March 07: Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia - Third Day of Two-Day Port Call

Today was the first of two days of Moorea-interruptus. In other words, the ship was supposed to make a port call in Moorea today and tomorrow, but instead remained in Papeete. Nevertheless, Pam & I went to Moorea today.

Yesterday, after assuring us that the ship was in good working order following the fire on March 5, the captain announced that he had cancelled the upcoming port call at Bahia D Opunoha, Moorea, due to the danger posed by strong winds and waves to tendering to and from the island. He said we would remain at the pier in Papeete.

The captain addressed passengers who questioned his decision based on the local weather forecast for Moorea. He noted that general forecasts are not marine forecasts. Such forecasts do not assess moving between two moving platforms. He noted that the ferries go into a different, smaller port and that a ferry makes contact with a solid mass rather than another moving one.

In response to rumors that the trip was actually staying here because of engine room damage, the captain this morning announced that the Lloyds of London had sent inspectors to assess the situation and cleared the ship to continue its voyage. Perhaps he should have added that Lloyd's does not issue that certification on the promise that the work will be done; it is issued only for work that has been done. 

The rumors and second-guessing fly in the face of facts, including the high port fees for Nieuw Amsterdam to remain tied up here, the additional tour costs of ferry tickets, the lost revenue from tours that had to be cancelled, and a $300-per-stateroom ship's credit issued. Holland America may also have incurred a penalty from the franchised that operate the ship's shops and the casino since they must remain closed while the ship is in port.

Okay, off my soapbox and on with today's story.

As mentioned above, the ship not going to Papeete would not preclude passengers from going there. A short distance from our pier was the ferry terminal. For passengers booked on tours in Moorea, the ship revised the schedule and included ferry tickets. So off we went on an elongated tour, but riding to the island on a spacious ferry rather than a cramped tender.

Our revised tour time had us off the ship at 11:15.

After taking a shuttle bus from the cruise terminal to the ferry terminal, we boarded AREMITI 5 and took seats on the air-conditioned upper deck, forgoing the noonday sun of the top deck. Pier-to-pier transit was 45 minutes.

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Today's Tour: Moorea Highlights

Board an air-conditioned motorcoach and enjoy a narrated scenic drive past Cook’s and Opunohu Bays, traveling through a landscape of coffee plantations and pineapple fields.

Nestled under the palm fronds of a coconut plantation on the shores of Haapiti Lagoon, the Tiki Village recreates old-island life with its thatched-roof pandanus houses. Stroll through the village and see demonstrations of tiki carving and mat weaving, and a dance performance by villagers in traditional costume.

Head to Papetoai, where you will visit the island’s oldest church (1822). Amazingly, it is the oldest European structure still in use in the South Pacific. Its octagonal shape is unusual, and it was built from the original stones of a Tahitian marae, or open-air temple, that once occupied the site. This is the oldest European structure still in use in the South Pacific.

Drive on to Kia Ora Lookout for more sensational island and lagoon views and opportunities for photography.

Visit the Moorea Fruit Juice Factory, where juice is made from local papaya, grapefruit, pineapple, and other tropical island fruits, along with 10- to 40-proof star fruit, ginger, and papaya brandies and 25-proof liqueurs from coconut, ginger, and pineapple. Sample these products and visit the gift shop for island souvenirs and gifts.

On the return route to the pier, you will pass through Le Petit Village and Afareaitu, the island’s largest village.

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Moorea: taken March 5 while hanging out, awaiting authorization to enter Papeete

The ferry was a multi-hull, making the ride smoother. It carried vehicles. These were on-loaded from the stern and off-loaded at an angle near the bow.

There was some craziness getting off the ferry and onto a bus at Vai'are, the latter caused by the fact that they commingled tour numbers rather than a one-tour-number-one-bus approach. One of the guides tried to explain to an irate passenger that staging the tours from here was complete improvisation since tours normally come ashore from cruise ships at the other end of the island. The terminal here was not equipped to handle the influx of people and tour buses.

Eventually, we were on our way for a circumnavigation of Moorea.

Church of Sainte Famille

Our guide was Gary. He came to Moorea from California in the 1990's. He was a self-admitted surfer dude who said he could not remember how many jobs he had lost chasing waves. He eventually settled down and became a teacher and guide. He was knowledgeable, and his California accent made him easy to understand.

Mou'a Puta ("Pierced Mountain")

We had to drive around Mou'a Puta. The guy said we were fortunate it wasn't cloud-covered, so we could see the hole at the top. He said it was possible to hike up there to have your picture taken in the hole. Particularly looking at the angle of the final ascent, I was glad we already had other plans.

On the way to Tiki Village for a demonstration and show, Gary told us that adding to today's confusion was that those originally booked for the 8:00 could not have gone there, so the tour company had to double-up on the later one. As a result of an unspecified scheduling error that I strongly suspected lay with the tour operator, there was a wedding there that morning. Pam & I had been scheduled on that tour and had wondered about the shift in our departure time.

at Tiki Village

Let's begin by agreeing that anything touristy named "Tiki Village" sounds really hokey. Pam & I were braced for the worst. Surprise! After a less-than-promising start involving how to split coconuts with a sharpened wooden spike. I was not inspired to whittle one of the tree branches in our backyard to a point, and then to go coconut shopping at Shaw's. For openers, I don't like coconut.

By extension, a demonstration of shaving coconut meat from the shell with a sharp, flat stick does not earn a standing ovation from me.

When my interest waned, I looked to my right and had a pretty good view out across the water. This picture does not do justice to how hard some of the waves were hitting the barrier reef.

The fabric dying demonstration did not set my heart aflutter, but I admired the technique.

Let the show begin!

It was quite entertaining.

Back on the bus, we continued clockwise around the island while Gary kept us entertained with his informative patter. 

[Note: I will not vouch for hearing everything accurately. I have also not fact-checked the statements.]

• Other than a gaggle of businesses and government buildings near Cook's Bay, there is nothing resembling a town anywhere on the island.
  
  
• There are three brands of gasoline on the island, but no gas prices are posted because the government regulates gas prices to avoid gouging. Stations compete based on location and service.
  
  
• Trash is a major problem, with even recycling not being a great option because the nearest recycling plant is in New Zealand, nearly 3,000 mi away.
• Some foods are designated PPN (Produits de Première Nécessité - Prime Necessity Products). These included baguettes, the consumption of which is half a baguette per person. To accomplish this, the government provides bakers with the ingredients. The baker is allowed to keep the money he makes to cover overhead and profit.
  
  
• The entire land mass of French Polynesia equalt the state of Rhode Island.
  
  
• Unlike some of the islands of French Polynesia further west, these islands have little they can produce and export. Many shipping containers leave the islands empty. For this reason, freight charges are based on a round-trip cost for one-way transport.
  
  
• Moorea and Tahiti are as far as you can get on earth from a continent.
  
  
• One medium-sized parrot fish excretes about one ton of white sand a year.
  
  
• Four-sided roofs survive cyclone winds better than two-sided ones.

What about an octagonal roof?

Located on the north side of the island on the Bahia D Opunoha Bay, where Nieuw Amsterdam was supposed to anchor, and situated next door to the tender pier, was Temple De Papetoai. Gary's short version of its history was that it was founded by Protestants. The locals were fine with the idea of god and the church, but did not care much for all the restrictions the founding members placed on them, so they broke away from the church to pursue a 'relaxed' form of Protestantism. 

looking up Cook's Bay with the island's largest mountain - Tohivea - in the background

Gary and the other guides frequently reminded us not to dawdle because we were booked on the last ferry of the day, and the ferry line was unmoved by pleas to wait. We stopped for a photo op at Cook's Bay on the north side of the island.

We had one last micro-stop on our way back to the ferry.

These are Sofitel's over-water bungalows.

These are the people having their pictures taken when the bus pulled up, completely distracting them from the photographer.

We got back to the ferry terminal at Vai'are with time to spare, as the ferry had not yet arrived from Papeete. Eventually, we boarded. The no delay departure apparently did not apply to everyone. We hung out at the dock waiting for some late arrivals. This is probably being a bit harsh since they did arrive in ambulances that were backed into the front of the ferry so they could be the first ones off.

out through the Moorea barrier reef

Moorea astern

disembarking in Papeete

The line of passengers awaiting a shuttle back to the ship induced us to walk, which took about ten minutes. Going past the food trucks lot, alas, there were only four there.

We got cleaned up, had dinner in the main dining room, and returned to our stateroom. Our assessment of the day was that it had been a long and at times taxing tour, but well worth it.