Armelle - Pension Tahiti

... side of the road but we asked her for a shop at which she pulled into the petrol station. We got out and managed to get some spaghetti, hot dog sausages, bread, cheese triangles and water. Once back at the house we tried to work out how we would cook our tea, in the end the lady had to cook it for us which meant it was not as we had planned and the sauce had to be eaten cold. After tea we brought our washing in from the line and then played cards before getting an early ...

Iaorana! After the calm of Tuamotu and the Marquesas, the traffic and concrete of Papeete came as a bit of a shock. I canīt say itīs been my favorite stop so far, but there have been some highlights. We went on a spectacular hike of the second highest peak on the island, Aorai, with Francois, a man Adrien met in Tuamotu. It was a hard climb of 21 km, and I was dragging by the end, but the views were spectacular. The smells and textures of a forest were wonderful after so much ...

... and will soon have her name changed to the Ocean Princess. On arrival the captain was presented with a flower to show him the beauty of the island. On departure, he was presented with a shell to keep as a remembrance of the island. You could tell that he was sad to leave his second home. As we left people were standing on the pier waving a final goodbye to the White Lady. The Captain sounded three long blasts followed by one short blast of the ship's horn. The White ...

... throguh the hole. With Herve we were right near the water looking through the whole when at one point he shouts out 'big wave' I turn around and see that there is a pretty big wave within 3 secs of thrashing itself on the shore. I had my head practically in the hole, but the wave was so close that I didnt have time to really move off so I stayed put and stuck myself as close as possible to the wall. The wave was effectively big and when it thrashed ...

... navigation bridge. It's a good place for views, as you can see both sides at once despite the various masts and antennae. It's eight decks above the main or upper deck, which itself is well above the sea. So spray from 150m forward was reaching me well over a hundred feet up, if you'll pardon the mixed units.) Prognosis is for more big swell, but we'll be at a better angle to it once clear of the Society Islands.

... pinch myself that I am on this cruise. Having a great time, weather has been fabulous, been exercising daily in the gym and losing inches; Only complaint is the passengers.....old, really, really old. More later. Difficult to type on this French computer which has different keys....§éĢĩų Ship sails at 5 pm today so check the Princess webcam and see us sailaway. We are 2 hrs behind Calif. We will be enroute to Rarotonga, arriving Feb. 3RD. Linda

... of Silence" tour at Ayers Rock. New Zealand is breathtaking. So many mountains and so much greenery. We visited Christchurch, Franz Josef Glacier, Queenstown, Rotorua & Auckland. Our favorite activities included a helicopter flight - we actually landed on top of a snow capped mountain, a boat trip to Milford Sound and Tamaki Tours Hangi & Concert in Rotorua to immerse ourselves in the Maori culture. Fabulous! Finally we ...

... we couldnīt afford them...). There seemed to be a lot of alcohol in them as we were both quite happy after two of them. Then we went for our xmas treat, dinner in the restaurant and had Poisson Cru (raw fish marinated in coconut milk (very good), Mahi Mahi (local fish) with vanilla sauce and a cocunut tart. Very tasty.

... have an obnoxious, gaudy, hilarious tourist stereotype with their Hawaiian shirts and women in heels - it's because it's true! A lady getting off the ferry was even decked out in red, wearing an American flag across her chest. On Moorea, we caught a bus to our hostel which was right in the heart of the touristy part of the island, but where cheap lodging was still available. We didn't stay in one of the over water bungalows that Tahiti is known ...

... be found at the bar asking for "una cerveza por favor"! The bar staff spoke French and if you're lucky a bit of English but definitely not Spanish! They were very confused about why we, an English couple, were speaking Spanish and not English or even better French!!! Other classic lines that we came out with were: "Oui, gracias" or "Un poco mas, s'il vous plait", " Ciao, adios, au revoir, bye"! We then flew ...