Day 23 – Fantastic Day in Tahiti and Moorea (10/9/19)

Written by Kim

Today was our last day in South Pacific before we head out to sea for 5 more days and we sure filled it with adventure. We disembarked around 9 to get the 10 am ferry to Moorea. Our friends decided to stay behind so it was just Alex and I. The ferry took a bit longer than expected (40 minutes) but as a bonus we saw whales during our ferry ride. We planned to just jump on a tour when we arrived at Moorea but we couldn’t find any tours so went to Avis and rented a car.

Local kids doing bike safety training in the square

There is one road that goes around the island so we set off to explore Moorea. What a beautiful island. The mountains, lush foliage and crystal clear blue water was breathtaking. The pictures can’t capture all of the gorgeous landscapes well but it gives you an idea of the beauty of this side of the world. We stopped at several public beaches and went up this windy mountain to Belvedere Lookout. Alex did an awesome driving the manual transmission car up the corkscrew turns of the mountain (I must admit there were a few times I was looking at the drop off with no shoulder on my side of the road In fear. Ugh)

There were a bunch of churches, or marees, as they were marked on the map

Overlooking Cook’s Bay where Captain Cook landed on the island

A bad selfie at Belvidere Point about 2,000 feet high overlooking the 2 bays, Opunohu Bay and Cook’s Bay

There were roosters and chickens everywhere

We stopped for lunch at a little local seafood restaurant. Food was fantastic. Alex and i both had similar dishes with tuna, chicken and shrimp in curry coconut milk sauce.

Chicken & Shrimp (with heads on) in curry coconut milk – left to right on edge of dish coconut bread, breadfruit, taro and tapioca. Picture complete with my chubby belly as a bonus – I’m not a very good photographer

Before heading back to the ship we stopped in the Tahiti market. I was hoping to buy some vanilla but everything was extremely expensive so we passed.

As usual we went to the lounge to catch up with friends. Shared a bunch of stories and laughs. Tony suggested we should get off the ship for a Chinese dinner in Tahiti for a change of pace. We are in port until midnight so we decided to continue the adventure. We couldn’t find the place Tony original wanted to go but walked into another restaurant which was packed but had a single open 4 top so guess it was meant to be. We each ordered an entree which we all shared family style. The food was delicious and pretty inexpensive. What a great change to the ship food.

Spicy shrimp, chicken satay, pad Thai, beef satay. Yummy!

Walking back to the ship we encountered a local Tahitian dance group in the square. What a phenomenal nightcap to a fantastic day.

Good night from Ovation – at sea the next 5 days.