    We returned to Gauguin in plenty of time to clean up and head to the lounge for this evening's lecture. The ship hosted a series of "enrichment lectures" by visiting academics to discuss the history and anthropology of the islands, but tonight's would be the best-attended of the series.  New Zealand archaeologist and historian Mark Eddowes would tell us the real story of the famous "Mutiny on the Bounty."

    Famously depicted in books and on the movie screen, the fate of HMS Bounty is one of the great naval yarns of all time. In the 1780s, Britain needed to find a reliable source of food for the African slaves it had imported to its Caribbean islands. Previous visits to Polynesia had discovered breadfruit, and Bounty was charged with the mission of voyaging there to obtain and bring back the plants. Two days before Christmas 1787 she sailed from England with a crew of 46, led by 33-year-old Lieutenant William Bligh. More than two years later, Bligh returned and the story of the Bounty's epic voyage and the tragic mutiny caused a sensation. You can read the short version of the mutiny here.

    No less than three major film versions of the story have been produced. Clark Gable starred as Fletcher Christian, leader of the mutineers, in the Oscar-winning Mutiny on the Bounty in 1935, with Charles Laughton as Bligh. According to the Gable bio I read, the animus between the two men on screen was not just acting; Gable and Laughton despised each other. The least historically-accurate version was released in 1962 starring Trevor Howard as Bligh and Marlon Brando as Christian. Finally, in 1984 came The Bounty, considered very accurate, with some scenes drawn directly from Bligh's log. Anthony Hopkins played the skipper and Mel Gibson was Christian.

   Eddowes' account of the story was fascinating and produced a lot of discussion at dinner that evening. Shortly after dessert, we bade farewell to Bora Bora. Gauguin pulled anchor and set sail for our final stop, Moorea.