Bonjour from French Polynesia

The Pacific Ocean is massive.  The northern hemisphere of our planet has the higher population, but the southern hemisphere has the most ocean.  We sailed for 6 days after leaving Hawaii and enjoyed every sea day.

We made 3 stops in French Polynesia - Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora, which are all part of the Society Islands and are territories of France.  We wake up early each morning and go up to Deck 10 and watch the entry into each Port from the front of the ship.  There are several retired airline pilots  and many experienced sailors on board.  It's great to have their comments on the winds, currents and navigation conditions as the ship is maneuvered into each Port.  Deck 10 is also a perfect venue to enjoy the view as we approach these amazing mountainous islands.  They appear as silhouettes from the far distance, then as we get closer, the colors and the details come into view and we are mesmerized by the natural beauty.  It's like unwrapping a gift from Mother Nature each day.

In Tahiti, we visited the French colonial city of Papeete and enjoyed the mountains in the background.  It was very hot and humid in the busy city, but we enjoyed exploring the waterfront area.  It was fun trying to read the French street signs and try to get around.  Fortunately, Brian has retained a good bit of his high school French and does pretty well.  Late in the afternoon, we finished our visit in Papeete with a cold, local beer called Hinano.

The entry into Moorea was breathtaking.  The Soujourn anchored in beautiful Cooks Bay and we were taken by the ship's tender for a quick ride to the pier.  We both agree that Moorea may be the most beautiful place we have ever seen.  The high dramatic rockface peaks reach up into the sky, then the many shades of green of the rain forest covers the hills below reaching down to the white beaches along the turquoise waterline.  In the morning, we walked along the waterfront taking in the scenery.  In the afternoon, we took a snorkeling tour.  We swam and snorkeled with the giant stingrays and blacktip sharks.  The water was  many shades of blue and as clear as a swimming pool and the temperature was perfect.

Bora Bora was another stunning island.  We saw several of the resorts that offer the iconic over-the-water bungalows.  They are really amazing and look like so much fun.  However, the prices run around $1,000.00 per night so we passed up the opportunity to stay there overnight.  We took another snorkeling tour and saw the graceful sharks and giant stingrays and many colorful fish in crystal clear water.  It was thrilling to have the 4 foot blacktip sharks swimming by our legs and making eye contact with the huge stingrays.  The stingrays appear to enjoy the human interaction.  In the evening, we returned to Deck 10 and watched as we sailed away from this beautiful lush green island and sailed due west into a spectacular sunset with a glass of champagne in our hands.

Au revoir to beautiful French Polynesia.  We hope we can return here some day.

Next stop -- Cook Islands.