Ship Ahoy -8 July 2017

After a short cab ride from my hotel in Anchorage I reached the Egan event centre, where I was to pick up my transfer to the ship. Extremely efficient, they checked in my bag and I could have left my hand luggage as well but I chose not to. Then I was free for an hour until my bus came.  Out the door I shot and nose in the air like a well trained hound I sniffed out the mall. Sometimes I even empress myself, in 15 minutes I had purchased 2 pair of Nike shoes for the great price of $60 each. Before I left for the bus I also had in my possession some pants, shorts and an eyeshadow. Also very well priced. 

Leaving half an our to get back to the bus (only one block) was a good strategy, as direction sense is not one of my best talents. I came out of the store and onto the street, turned to the left, then to the right and finally thought I should ask some one before I wandered off in the wrong direction.  I was ready to concentrate hard as they gave me a set of left, right left directions. Not necessary, I just had to cross the road! Duh!

Expecting just a bus ride I was pleasantly surprised.  It was a nice coach with a cheerful and knowledgeable driver who gave us a running commentary. The scenery once we were out of town was very like NZ with more conifers. The coast line was next to a sheer cliff with climbers clinging to the sides, on the sea side was sludge stuff, actually silt from the glaciers.  When the tide goes out it is so fine and thick that it is like quicksand. 

At one point there were tall mesh fences to stop moose getting onto the highway! 

The drive was an hour and a half and finished with a tunnel that was 2 1/2 miles long. This was a single lane tunnel, the walls and ceiling were rough rock, that sometimes send small rocks down onto cars. Each end is open at fifteen minute intervals, for fifteen minutes. It was extremely  narrow, and quite claustrophobic. Before we went in we saw an iceberg sitting in the water, only about the size of a house (on top), and a small glacier. 

There is nothing to see in Whittier. It has a population of approximately 140, most of which live in a small apartment block. There is a school that has a tunnel to the apartment block, thus avoiding 'snow days' where kids have to miss school. 

We were straight off the bus and into a tent tunnel (raining) and into the embarkation area. There were no queues and I was straight up to the desk. Suddenly I got a tap on the shoulder and thought oh,oh. But there behind me were Dillon and Lou'ana. Big squeezes ensued. 

Having personal guides was great, they took me straight to my cabin which is not flash but not too shabby either.

I would have preferred a window, but when you book the trip only a week before you leave you can't expect that sort of luxury.  

This is a nice ship, not huge but not too small either.  We chatted for a while and then had a bite to eat at the Horizon food area.  I am not a big fan of buffets but this is good.  I have managed to try some local food each day so far, both things that I have had before. Biscuits and gravy ( good cowboy food) and grits ( not quite as nice as the ones I had in New Orleans).

We set sail at 8:30 after muster. For the uninitiated the muster is what every cruise does before leaving port. Everyone has to go to their muster area with their life jacket when the warning sounds, you listen to the safety instructions and practice putting on your life jacket. 

After popping back to my cabin for a quick shower and to put my life jacket away I set off to the Wheelhouse Bar to listen to Too Many Chiefs. If you  are a stranger to my life you need to know that my son Dillon and his partner Lou'ana are musicians and along with Cam and Cameron perform as Two Many Chiefs. 

This was a jazz set and my unbiased opinion is that they are great. The bar had a sprinkling of people, but they all enjoyed the entertainment with some older couples getting up for a fox trot or something similar. I basked in the glow and was a very happy passenger/ mum. 

At 10:45 we nipped off for a quick dinner and off to bed. 

I slept like a log!

Alaskan Cruise

This is a journey that I am taking by myself.  I have left Lance at home and am making my way up to Alaska to join Dillon and Lou'ana on the cruise that they are working on for four months.  My journey will take me to Anchorage and on to Whittier to board the Star Princess and we will stop at 3 ports and view glaciers on our way to Vancouver.

Although I have traveled many times by myself, for trips further afield I have always had company.  And for those of you who know me well, my sense of direction especially in large buildings, is useless.  So it was with a a little trepidation that I boarded Air New Zealand Flight 8 to San Francisco.  My main concern was the transfer to Anchorage when I got to San Francisco.  Well here I am, at S.F. Airport waiting for 7 hours for my transfer flight.  At least with seven hours up my sleeve I have had time to suss the place out and think that all will be well (fingers crossed).

My 12 hour flight was uneventful, I managed to doze for a while, however being school holidays the plane was packed with kids, so it was noisy.  The lady on the inside of me didn't go to the toilet once in 12 hours! I find that amazing.  Having an aisle seat made it easier to stretch out and move around. 

I'm at the airport now, and just had the most delicious quesadilla.  I thought I would be able to have a shower, but because my status for Air New Zealand points is piggy backing on Lance's points they wouldn't let me in. I felt a bit like the poor relation.  So it was a wash with wet wipes in the public restrooms. So here I am, waiting, waiting, waiting.  I have tried to doze but it is not working.  I am slightly envious of a mother and her two little kids who have been fast asleep for a couple of hours on the ottoman next to me. 

Finally I got to leave the airport. I felt like Tom Hanks in the movie The Terminal. I have walked around so many times in the last 7 hours I am expecting the staff to call out my name and ask me how my family is. 

Toilet report: clean but sensitive flushers. You only need to move a millimetre and the auto flush goes. 

As we flew out I had a grand view of the Golden Gate Bridge (which is actually pinky red) and Alcatraz. Finally I felt like I had truely been sitting in San Francisco. 

I had expected a little bit of dinner or something on the 5 hour flight to Anchorage. But alas, only tea, coffee and pretzels. So I arrived close to midnight starving. Everything was closed except for the bar, so I took a gin and tonic to bed with me. 

Of course I should have realised that this far north there would be daylight late into the evening. A bit like our very southern parts of NZ. However I really didn't expect to be able to see the snowy mountains as we decended into Anchorage.

A deserted city on a Friday night, although the taxi did pass one roof top bar that was packed. It wasn't too chilly, in fact it was 17 degrees, quite mild. 

I am staying at the Sheraton and the king bed was like heaven after more than a 24 hours travelling. But you know what it is like, body exhausted and head running a marathon. 

So here I sit, packed up and ready to transfer to Whittier where I will board the Star Princess and catch up with Dillon and Lou'ana. 

Last Days

As I write I am sitting alongside the pool and lagoonarium back at the Intercontinental in Papeete. We fly out this afternoon and are spending the day here. The whole time that we have been here there have been hardly any people. At our resort in Moorea there was a stage where there was only us and one other couple. They were Albanians who had been living in New York for 23 years; such a lovely couple. One morning at breakfast we were offered some special delicious breakfast doughnuty  things that the Albanian woman had made to share with everybody. How nice is that?

Our last few days on Moorea have been extremely relaxed. Lounging on our deck we have been able to cool off in the waters below us, reading and just enjoying the slow pace of life. On Friday we rented a car again mainly so that we could go back to Snack Mahana for grilled mahimahi by the waterside and this time I added freshly squeezed pineapple juice. 

Returning to a shop that I had been in previously I purchased some pearls. There are pearl shops everywhere and all quite pricy and not really in any style that I would wear. However this store called Lendroite had more earthy styles. I bought a set of eight local pearls which are a steely grey colour, they are threaded on a long piece of silk and can be worn long or short. We also bought a carved stone statue that will fit nicely in our garden. 

The petrol tank was on full when we got the car and the lady told us that we needed to fill it up and bring the receipt when we returned. We drove once around the island and the petrol gauge was still on full, so we could hardly fill it up. She wasn't too happy that Lance had no receipt but he gave her 1000 francs (about $12) so all was well. 

Le Marche 

We called into the supermarket and wished that we had gone there earlier rather than the small store close to our resort.  It was not huge but sold everything. Whole cooked legs of lamb, hot chickens, French cheese, all the normal supermarket food and products.  But wait, there's more! Clothes dryers, televisions, jandals and shoes, clothes, beers, wines and loads of spirits and we only got half way round because we were running out of time! 

Les animaux

We have had quite a little zoo going on at our fare (pronounced far rey, meaning house). Of course there are the fish that are constantly swimming around our place. It has been fun teasing them by quickly poking our head over the deck and watching them all turn quickly in unison with a loud swish and flee to under the house.

 Lance has really got a kick out of feeding them and each morning at breakfast we have pilfered the remaining baguette, jamming it into my bag to take back for fish food.
I have made sure that I have emptied my bag out because I am sure that the sniffer dog would have picked me up at Auckland airport with the equivalent of a loaf of bread in crumbs. 

Then there is Le chat. A teenage cat has temporarily adopted us and sits by our door each morning waiting for Lance to give him a dish of milk. He sits along the path sometimes, waiting for us to come home, and this morning came bounding up the path when he saw that we were awake extra early. At first I was wary of fleas and ringworm, but he is a healthy little specimen and very well behaved. He sits outside the open door rather than coming in, a couple of times he has tried but as he carefully places his paw in the door we have told him "non" (because he is French) and he backs out and sits down.  I am sure tomorrow he will have adopted a new family. 

Lastly there is 'Mr Crabby', who lives in our bathroom. The spacious tiled shower is bordered by a small garden and on our second morning we noticed a large hole in the sand that hadn't been there the day before.  The fresh mound of sand next to it sort of gave it away. Each day the terrain has changed with small sticks in there one day, then only one stick, no stick etc. We have never seen him, but one day whilst showering Lance saw the stick move so we know that he is in there. 

The people

The local people are just lovely. Cheerful and helpful you never feel threatened or that you are a bother. We have even had a couple of times when Lance has accidentally paid to much. Last night at dinner the waiter returned and said that Lance had paid way too much and gave him back the money. And today our diver told us that is would be 1500 francs and Lance thought that he meant per person and gave him 3000 francs (just over $30). We had bought our ferry tickets and had been sitting for about 10 minutes when he came back and found us and thrust the extra back into Lance's hand "you gave me too much Monsieur". Tell me, where in the world has that ever happened to you?  

And then today we had been told that you could come to the Intercontinental for the day and we thought that we would have to pay. We were dropped off by our driver, who gave us each a shell necklace and I asked at the counter if we could stay here for the day and have breakfast and lunch.  She told me that they don't do day passes on the weekend.  When I told her that we had been staying here last week she looked us up on the computer and said that we could do it and we got a key to a changing room. The changing room has a shower, basin and towels. No charge! So here we are at the end of our holiday.  Basking like well satisfied tourists at the fabulous Intercontinental. 

What can I say that is fitting to end this Tahiti blog? Probably a quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger "We'll be back". 😘

Swimming with sharks and stingray!

The dinner last night was at the Kaveka resort, not far up the road and they come and pick you up. We had read in the Lonely Planet that it was pretty ordinary, but I went on trip advisor and found contrasting comments. So off we went. What a great place, our table was on a large and long balcony the protruded for many meters out onto the water. Once again the crystal clear water gave us a fantastic view of the fish swarming below us.  The staff were top notch and extremely attentive without being annoying,  the food was great. 

Today we have been out on a tour with Moorea Boat Tours booked at Alberts. For the equivalent of around $70 we had one of the best tours that we have ever experienced anywhere in the world that we have been. 

Sitting at our resort restaurant people from other resorts started to gather. We felt slightly smug because we had watched this tour begin each day from our balcony so we didn't display the nervous tension of the new arrivals who were wondering what they needed to do.  Our tour guide Siki arrived and organised us on to a shallow hull covered twin outboard boats and off we went. Before I go any further I need to describe Siki.  He is a man small of stature with greying dreadlocks and initially quite a stern look about him. He looked like he would fit nicely into Ruatoria NZ. Well he ran a tight tour, and was very entertaining and knowledgeable switching from perfect English to French with ease. A bit of a show man but also humble, he was attentive to everyone's needs and even though he has probably done this a thousand times nothing seemed boring to him.  Even when he got the captain to stop the boat so that he could spot a large conch shell and dive in, scoop it up and bring it for us all to look at.  

Our people on the our were a mixed bunch from two tour boats. A sprinkling of Americans, French, New Zealanders and Others, there was a large Tongan group who were family living In Hawaii and the United States and also a high school group from Hawaii. 

We whizzed out from our bay to the reef and the aqua colour was almost dazzling being so close, Siki talked to us about the mountains and beliefs in the area and that all of the pacific had been Cannibals a long time ago. He told us about Captain Cook and how the Tahitians killed him (maybe ate him). 

Finally we arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel, and just a little bit further on to the shark and stingray area. These creatures were free in the ocean but obviously knew that there would be an easy meal for the, at this spot (hopefully not my chubby thighs). Slipping into the water I did wonder why I was doing this, but when the first stingray came up to me he did seem oddly friendly and he felt so soft and velvety. When his slippery body started to climb up mine I got a glimpse of his cute face and gobbley mouth. We could see the sharks but is wasn't until we went under water to look that it felt real. Even at first I felt a bit like I was viewing them in a glass fronted aquarium, until they turned and started swimming straight towards you!  Lance and I were fascinated with the closeness and Lance held some tuna to feed a stingray and as I said before, it was really cute. 

The hour speed by and we were herded back on the boat and headed off to a Motu (island) for lunch. Expecting a touristy place I was surprised to find a deserted island, food was taken off the boat and in covered area they worked at BBQ fish and chicken, rice and Siki showed us how to make poissen cru, raw fish. I have made this myself many times but he did many things differently and I will take this on board for the future. Lunch was superb!  

Siki also showed us how to tie a sarong in many different ways and got some men from tha audience to husk coconuts. This was all done in such a friendly and entertaining way. The island, he said, was his home and his house was further in. There were flushing toilets as well, the whole day was very special and you would be mad to come to Tahiti and not take this tour. 

Another day

Last night we ordered a driver to take us to Rudy's for dinner. We shared the ride with some people who are mainly from Baltimore and are travelling on a Catamaran via the pacific islands to Auckland. The catamaran set of in January and will be leaving French Polynesia on the 30th of May. What do these people do for a living?

Anyway Rudy's was a nice restaurant, the main squeeze sounded like he may have been French Canadian. Our entrees were superb, I had a goat cheese salad, the goats cheese had been grilled with garlic and something sweet, maybe honey, on baguette. It was accompanied by some tomatoes and lettuce. Lance had some deep fried prawns, scallops and tuna. The mains were just okay, my fish was a little overdone. We shared our drive home with some kiwis from Hamilton, our first on this trip. 

To day we hired a car from Albert's which is just across the road. It was pretty hair raising at first with Lance working hard to stay right. Especially with hardly any traffic.  We circumnavigated the island twice as is only 60 kilometres. We stopped at a few shops. It most things are quite touristy and the pearls are expensive. 

One of the staff at the Intercontinental recommended a place for lunch called Snack Mahana. Now you need to make a note of this if you are ever coming to Moorea because it is a must. On our first circuit we thought we had a good idea where it was and thought if we found it we would eat there and if not we would find somewhere else. All I can say is "Thank goodness we found it by accident!".  We were driving along and I said in my best passenger driver voice, " be careful, why are all these people stopping here?"  Lance spotted the sign and we quickly parked, congratulating ourselves on our sleuth like abilities. We landed at our table, right by the water. This is a pretty basic place, house converted in to a casual backyard restaurant. We'd been told that it closes when they run about of fish, I don't know how true that is. Waiting for our mahimahi grilled with lemon and garlic butter and fries we fed bits of baguette to the small fish on the sandy beach below us. A couple of stingrays were cruising also. To say the fish was beautiful was an understatement, and I'm not meaning those that were swimming beside us. Cooked to perfection with the glistening butter mix melting over it. We were very happy people when we left, this one will be hard to beat. 

Oh, and the toilets were great!

A few more stops and only a singlet purchased for Lance and cheap earrings for me.   

The people here are really friendly and everyone says hello. Many in shops and restaurants approach us speaking in French, we don't have to say anything for them to realise that we speak English. Perhaps it is the startled looks on our faces that alerts them. I did have to purchase my earrings in French though, and it worked!

We came home hot and tired from actually moving our bodies for a change. Slipping into our beautiful lagoon we felt any tension melt away. Another perfect day. 

Instalment Two- Moorea

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. 

Tahiti 2017

Tahiti 2017

Landing in Papeete at 2:30am was a reasonably stress free experience. I say 'reasonably' because as we filled out the immigration cards mid flight we noticed that they required our visa information. Visa? We didn't know we needed a visa for Tahiti?  So the remainder of the flight was filled with a smidgen of nagging dread, imagining us doing a quick about turn and landing back in Auckland for Easter. No worries, I asked an official looking lady as we were queuing and she said, "Pah, no worries".  And that was it. The extremely official little man in the booth, stamped our passports and we were on our way. There was no declaration for the assorted cheese that we had brought with us to nibble on, on balmy evenings, straight through. 

The driver greeted us with a lei of fresh frangipani, the aroma was thick and tropical.  We have two nights at the Intercontinental before we depart for the island of Moorea. We arrived at the hotel in a torrential tropical downpour. And as were we're guided to our room by an exceptionally handsome and buff young man in just a short sarong water cascaded down the garden walls in small waterfalls. The room is nice, modern with a great shower. However the aircon was incredibly noisy on our first night. Lance had to put his air plugs in. But this morning he had a fiddle with it and we should sleep in peace tonight. 

The resort in beautiful in a way that only these tropical places can be. Right on the water and with several mammoth pools, and a lagoon pool that is fed directly from the sea, so of course is full of coral reefs and tropical fish. The water is crystal clear, we brought swimming goggles but you don't need them as the fish are swimming in and out of your legs. 

After a great poolside breakfast and a wander, which included an early morning Heinikin and a virgin cocktail for me, a bit of resort shopping and a decision that we should stay at the resort for the day and enjoy the opulence, we settled by the 'lagoonarium' in our loungers and had frequent swims with the fish. It seems silly to swim in the pool when we have the opportunity to swim in such a unique environment. 

We are coping with the French, because everyone so far speaks English. There are people from all over the world, for once we can feel smug about how close we are to such a beautiful spot, even though we live at the bottom of the world. 

We had planned to eat at Roulottes which is a group of food caravans in town.  We have read wonderful things about the food.  Alas the heavens opened so we booked in at the overwater restaurant at the resort 'Lotus'. A lovely evening with perfect food and then a stroll along the waterfront back to our room. Tomorrow - Moorea!