Day 25 - Saturday Jan 21 Raiatea, French Polynesia

Raiatea photos

position at 8:00 am: S17:29:37 latitude W149:42:23 longitude
(Raiatea, French Polynesia)
temperature: 80F and 95% humidity
distance since FLL: 9081 miles

Here are the exchange rates and fees our bank has charged us for ATM transactions so far:
$101.58 + $2.03 to get 10000CFP
$81.13 + $1.62 TO GET 8000CFP

Clay was up early to upload journal entries that have been waiting for upload. He then went up to deck 12 for his morning walk. About a mile into the walk, a torrential downpour emptied the top deck of the 3 people who were up around 5:45am walking. Clay finished his walk on a treadmill on deck 6.
Debbie got up after six. Clay had closed the curtains in the middle of the room in the middle of the night and there was no sun coming around the balcony curtains to wake her. She got up to look for sunrise anyway and was facing the wrong way, but had a view of Raiatea in the distance with a big rainbow. Tried to take pictures. Showered, sunscreened for the big day ahead and off to 7am breakfast at LaVeranda. Much anticipation for Chocolate Croissants! Usually on weekends, we try to have a large, late, leisurely breakfast in Compass Rose, but our 2 big adventurous ship's excursions are this weekend. Debbie grabbed a plate at the buffet and scooted around the corner to the pastry tray. Back with 2 chocolate croissants on her plate for Clay to point out a big tray of strawberries and a bowl of powdered sugar. Double Hooray! Also, the special today was Eggs Benedict, so she ordered one of those too. In LaVeranda, you get one egg on one muffin half, which is perfect. In Compass Rose, you get 2 eggs and both muffin halves, a bit heavy.

We got seats outside on the back deck of LaVeranda for the finish of the sail-in and docking. It was great. The channel is so narrow, we were looking just about straight down on island and in people's back doors as the ship's horn sounded. We couldn't tell if they liked that or were annoyed. It had to be something for them though! At dock here were 2 big yachts of Bora Bora Cruises. They look very nice.

We have a ship tour to take today, leaving early around 8:20 am after docking at 8:00 am. Below is the ship's description of the tour.
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Radisson's Tour Description
Faaroa River and Island Exploration

Duration: 3½ Hours.
Walking.


Raiatea, known as Sacred Hava'i, was the Polynesian center of royalty, religion, culture and history. It is also a lush tropical garden with verdant mountains, waterfalls and rivers. This tour features a 4x4 safari vehicle that takes you to the interior of the island to view tropical vegetation that includes bamboo forests, chestnut, mango trees and countless varieties of ginger flowers. The island relies on cottage industries, and you will have the chance to see family gardens with a variety of crops. The final stop is a visit to the Marae Taputapuatea, the sacred site from where the ancient Polynesians departed, to discover Hawaii, New Zealand and Easter Island - the other islands which now form the famous "Polynesian Triangle". Fresh fruit and juice will be served before embarking motorized outrigger canoes for the second part of this adventure.
Once onboard the canoe, you'll glide over Raiatea's deep blue lagoon waters towards the mouth of the Faaroa River, the only navigable river in Polynesia. Along the way, you'll view wild hibiscus purau trees, bamboo groves, chestnut trees and more. Your guide will relate Polynesian history and folklore that explores famous voyages that started from this river to all islands in the Triangle.
Please note: This tour will commence via 4x4 vehicle or canoe. Guests who depart in the canoes will leave 30 minutes later. If traveling with friends on this tour, please book at the same time. The canoes are not covered and sun protection is essential. There is no swimming or snorkeling on this tour. It involves some rough off-road driving, and is therefore not recommended for pregnant women or those with back and neck problems.
Price: $72 pp
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We really enjoyed the tour. We were 6 to a jeep with padded benches down each side of the back. We started out with a canvas cover on top. It was the most pleasant day we have had weatherwise. There was a constant cooling breeze. Our guide, Tutu, told us the name of this wind and that it is the usual and good wind for them. If it comes from the other way, it has a different name and brings cyclones; bad wind.

They divided the group at the pier's terminal building into 2 groups; one to start in jeeps and one to start in canoe. We were in the first group and were escorted to the jeeps, where we were divided again. Donna & Alan (southernlady from LCT) was in our group in the other jeep. Before we started Tutu got out a map and showed us where we would be going today and how we would get there and what we would do there. The river is basically a long bay with a wide creek running into it on the map. Tutu pointed out were we would get in the canoe and that we would return to the ship by canoe. This was about 3/4 of the length of the island, almost one end to the other from the canoe boarding point to the ship, inside the reef or in the lagoon. Debbie stopped him and said, wait a minute we're going the length of the island in a canoe! Tutu cracked up and said yes, but we did not have to paddle. Debbie is nervous. Debbie does not like boats.

We had a nice drive and then went inland to drive around Faaroa Bay to the inside of the old volcano's crater. It was a rough dirt track but it was very scenic. About half way up we stopped and got out and they put down the canvas tops. We got better views, but also got hotter in the sun. Tutu made lots of stops and went out and picked up flowers, fruits, bark, nuts, etc. to tell us about. He introduced his mascot Sam to Bob. Bob had a bit of a fright! Tutu was a lot of fun. He was informative and attentive, an excellent driver and funny too. We left the jeeps for a potty break back down near the shore and visited the Taputapuatea Marae. Tutu walked us across the street and had us stand in the shade in the middle of the 4 different altar areas. The big one to the god of creation, a small one to the god of war, a large one at the shoreline for welcoming ceremonies and another large one that we did not walk to and don't remember what it was for. Debbie asked what made all the holes in the ground under the trees where we were standing. Land crabs. OK, time to go get a snack and then board the motorized outrigger canoe!

The motorized outrigger canoe was great! Debbie wishes we could do all ship's tendering in big outrigger canoes. It was nothing like the bobbing ride of the tenders, which makes her sick. This was smooth and gentle motion. We went for about 20 minutes, then we turned into Faaroa Bay and on up to the river. On the way, they handed out yellow slickers and told us to put them on because it was going to rain. It did. We were wet from sea spray anyway, but it did rain pretty good for about 10 minutes, then it was over. No rainbow. The river was very shallow, you could see the bottom in lots of places. It is hard to imagine that the people who populated all the Polynesian Islands from here, to Hawaii, to New Zealand departed from the mouth of this river and left from the opening in the lagoon in front of the Taputapuatea Marae. Everything is so small for such an enormous undertaking! We made about a 10-point turn in the river and headed back out. The flat top of the extinct volcano, Mount Temehani, was covered by a cloud hanging down its sides which reminded us of the tablecloth on Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. Beautiful. About 30 minutes later we were back at Voyager.

We walked around the small downtown area of Utoroa and bought a bottle of 12-hour waterproof SPF45 sunscreen for extra protection tomorrow on the waverunners and motu day at Bora Bora. Shopped around but did not buy anything else. We saw Mike, the Executive Chef out buying a bunch of taro root. Lunch menu at Compass Rose is a repeat of one we had on the first segment. (Chicken ala King for Olivia, Chilled Granny Smith Apple soup for Ngaire, Cajun chicken sandwiches for Clay & Debbie.) We just wanted something quick and casual, so up to LaVeranda and the buffet. Nothing memorable.

Our balcony door has been fixed!! We never even complained but we wondered how some people were even able to use the balcony because the door was so dang hard to open! Maybe Mishiel complained to someone, we also wondered how she was getting out there to move the cushions around. After lunch, Clay went to tug on it and it just glides quietly and gently along. Excellent. Also, there was a tray on our table. It has note that 4 chocolate croissants are to be delivered at 8:30am! Another great surprise. Thanks Anna! Debbie will have snacks for all day and night! Wonder if they refrigerate well in case there is another dry spell?

Today the Daily Passages had a surprise for us. We were originally scheduled to sail out of here at 6pm. It says we will not sail until 6am tomorrow! All the restaurants except Compass Rose are closed tonight. They are closing the pool deck at 3pm. Weather permitting we are supposed to have a BBQ and Polynesian Party with Les Gauguines from 6:30 to 9pm. We certainly hope that weather permits. There have been 3 or 4 good hard rains since we arrived this morning. Dress is Polynesian casual. Tropical shirts for men and pareos for ladies. Clay bought a shirt in the Marquesas, but Debbie has not bought anything Polynesian to wear except a t-shirt and a temporary tatoo! We'll see.

Some catching up. Debbie's sunburn from the equator crossing/country fair finally blistered and started to peel in Papeete. It is still peeling. Not attractive. Also, in Papeete, Debbie observed that the Tahatians sure were kissy people for it being such a hot and humid climate. They sure are, we have observed this double kissing behavior on all the islands so far. And Debbie is right, we are so sweaty everytime we see it that all we can think is that we would say - Get OFF - if someone were to greet us like that here. A woman that we had dinner with at the Regent Beverly Wilshire in LA broke a tooth and went to the dentist in Papeete. Then, she went and got a big tatoo across the small of her back. Not sure if the 2 things are related. She said the tooth did not hurt at all, but the tatoo really hurt! (Hence, the temporary tatoos!) As we were anchoring in Nuku Hiva, after 6 long sea days, Debbie gazed at the small, lonely island and said "This must have been where Betty had the worst day of her life." Here's to Betty (GrayWolf from LCT). We wished you good health and happiness from the sight of your medical evacuation on Nuku Hiva almost a year ago. We could not imagine how awful it must have been for you and Al after being here ourselves. Also, in Nuku Hiva, apparently the people on the ship got a marine life show and we missed it! We heard about 2 8-foot across Manta Rays that swam around the ship a few times over a period of time that allowed just about everyone who was aboard Voyager to see it. We watch for 6 days at sea without ever seeing any sign of life. Finally, we get on land and so we miss the sea life. Go figure.

About 4:30pm, Debbie took the tray with the chocolate croissants out on the patio to Clay. We had most of them with the 1/2 bottle of Roederer that has been in the fridge since LA. We watched the little port shopping area shut down and les roulottes set up as we toasted the end of the day. Salut! Then we got rained out. Hope the deck party upstairs doesn't get washed out tonight. Clay needs a shower and Debbie has to go find her black Nuku Hiva T-shirt and see if she can get away with wearing it with a skirt tonight with her tatoo.

Back from the Polynesian BBQ Party Under the Stars. It was a near disaster. It was raining seriously and all the tables in the center got soaked and the waitstaff ran around pulling up cushions and placemats. The food was under cover up by the entrance to LaVeranda, so it was ok. But, there was no covered seating. At some point, LaVeranda got opened up and people were taking plates of food in there and also back to their rooms. We got there before meal time at about 6:20pm and got 2 of last few seats available, sitting with 2 women who did not speak English. It was interesting. They served roast piglets, grilled chicken, ribs, steak, cold seafood, a Mexican taco table, a sushi table, an appetizers table, and a dessert table. We had to walk out in the rain to get our food under cover and then walk back to the table in the rain. We were dry where we were sitting, but it was crowded and there were no cushions on the folding wooden chairs. Meanwhile more and more people were coming on deck as the rain slowed, looking for a spot. So, as soon as we finished eating we vacated our spots so someone else could sit to eat and listen to the live music.

Checked les roulottes from the balcony, but there were still only the 2 trucks we saw setting originally. Not enough to tempt us back out for the evening. So, early to bed tonight in anticipation of our big adventure tomorrow before another long sail from French Polynesia across the International Date Line and to New Zealand.

Raiatea photos