March 16 French Polynesia

   

Mar 16 - 18

Seaday.  This is our typical view all day while at sea.  We rarely see another vessel and will not see land until we are within about 30 miles of our destination.  The sea is not always as calm as this photo, however.

On March 17, the ship celebrated St. Patrick's Day.  Most passengers wore green, and many had specialty shirts.  In the evening, we had a good old Irish singsong with standing room only. 

Merry was part of the flash mob of singers who suddenly sprang up and showed the rest of the passengers how to raise the roof in song.

On March 18th, we crossed the equator for the third time on this trip, but for those new on board, the Pollywogs must go through the initiation ceremony, bowing to King Neptune and his wife, who looked suspiciously like a man, kissing the fish, and being doused with very cold water to become a shellback.

 

 

Mar 19

We finally arrive at Nuku Hiva, the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, which is part of France.  Certain cities are referred to as vertical cities because of their numerous skyscrapers.   This is a vertical island because the mountains climb right out of the ocean with very little level ground on the whole island.

This was a tender port, and we had no excursions planned, so we waited until 10am to take the tender ashore.  It turned out everyone else had waited for 10 am, and the line snaked around the ship with little logic.  So, we went up to the Horizons Lounge for half an hour before trying again, and this time we walked right onto the next tender. 

  

   

The tender was packed with people.  It is rated for 100 passengers as a tender, and we were the last on, at a count of 78.  I cannot imagine 100 in the tender, let alone 150, the rating as a lifeboat.  The hatches were closed, so no splash came in. The 80-degree heat, magnified by 80% humidity and 80% of passengers' perspiration, made the 15-minute ride into a sauna.  On top of that, we had to wait another 10 minutes for the previous tender to unload and vacate the dock.

 

We finally made it to dry land after 5 days at sea, 2,400 miles, and for those who did not brave the storm in Hawaii, 11 days cooked up on the ship, a total of over 5,000 sea miles.  The local singers and dancers gave us all a very warm welcome. 

We have been here before and know there is little to do but take a walk along the beautiful tropical island shoreline and stop to inhale the magnificent view of the bay and the black-sand beach, with our ship glistening in the sunshine.  We sat in a tiki hut-type shaded seating and chatted with fellow guests. 

   

  

Then, we ambled back towards the ship.  Merry checked out all the local stalls selling local crafts.  Unfortunately, we realized we had forgotten to bring our wallets, so we could not buy anything.

 

When we got back to the tender pier, the line was massive.  The morning tour had just finished, and we were again at the back of the line, this time in the blazing sun.  Merry found a seat in the shade while I kept our place in line, under my trusty rain/sun umbrella.  We did not make it onto the first tender, but a second tender quickly welcomed the weary visitors, this time with the hatches open and fewer on board, for a more pleasant ride.

Back at the ship, we cooled off a little and went for lunch before the buffet closed.  Then, a quiet afternoon to refresh and replenish ourselves for the evening.

Rumors were wild that the change in itinerary was imminent, and just before dinner, the waiting was over.  A letter confirmed that the Suez Canal and Mediterranean routes were no longer available due to unrest in the area, and that we would travel around Africa.  This displeases some, and delights others, including ourselves.  We have cruised the Med several times, but have never traveled around Africa.

 

I created a map to visualize the new route.

Mar 20

One more sea day to digest the new route and prepare for the next few days exploring French Polynesia. 

Merry has been practicing with the passenger choir, led by the very able leaders Carolyn and Paul.  This morning, they had the last rehearsal, and at 5:15 pm, there was the pre-dinner show in the main theater.

Mar 21

Rangiroa, at first glance, is a large island, but when you look closely, it is just a giant ring of small islands called an atoll.  They are less than 100 yards wide, most of which are not connected, so owning a boat is needed or using the water taxi, which runs every 30 minutes, so I am told. The area is about 50 miles long by 20 miles wide.  Inside, the water is a lagoon up to 115 feet deep.  Its circumference is 140 miles.  The islands are all that remain of the ancient volcano, and they are the outer rim's tops. We went ashore and took a walk around.

The ship was anchored in the lagoon, but it was unclear how we got in.  We took the usual tender to the pier where dances greeted us.  Only a row of locals selling crafts and no shops in the area. We walked to the other side of the island.

  

We strolled along the shore and took pictures, including one of crew members on the beach with their ship in the background.

We then crossed the island, the short walk to see the Pacific Ocean, and found a sand crab.

    

Due to the heat, we did not stay long and returned to the ship to cool off and have lunch.

After lunch, Merry stayed on the ship while I went ashore again to swim in the turquois 82 degrees warm water.  I picked a beach that looked nice and sandy, but as soon as I got to the water, it was just coral, and it was very painful to walk on.  Note to self, to buy water shoes.  After relaxing in the water for a while, I crawled back to the sandy beach and relaxed on my beach towel under a shady tree, then back to the ship for a refreshing shower.

The ship weighed anchor, and we all enjoyed the wonderful sail out of the lagoon, though a gap in the islands that looked way too narrow to sail the ship through, but our expert captain made it look easy.  All this while the sun put on a wonderful display as it set over the lagoon.

 

   

   

Tune in next Sunday for the next post.