Cruising The South Pacific

                                         The South Pacific

                              
Regatta cruised from San Diego, CA to Honolulu, Hawaii in 5 days. It took another 5 days to reach Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands. The purple triangle in the above map shows part of the area where our ship sailed; Polynesia. All in all, Regatta spent many days on the South Pacific Ocean. And we didn't even go to the North Pacific! 

                        How Big Is The Whole Pacific Ocean?

                               
Area: 63.8 million sq miles
Average depth: 12,925 ft
Volume: Estimates vary from 317 to 330 million cubic miles
Facts:
The Pacific Ocean (The name Pacific originates from the Latin word 'pace' which means peace. Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer, named the ocean 'mar pacifico' in 1591.) is the latest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia int he west, and the Americas in the east. It covers about 46% of the Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galapagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific. The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the Pacific and in the world, reaching a depth of 35,797 ft. 3 people have been there! The Pacific Ocean is so vast that it covers more area than all land masses in the world combined. It contains about 25,000 islands, the majority of which are found south of the equator. 

(above info from Oceania Cruises Currents Newsletter Nov. 4, 2017

               What did we do on those sea-cruising days?
         
                             Crossing the Equator Ceremony
Day 13 was a Cruising the Pacific Ocean day, but it was very special. We crossed the equator! If you've ever done by ship, it requires a special ceremony. From the beginning of time seafarers have participated in ancient ceremonial initiations for crossing specific navigational parallel's on the globe.
Such practices are so vintage in origin that their derivation has been lost. The tradition continues with the initiation of all Polliwogs, those soft gushy creatures that have never crossed the Equator into the secret society of Shellbacks, the hard, tough creatures that have crossed the Equator before. Since Bob and I crossed the Equator on our last cruise to become Shellbacks, we watched the ceremony from the top deck as King Neptune and his band of brothers and sisters paraded around and then transformed the pollywogs! (Sorry, I didn't get any good photos of the transformation. It involves water being dumped over your head and kissing of a giant fish, which was a real one!)

King Neptune and his queen.

Regatta Band leading the Crossing the Equator Parade with
King Neptune ready for the initiation.

      

Relaxed! Read! Relaxed! Relaxed on our veranda watching the sunsets. Delighted in many sunsets.                                                                         Watched rainbows. Read books.

Papeete, Tahiti and Raiatea, French Polynesia

 Papeete, Tahiti, Society Islands, French Polynesia 

Papette is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the South Pacific.

It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia.
The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous with surrounding coral reefs. Tahiti is the most populous island of French Polynesia. The capital is Papeete. The standard of living depends on direct foreign investment and resources from France. The economy is totally reliant on imports and tourism.

We took this little electric train around the city center. Not too much to
see on a Sunday as everything was closed and it rained off and on. 

An overnight stay in Papeete to embark passengers for the second half of the cruise. We enjoyed
a lovely bottle of champagne complements of Oceania as we started our second part
of the cruise. It rained, so we did a quick tour around the city center of Papeete and relaxed
onboard the ship and
our veranda for the day, enjoying the harbor view of yachts and sailboats with
the misty-cloudy-covered mountains int he background. 

                     Raiatea, French Polynesia, Society Islands

                   Raiatea is the second largest of the Society Islands, after Tahiti.
                      The main township of Raiatea is Uturoa. It is where we were docked.
                 Raiatea was one of our favorite islands stops, along with Moorea.

This charming little colonel style town has 3 banks, 2 post offices,
a hospital, pharmacy, a local market, and supermarkets. 

                                

                                                 

We enjoyed a perfect weather day on a motorized canoe with a stop at a pearl factory to learn how pearls are made. Then we went up the Faaroa River (Polynesia's only navigable river) to view wild hibiscus, bamboo groves, chestnut trees and inner flowers. Lastly, we were dropped off at a small
private island to walk the beach and taste some local juices and fruit.
The island economy is mainly agricultural with exports of vanilla, pineapple and coconut. The noni plant is also grown and cultivated.

    

View from the canoe as we headed to the river. 

Hanging on the wall in the pearl shop.

Noni Plant.

Pearl factory and shop stop before exploring the River.

Navigating the river.

Enjoying a refreshing coconut water.

People selling coconut drinks along the river

Our canoe.

A nice way to end a sightseeing day!

The end.

 

Bora Bora, French Polynesia

                               Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Bora Bora is an island in the Leeward group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas collective of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is an extinct volcano. Bora Bora is surrounded by a lagoon and a barrier reef. In the center of the island are the remnants of and extinct volcano rising to two peaks. The island was first inhabited by Polynesian settlers in the 4th century. It was an independent kingdom until 1888 when its last queen was forced to abdicate by the French who annexed the island as a colony. Tahitian and French are spoken. The monetary unit is the Franc with US dollars widely accepted and English widely spoken. Tourism is the main economy. The permanent population of Bora Bora is about 8, 880. The scenic beauty of the island as well as its aqua-centric luxury resorts makes it an international tourist destination. However, it is one of the most expensive places to stay and play in the world. To stay for one week at one of the luxurious over-the-water-lagoon hotels is about $10,000! We spent our days (stopped there twice as we are actually sailing on 2 back-to-back cruises) at a free beach. The water was warm and we swam and watched the sting rays swim past! After that, we went to the famous "Bloody Marys" restaurant for a local beer and called it a day. Since we were anchored offshore, we also enjoyed the views from our lovely veranda while sipping a vodka tonic.

                                     

                                

Free Beach with waters as clear as the sky.

While walking the beach, we met up with one of our favorite staff
from  the ship. Jazz is a very special person.  She's so joyful! We make a point to
find her every single day. She's a delight to talk to--- a joy to the world.

We joined the ranks of Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, etc etc by having
a beer at Bloody Mary's bar. (Passed on the expensive Bloody Marys)
Outside the entrance of the restaurant/bar
is a huge board with all the names of the famous people who
have visited. Don't think that ours will be painted on it, but Bob
was hoping to have his next to Bubba Watson!

Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu( 2,385 ft) as seen from our veranda.

Sailing into Bora Bora one of the  most magnificent sites to see.
It is one of the most spectacular wonders on earth.

                               

Tendering into Bora Bora's port. 

Good evening Bora Bora!

Our ship, Regatta, anchored in Bora Bora.

Treasure this day, and treasure yourself. Truly, neither will ever happen again.        -Ben Bradbury                       
.

Moorea, Society Islands, French Polynesia

              Day? (have totally lost track of what day we are on!)
                                                 Maeva 
                                                               
                       Maeva (Mah-yeh-vah) means welcome in the local language. 
                     
                    Moorea, Society Islands, French Polynesia
                                                             Anchored in Opunohu Bay

Our ship anchored in Opunohu Bay, Moorea

                 

Tender ride to shore 15 minutes
Temperature 83º
Language: French
Money: CFP Franc (but US $$ accepted)

This is the shape of Moorea.
The paved circle-island road is 26 scenic miles long.
Notice the two nearly symmetrical bays!

Moorea is a high island in French Polynesia, part of the Society Islands, 9 miles northwest of Tahiti. Its position is 17º32'S  149º50'W. Moorea means "yellow lizard" in Tahitian. Like many of the other islands, Moorea was first settled by Polynesians from the islands west of it. They arrived on canoes coming down from South Asia looking for islands to settle. They arrived in Moorea 1000 years ago. There are some ancient stone rocks that are shaped like pyramids. On the rocks are carvings that tell when sacrifices sometimes took places. These landmarks are called Marae. One of the first European settlers arriving during the 18th century was Captain James Cook.
                                                                               


                       Perhaps Moorea could be nominated for the World's Most Gorgeous Island!
                                                         
                                                                               
We typically don't do excursions organized from the ship. They are too pricey. We get off, look for some locals who are advertising an adventure, discuss the price and make a decision.  Or, we look on Trip Advisor beforehand and check out the reviews for the area. Anchoring off of Moorea twice (first cruise and second part), we decided to do a small van tour to see the highlights of the island. There were only 6 of us in the van. Our local driver Grace kept our interest level up with her knowledge of the  gorgeous surroundings she calls home. She was born on this island and is raising two children.

Grace, pounding a rock on the walnut tree, demonstrating  the
method of communication used 'back in the day.'

Grace walking along the path to the Marae (ancient
stone temples found on the island's interior.)

                                               

Belevedere Point, the highest place accessible by car. 

   
                             

                 

Stunning turquoise waters inside the coral reef of the Hotel Sofitel.
You can  rent one of these huts for $500 a day! 

Happy about the tour so far!

Can't get enough of that color.

Part 2: Moorea
Swimming with the Sharks and Stingrays

Bob and our friend Kerry boating out to the swim area in the rain.

Exit one boat and get on the outrigger canoe for a ride into the reef.

These sharks and many others circled around us!

They were curious and looking for a handout!

Our outrigger took us out into the shallow waters of the lagoon.
The guide slaps the water and the stingrays come for a feeding!
Of course, the sharks are hoping for some too. 

Bob looking at the stingray while petting its head.
After photo-taking from the outrigger, I put my iPhone safely away
and joined in the fun. Touching a stingray is quite the experience.
It is very very soft and squishy. As long as you stay away from their eyes,
they like being petted. Go figure!

Nana (nah-nah)
Goodbye in the local language.