Overview
Teri and I could hardly pass up deal we found on the web through Discover Wholesale Travel: $699 (+taxes, etc.) included air from LA and stay at the Club Bali Hai (in Cook's Bay). Here is an account of our trip (in a more functional-than-elegant web page). We spent at least 24 hrs each way in travel. The island of Moorea, just north of the main island Tahiti, is a very laid-back South Pacific island with spectacular bays, beaches, and mountains (listed by some to be second only to Bora Bora in natural beauty).
We envision that Hawaii's culture may have been like this 50 years ago. There are no high-rise hotels, no trashy souvenir stands, no American fast food. The locals have been adamant about retaining their natural and cultural environment. Only French Polynesians can buy land, for example. Tourism is obviously favored (there are tours involving petting of sharks and dolphins which we did not do), but natives seem conscious (and cautious) about the dangers of tourism. They were all friendly, however.
Most things were quite expensive, so we tried to stick to the local produce, etc. (which is fresher and better anyway).
Currency US $1 = 128-133 French Polynesian francs
° Drove from Boone, NC to Charlotte for 3:15 flight to LAX (via STL)
° 10:15 flight to PPT (Tahiti) on Air New Zealand (which I rate excellent), 9 hours
° Arrive Papeete airport 5:30 am, as sun begins to rise
° 10 min bus to port, 30 min catamaran ferry to Moorea (Island north of Tahiti), 30 min bus to Club Bali Hai, Check in
° Lather on sunblock (this became a daily 15-minute ritual)
° Walk to bank (4 km), still got slightly burnt
° Dinner at Alfredo's: Mahi-Mahi fillet was good, pasta with "fruits de mer" (tuna, mussels, shrimp) was overcooked and on fat spaghetti, and tuna, caper, and endive salad (pretty good), and a bottle of water (French owner never serves "tap" water, even though everyone drinks it).
° Walk to Belvedere Lookout. The island is basically one large extinct volcano. Walked up dirt road, past church service with singing (along with canned music), passion fruit, avocado, and coconut trees, papaya orchards, pineapple fields, creek, ruins
° Snorkel at Sofitel Ia Ora, near local airport (with Jim and Karen), find sunken chest.
° Canoe around bay
° We ordered fresh fish for dinner whenever we went out. Our favorite: poisson cru, or raw diced fish salad (see recipe). Grilled mahi-mahi was another favorite.
POISSON CRU [Raw Fish]
INGREDIENTS
1 pound fresh yellowfin tuna
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup coconut milk
Large pinch salt
1/2 cup shredded or grated carrot
1/2 cup thinly sliced cucumber
1 large or 2 small vine-ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/2 bunch green onions, trimmed and sliced
2 Tbsp. minced chives or parsley
2 tsp. grated lime zest
Cut the tuna into 1/2-inch thick strips about
2 inches long. In a large, non-reactive bowl (such as glass),
combine the lime juice, coconut milk and salt and stir to mix.
Add the tuna, carrot, cucumber, tomato, green onions, chives and
lime zest. Stir to mix and taste for seasoning. Serve right away.
° Walk to Sheraton (6 km), swim and snorkel, back to hotel with Judy and Wendy
° Lots of great snorkeling: shallow (6') water over white sand and lots of coral.
° We saw (Manta?) rays, eels, and many colorful fish.
° Take easy day due to sun and previous day
° Pancakes and coffee breakfast at The Blue Pineapple
° Chinese restaurant
° Rent old bikes to west side of island (17 km), got flat tire,
° Wade out to private "motu", lunch and snorkel, swam across lagoon to other motu to see rays, Teri "chased by an eel," got bike fixed
° Ordered fresh tuna pizza from Allo pizza (1100 FP)
° Canoe to Supermarché Are (in Pao Pao)
° Walk to the "aquarium" shop (1.5 km)
° Lunch: bagette with butter, fruit, cookies
° Swim at Club Bali Hai
° Polynesian dance show (a downpour forced us to move under a shelter). The dancing and music was very entertaining, though we wanted more historical or cultural explanations. The audience all said thank you in Tahitian: "Maruuru" (it s supposed to be pronounced something like /mah-ru-u-ru/ with a slight trill on the r s). Every vowel is pronounced, as in Hawaiian.
° Dinner at roulette ("le truck"): poisson cru (850), meka grille [swordfish?] (1000), Orangina (200). This cheap place had the freshest and highest quality food on the island in our experience.
° Walk back in rain with Noah and Luke
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Sunrise |
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War canoe at the "aquarium" |
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sculpture |
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another out-of-focus Habiscus |
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Teri enjoying downpour |
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Teri |
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Polynesian dancing |
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moved indoors, Teri joins in |
° Bike out to Sheraton for one last visit (cooler, overcast day)
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Teri at Sheraton |
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Waiting for return ferry |
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Waiting to board plane (2:50 am) |
° 2:30 AM flight from PPT to LAX, arrive 3:15 PM
° Going through customs, we claimed a piece of fruit (Pamplemousse: a cross between a grapefruit and a lime). They took it from us to be destroyed and would not let us eat it right there.
° Delayed flight from LAX to STL causes a missed connection
° Stay the night in the Double Tree in St Louis
° 10:15 flight from STL to Charlotte
| Karen and Jim Vigil | karenmvigil@hotmail.com |
| Judy Doeppel | judyadoeppel@compuserve.com |
| Wendy Quintanilla | wq@10spacedesign.com |
| Don, Miki, Skyler Flores | sweet0813@aol.com |
| Noah | mrlnokos@wanfear.com |
| Will and Lido | will@soohoodesign.com |
| Greg (tatoo) and "the boys" | millergr@caes.upenn.edu |
01:
5 am sunrise at Papeete airport
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Catamaran ferry to Moorea7 am Club Bali Hai
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Palm tree over Cook's Bay (Teri)
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Palm tree over Cook's Bay (Gabe)
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Dinner at Alfredo's (tuna, caper, and endive salad)
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Alfredo's
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Alfredo's (Gabe)
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Breakfast outside room
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View of Club Bali Hai
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mis-focused flowers
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church service with singing
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pineapple fields in inner valley
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Papaya just out of reach
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Creek below road, where we had a coconut snack
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Belvedere lookout: Opunohu Bay
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center
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Cook's Bay
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Teri resting
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beach at Sofitel Ia Ora
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Hotel Sheraton
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Sheraton (Teri)
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Sheraton (Gabe)
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Sheraton patio
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Sheraton huts over water
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G and T at Sheraton (taken by Wendy Quintanilla)
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T reading in our room
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Fish for sale
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Supermarché Pao Pao
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Pancakes and coffee
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Along Cook's Bay
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Surfing dogs
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Boat in Cook's Bay
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Teri in pool
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T and G at Bali Hai, schooner behind
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Pacific Ocean, between the bays
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Biking past Opunohu Bay
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Private motu (small island)
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Motu (picnic) (taken by Judy)
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78: Moorea main island in distance
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Trying to get onto road (fence all along Club Med)