Moorea
We can't believe that we slept for 10 hours! Must have needed it. Breaky and then a relaxing swim in the infinity pool. The resort is really quite quiet with no need to hog a lounger with a towel, there have been plenty to choose from.
A sneaky piña colada and Heinikin was had as we waited for our driver. Ernest arrived promptly at 12 and we set off for our first proper glimpse of Papeete in daylight. It looked pretty basic but had plenty of restaurants and bars. However we only saw a tiny area of the city. The ferry buildings were impressive and our embarking was seamless. The Aremiti ferry was the largest of the fleet and it took 45 minutes to cross the water to the island of Moorea. Lance retrieved the bags amidst the throng of locals and tourists and our driver was ready and waiting.
A lush green tropical island with sheer volcanic cliffs and jagged peaks, the coast line is azure blue framed with white coral sand. Our resort is Club Bali Hai, it is pretty basic but is clean and has everything that we need. I am pretty happy that it is no.42, the last in the line of overwater bungalows. This means that we are pretty private with neighbours on only one side. We have a super King bed, a double and a single. The bathroom is a good size with a garden in the shower! In fact it wasn't until the second day that we noticed a large crab hole in the garden, no sign of the inhabitant yet. We also have a kitchenette with most importantly, a fridge to accomodate the numerous cheeses that we brought with us from NZ.
The balcony looks out into Cook's Bay, and the magnificent mountains that change all day. One minute they sit high and clear in the sky the next they are draped in heavy and ominous clouds. We have had rain each day however it only lasts 5 to 10 minutes. It is pretty warm and humid, usually around 28 or 29 degrees celsius. But we are used to humidity, so are just bloody hot. This makes it easy to slip into the water from the ladder on our deck. Each morning we have fed the tropical fish from this deck and even when it has rained we still sit under cover watching the changes in the bay.
Food
There is a small restaurant, well it is hardly a restaurant, more like an open air kitchen under cover or what we would call in PNG a Haus Wind, a house with no walls so that the wind can come through. It is a large thatched gazebo with a kitchen in the centre and tables around and out onto the balcony over the water. Again it is pretty basic, but the food is great. Yesterday we had a ham and cheese omelette and today I had pancakes, banana and maple syrup (I know, I don't eat grains, but what's a girl to do? I'm on holiday in a French place). You know how you get pancakes and there is never enough maple syrup because it disappears into the pancake, well they give you the whole bottle to have on the table! Lunch- we have been so stuffed from breakfast that we have just had a nibble of cheese or chips and dip. Dinner- so far we have been to Mahogany, only a couple of kilometres up the road and they picked us up and dropped us off. The food was great, I had steak with a blue cheese sauce and Lance had freshly caught mahimahi pan fried in garlic butter. Last night we walked up the road to Allo Pizza, once again great food and service, I even made the order in my best French and we got the right stuff so I must have been okay. The walk home was a bit hairy as it was pitch black in places with no footpath, only a painted white line for pedestrians to stay in, and a huge concrete ditch on the left to fall in. Needless to say, if we have pizza again we will get it delivered.
Walking five minutes o the gas station this morning was well worth the effort. A plate of huge and great pastries for about five dollars. Oh dear me. A bigger bikini will soon be required!
People
There is a mixed bag here, mainly French speaking, American or locals. There are a few catamarans moored. On Saturday evening there was a local band playing, they were very easy to listen to and sang mostly in Tahitian or French. There was a charge for the local people to come in and enjoy the band and a drink.
Our first two days have been spent at the resort, being Easter Sunday and Monday there is not much open. We wandered to the local store on our first day to grab some supplies. We weren't sure where we would get beer from and I had brought some wine in NZ duty free. Lance's eyes lit up when he saw a whole fridge of Heinikin! So we trudged back with a big bag of groceries and Lance with a large pack of water on one shoulder and a pack of beer on the other. We have just been lazing around, reading and swimming. Yesterday we snorkelled off our deck out to where the water drops away, about 30 meters from our deck and found an array of tropical fish. The coral was not very colourful, but the fish made up for it. We have booked a trip out to swim with sharks and stingrays on Wednesday and tomorrow, Tuesday, we will rent a car and have a nosey further afield.
Once again we slept 10 hours and then last night we were in bed at nine and had nine hours sleep. Our sleep was broken though and we seem to be getting up to go to the toilet a lot. I think that this may be due to the swishing of the water underneath us.
New words
Iorana- hello
Maururu- thank you
Toilets
I realise that I haven't made my usual travel toilet report. Nothing to report so far, American flush- full to the brim and anticlockwise swirl in some toilets. However I did make a little faux pas at the Intercontinental, I had been to the toilet in the public area a couple of times so was confident enough not to have to take notice. After I exited the cubicle I noticed something a bit different, ahhhhhh urinals, wrong toilets! I didn't even stop to wash my hands just raced to the door and then nonchalantly wandered out of the men's toilets. I blame it on the Mojito that I had with lunch.
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