Club Bali Hai Hotel Cook's Bay

... limited in choice than in the formal dining room was freshly cooked to order, the service was good and not hurried and the general ambience excellent - a much more satisfactory dining experience than we had in the regular dining room. It was then time to head off to watch the entertainment for the evening, a film called 'The Bounty', starring Anthony Hopkins, Mel Gibson and Liam Neeson with a storyline based around the Tahitian islands - a very enjoyable couple of hours.

... fantastic book; 'The Visitation' by Frank Peretti. He's my new favourite author, and reading's one thing we have a lot of time for. That and swimming in the pristine beaches here...woe is me...hehe Anyway, although it sounds like we never wanna leave, we miss you all back home soooo much! And we really can't wait to get back and see you all. We should be getting some dvds made of the shows in 2 cruises time, which I know will make you very happy Mum. Miss you all and love you too!

... fifty passengers and two destinations. What does it take to put bags on a plane? This wasn't helped by the next flight to New Zealand being just fifteen hours away! I had a friend at work who never swore but would use, in times of frustration, the expression 'Aardvarks!!!!!" I never fully knew its origin but this was definitely an "aardvark' moment. We made the usual enquiries at the lost luggage counter (we know the ...

... of Opunohu Bay and Cook's Bay. During the walk I saw pineapple plantations - the fruit is used to make amazing fresh pineapple juice! I spent the rest of the time swimming & kayaking around the lagoon. I really liked Moorea and would love to have seen the island with clear blue skies. But overall I found French Polynesia to be just too expensive for what it is.... I think the coasts of Brazil and Turkey are just as nice and a lot cheaper!

... this with and I finally felt as if I was making real and lasting bonds with people. At one point I had a strange thought and had to voice it; I said, "This is the part in movies where they make a pact and bury something." And it's true - that would have been the time in a movie where the group of friends makes a special pact like all the other movie promises to always be friends and never lose touch, and then they bury something to commemorate the moment and to ...

Woke early, to find us nearing Moorea. Looks like we're going to anchor in Oponohu Bay while the Paul Gauguin is going into Cook's Bay. (I write this while Paul checks email in the library.) We were hoping to read that the package from Chase had been delivered to the Bali Hai today - but it shows as still in Papeete. Paul and I did our ten laps while we pulled into the bay, then we went down, at 08.00h, to meet M&P and A&M for ...

Up early, as seems usual. Cup of coffee, then began round of phone calls - to Princess, to UPS, etc. At 08.00h, Paul and I walked back to the Internet café to get addresses - for Sheraton Papeete, Poste Restante, and anything else we could think of. Then - another round of phone calls. I won't go into the gory details, but it wasn't until 10.30h that we had any resolution. Chase was finally willing to give us our new number over the telephone, which we can then use with Princess. We ...

A very lazy day today - hot and humid - a good day for seeking out the shade and the breeze. It began overcast. Paul and I walked to the Internet café - actually paused under a tree to let a rain squall pass. Nothing major in emails. Kids came for a brief check of their accounts. Walked back; now sunny and muggy. Allie and Mike went out on another motu excursion. Ann went for a walk. Daniel, K&K played in the pool, then Daniel played in the sand ...

Woke up to another lovely morning. Deck was not too wet this morning, so I did my yoga there. Sat and had several cups of coffee, discussing island transportation, etc. Watched as the highest point on the island (Mt. Tohiuea - 3958') continuously generated clouds. You can see how ancient Polynesians found previously unknown islands from the cloud patterns. After coffee, K&K walked to the store for milk and baguettes; Ann went ...

A great day. (Makes up a tiny bit for yesterday.) Went early to the Internet café so Paul could take care of some business (as Data service is not available in French Polynesia). Then, at 09.30h, we all boarded the Liki Tiki for an excursion (with a dozen or so other people). It was a glorious day - all sun, limited wind. We first went out to a reef, where we anchored. Our captain, Bruno (same Bruno from 20 years ago?), got into the water ... and the reef sharks began to ...