Live from the Amsterdam - Our Tales of the South Pacific

[TiogaCruiser]

Hey, I resent that "better than nothing" remark. LOL

 

At least this time they weren't whale cuisine.

[arzz]

Day 30 - Halloween at Sea

 

Overnight the lower dining room was buried behind layers of strips of black gauze interspersed with life size skeletons. Have not seen the upper dining room yet. I will report on that later.

 

Outside our temps warmed into the low eighties as we move northeast towards Bora Bora. The seas today no longer look like denim as they have for the past few days - they are now flatter and smoother with long swells and tiny ripples at the surface - in the sun their texture reminds me of a blue sand desert but luckily no large blue sand dunes.

 

At trivia today, once again we did not win - I think we were jinxed by the cumulative scores. As far as our team was concerned today was an unusually tough sets of questions - nonetheless - John Wayne got his nickname "Duke" from his dog, the creator of the TV show "Friends" based the concept of the show on Sharkespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing", the family friendly book about the "Coats" family that you might have read as a child is "Old Yeller", the biggest environmental organization in the world is Greenpeace and the capacity of passengers plus crew on the titanic was approximately 3500.

 

There will be a Halloween Party in the Crow's Nest at ten this evening but otherwise it was a day at sea. Location guide Kainoa spoke on the migration of the Polynesians, lecturer Charles Urbanowicz spoke on "World War II is over and Some Words on French Polynesia", Melvyn Foster regaled us with a talk on "Ocean Liners go to War" and Captain van der Loo held a question and answer session and he announced that, as expected, he will be leaving us in Papeete as Captain Eversen and Henk Mensik rejoin the ship.

 

The upper dining room was also decorated for the holiday with desiccated bodies hanging from the walls and large "Keep Out" signs. The menu items were rated with Halloween adjectives and since this was a gala evening (attire was formal or costume) we had one of the best menus of the cruise. My rack of lamb was wonderful and DH enjoyed the Dover sole.

 

After dinner we went up to the Crow's Nest briefly to see the Halloween decorations but did not stay for the party as we have an early morning tour in Bora Bora tomorrow. We are so boring ...

[Randolphkay]

Anxious to hear your report on Fanning Island. It is very primitive but was one of my favorite Island. The children were some of the most pleasant I have ever seen. Very pleasant and so willing to talk to you. Be sure to take some money with you the women there have made some beautiful baskets and other crafts. To me this was a most meaningful trip . Hope you enjoy it and glad you are taking school supplies they really need and appreciate it. If you get a chance the children also love the fresh fruit and I had taken some little toys for them, made me feel like Santa claus. The women and children also entertained us while we there.

Day 10 - First of two days in Honolulu

 

It has been hot in Hawaii this year. Many days in the '90's which is most unusual - and today was no exception in terms of the weather. It was very hot and very humid with temperatures in the nineties as opposed to the norm of 70's to mid 80's.

 

Last time we were in Honolulu on the Amsterdam (2008) we docked by the Aloha tower - today we were at Pier 2 - a bit of a hike from the Aloha Tower area. Last time we rented a car and drove to the North Shore - DH did some body surfing which did not go entirely well. So as not to embarrass him too much I will not repeat the story. Suffice it to say this year we are not renting a car here or driving to the North Shore. Maybe next trip.

 

Having port time in Honolulu, however, is kind of like having a reprieve from our packing errors. Don't tell anyone but DH packed for a 45 day trip to the South Pacific and took only one pair of shorts. So today we were in the big city and we had the opportunity to rectify his packing mistake. We went to the Ala Moana shopping mall. Anchored with Nordstrom's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale's - why it was just like being at home in the Chicago area. Well, almost.

 

The mall is multilevel and there was nothing that we were able to detect in the signage to let us know at any time what level we were on. Even when we went up to the big mall maps there was no "you are here" sign. At least none that we were able to discern. Because of Hawaii's historically mild weather the mall is sort of indoor/outdoor so today it was very hot. Nevertheless our Mall IQ and our personal desire not to be pegged as tourists got us through the shopping experience. We even found the Walmart that is one block away and managed to purchase some supplies for the school on Fanning Island.

 

Shopping was followed by lunch in a wonderful Japanese restaurant, then back to the ship. It was important to get back before 3:00 or after 4:00 as the ship was having preventative maintenance to its stabilizers and electrical systems today and they needed to turn the ship in order to work on the stabilizers on both sides. Far be it from me to complain about any work needed to keep our stabilizers in good condition. The electrical work was fairly simple for the passengers as it only affected the elevators for five minute periods a few times during the day.

 

We made it back to the ship a little before 3:00 where we cooled off our wilted selves in the air conditioned comfort of the Amsterdam.

 

There was a Hawaiian luau BBQ this evening on the Lido deck - we passed. Even after dark our air here is still thick, humid and hot. Tonight's show was presented by a group from Maui and called the "Drums of Polynesia".

 

When we returned to our cabin after dinner we found the huge hanging monkey towel animal dangling from the air handler in the center of the cabin ceiling. Though it is an outstanding piece of towel art (this one even has a tongue that sticks out and is wearing a flower behind its ear) - it will still scare the c-----p out of me tonight after the lights are off. It will be moved shortly.

 

Tonight we sleep with the cabin drapes closed tightly. Our cabin faced the water this morning when we docked - now our starboard side cabin faces the pier. I wonder if I will sleep as well tonight without the motion of the ship.

[arzz]

Day 31 - Viatape (Bora Bora) French Polynesia or Men in Thongs

 

We woke up this morning to the tenders being lowered past our window and room service delivering our breakfast. We were in Bora Bora. We have gone North East since our last port - closer to the equator so the temperatures are beginning to climb as is the humidity. We booked Patrick's tour with a group from Cruise Critic - we needed to be on a tender by about 8 am -- for me that might as well be the middle of the night. I have read so much about Patrick's tour on cruise critic for so long that I considered it to be a must do tour. It did not disappoint.

 

We assembled on the dock after a short tender ride. Cruise Critic had booked three of Patrick's boats today. As soon as the money changed hands and enough people had arrived we were loaded into Patrick's outrigger, motorized canoes (12 to a boat) and off we went.

 

For our first stop we motored out through a gap in the reef into the open ocean. The boats stopped and we were off into the water. As soon as I put my mask on and my head into the water for the first time I was greeted, up close and personal (maybe two feet away), by a black tipped shark. If I am correct he was very happy to see me and there might have been a drop of drool dribbling from his mouth. The snorkel site was full of sharks, mostly the beige colored black tipped sharks that are two to three feet long, but there was also an alarmingly large lemon shark (at least six feet long) grazing along with us. Quite the experience.

 

After everyone had finished paddling about with the sharks we were back in the boat and off to snorkel site number 2. Here we were greeted by large numbers of sting rays - they were everywhere in the incredibly clear blue water that was shallow enough so that we could walk around. We were real up close and personal with these creatures and our guide pointed out how to tell which ones were pregnant females. There were sharks here also.

 

On to snorkel site number three - to snorkel with the small and colorful reef fish (and a two foot long fast moving fish that was a member of the barracuda family). What great snorkel sites, such clear water - a beautiful place.

 

Back in the boats again we continued around the island. By the time our trip was done we had circumnavigated the whole island of Bora Bora. We motored past many hotel resorts with their private guest rooms on stilts over the water and past places where there were still remnants of World War 2 guns used during the American occupation of the island. However, there was no fighting that took place on this island. We also passed the site of an ancient place of worship set into the coral at the ocean front. Patrick spend some time on each boat - sharing stories and playing the ukulele.

 

The island itself has white sand beaches, lots of tropical vegetation, and craggy mountains. There is one mountain on the island that seems to attract its own weather with its head in rainy clouds all of the time.

 

Our fourth stop was at Patrick's Motu, or the family land where there were picnic tables and a large lunch cooking. Most of the meal was cooking in the traditional underground oven (suckling pig, two types of plantains, breadfruit, tarot root, tapioca root, a large pot of "spinach" and coconut milk, and more). Patrick explained that this is the typical Sunday family meal as he took off the blankets and leaves and unearthed the hot food. In addition to the food cooked underground there were a couple of men (in almost invisible thongs) standing at a grill and grilling fresh tuna and mahi mahi. Quite a sight to see a man in a Polynesian thong (which is virtually invisible from the rear) facing the grill and grilling our food.

 

We ate on "plates" of large leaves in the traditional fashion, with our fingers. After the meal Patrick, who is a tall, proud man covered in Polynesian tatoos and also wearing nothing but a thong, lit both ends of a baton - there was some fire eating, baton twirling and some additional dance movements designed as if to "dare" the fire to cause personal harm.

 

A good time was had by all.

 

We are overnight tonight in Bora Bora. Not sure what we will do tomorrow - it will be impossible to outdo today's adventure.

[arzz]

Day 32 - We are still in Bora Bora - I think

 

I only think we are still in Bora Bora because we did not get off the ship today. Yesterday was so spectacular (still reverberating over those men in thongs grilling tuna) that it would be hard to top. Also, DH had a sinus headache today so we just took it easy. Considering that we do not have a sea day until Saturday - we took our own sea day.

 

Leisurely breakfast followed by the Monday Times Digest crossword. Only difficulty with that is that we finish it so quickly on Mondays. Since we were not at sea the ship was quiet with few scheduled activities - but that was actually a pleasure. We had a very nice day.

 

It is a good thing that we did our swimming and snorkeling trip yesterday as today that large mountain at the center of island, the one that seems to control the weather, got the upper hand - it was very breezy, cloudy, with some sprinkles and the temperature was in the seventies. We heard that Patrick did not take his outriggers out into the open ocean today as we did yesterday due to the weather and the currents.

 

The ship will not leave port until much later tonight. All aboard is at 10:30 pm - we have all of 39.1 nautical miles to go to our next port.

[Lizzie68]

Arzz, the men in the thongs obviously left an impression for you.:D

Thanks for your reports, reading them is part of my daily routine now.

[Copper10-8]

Awesome travel log Arzz; keep up the great work! Looking forward to being onboard AMDM once again in San Diego on 16 NOV

[Dr.Dobro]

Hey Arzz,

 

This is Roger & Karen, your trivia teammates from the Amsterdam last Christmas. We are on the Volendam, en route right now from Bali to Perth. I was curious about whether anybody was blogging our cruise so I burned some Internet minutes poking around Cruise Critic. No blog for us, but I came across yours. Fun reading!

 

We started in Seattle on Sept. 23 (I think) and hit a few of your ports (Honolulu, Pago Pago, Suva) on our way to Sydney, and we are continuing now on a circumnavigation (counter-clockwise, of course -- it is the Southern Hemisphere) back to Sydney. We will spend a night there, then board the Noordam for a 13-day spin around New Zealand and back to Sydney, then fly home. Eighty cruise days total, and we could probably get used to this.

 

We experienced your date line dizziness only once, skipping Oct. 8, which is my mother's birthday. No presents this year, I told her.

 

Our cruise has been pretty good. Dining room service has been great (we tend to eat late, so things are pretty snappy). I tried snorkeling for the first time in Vanuatu and New Caledonia (had cataracts done and no longer need glasses) and loved it, so I will look to do more -- didn't feel ready for the Great Barrier Reef. We also suck at trivia this cruise, but I have to say that the questions we are getting are nowhere near as good as the ones we had on the Amsterdam -- either ridiculously easy or impossibly difficult, with one quizmistress who is quite young, inexperienced and afraid to rule on whether "close" answers are acceptable ("If it isn't on my paper, it's wrong").

 

Only snags have been a flood in our room (sprinkler in the hall, but we got moved for a few days and given a Pinnacle dinner -- no damage to anything, thankfully), and a fiasco getting into Bali (tide too low, so 8 a.m. docking was out; try again at high tide at 2:30, but dredger blocking the channel; made a big slow circle for 24 hours, then finally got in). Couldn't skip the port because people were embarking/disembarking, and we're glad we didn't, because the place was a real trip. But Geraldton, Australia will be bypassed and so it's straight on to Perth for four sea days.

 

So that's the news from the Volendam. Will continue to read of your adventures. I will close with the doggerel I wrote for you last January:

 

There once was a cruiser named Roxy

Who would always pack something tres foxy

"It's because Ed insisted,"

She said, "But he's twisted --

To wear that I would need much more moxie!"

 

Happy sailing,

 

Roger & Karen

[arzz]

Day 33 - Uturoa, Raiatea, Society Islands

 

About 79 miles from Bora Bora is Raiatea (I apologize as yesterday I posted incorrect mileage between our two ports).

 

Our day started at about 7:45 am when the Captain came on the intercom and apologized. It seems that there was some issue with the anchor and the winch last night when they pulled the anchor up. According to the Captain the anchor chain kept hitting the side of the ship until about 3:45 am when they were finally able to fix the problem. We heard nothing and slept very well.

 

Oh, ho, hum - another tropical paradise with white sand beaches protected from the open ocean by a ring of coral reef ... it is all becoming so common, and breath taking. Today there is a bit of overcast in the skies so the temperatures are moderate (mid-seventies) and there is a nice breeze.

 

Island paradise you would think? A place to imagine that some day we will just run away and come here to hide from the world and live the simple life? Well, no dice for us. There is something going on outside that sets DH's allergies off - yesterday's headache is gone but the congestion remains - clearly this isn't paradise for him.

 

This is by no means a complaint - but rather a topic of interest to me. We are well fed on this ship with an amazing variety of food. At the beginning of the cruise, however, we were musing with friends about how many of the islands might be able to supply the Amsterdam with various stores needed for the trip - like food, wine, fruits and vegetables since so many of our ports are such remote places. We have been on other long cruises but they have gone to foreign ports that are much more in contact with the modern world.

 

It has been interesting to watch the progression of ingestible items. Our fruit plates have gone from watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew to pineapple, then ripe mango and then papaya, bananas and grapes. On the lido there are bowls of sliced oranges and chopped apples. In the main dining room, much to the chagrin of our table mates, the sommeliers have run out of their favorite wine. The wine steward promised that there would be more wine in Papeete.

 

You may recall that when we were in Rarotonga a few days ago I mentioned that was the first time I had seen an airplane since we left Hawaii. It will be interesting to see what happens to the fruit plates after we leave Papeete. There has been no discernible affect on the presence of meats and other items that can be stored frozen or are not perishable. As I said before, we are well fed and we are very much enjoying the tropical fruits which we cannot get at home with the same flavor that we have here.

 

Today we again did nothing spectacular - but we did stroll the charming port area where they have created a series of small buildings with thatched roofs that house small shops full of local goods, a small park and some cafes where baskets of French bread and local beer seem to flow freely. Chickens and small birds also roam free around the port.

 

By afternoon the sun was almost completely gone and the winds kicked up enough to put quite a bend in the coconut palms in the park at the port. The date and time channel says the winds are about 23 knots, and DH's allergies are improving. Cause and effect I guess.

 

Just before sail away time we took ourselves up to our usual spot in the Crow's Nest for views and music. We were entertained by a fellow in the water who was "kite surfing" - I think that is what you call it - he was using a small board or water skis attached to a kite which had no difficulty catching our winds this evening and he went back and forth to and from the island making turns that propelled his board several feet into the air - all on wind power.

 

Due to the winds and the possibility of rain the sail away scheduled for the aft pool deck was moved to the Crow's Nest. Our quiet venue with the incredible views and mellow guitar was invaded by the sail away crowd, the Polynesian dancers and ukulele, and narration by Kainoa. I am not complaining here - it was just different. The Amsterdam stayed inside the coral reef and provided us with an hour of scenic cruising - quite a challenge as we zig zagged through the coral which at times is so shallow it reaches up above the water's surface. Before we could leave, the Captain had to get clearance from the local airport so that our passage around the island would not interfere with local air traffic. That is just how it is down here.

[kazu]

Just another admirer to say thanks for the great live thread!

 

Hope your DH is feeling better soon.

 

Really enjoy reading about some of the places we will be visiting next year :)

[Copper10-8]

.....................You may recall that when we were in Rarotonga a few days ago I mentioned that was the first time I had seen an airplane since we left Hawaii. It will be interesting to see what happens to the fruit plates after we leave Papeete. There has been no discernible affect on the presence of meats and other items that can be stored frozen or are not perishable. As I said before, we are well fed and we are very much enjoying the tropical fruits which we cannot get at home with the same flavor that we have here.

 

...............................

 

You'll (AMDM) will get some heavy loading of stores in Papeete for the two days you are there. Have a great time!

[KirkNC]

On our Maasdam cruise up the Amazon our fruit and veggies got noticeably nicer in Manus. We were told they had them stored in the port in containers filled with nitrogen.

[Scrapnana]

Thanks for the information about Patrick's tour in Bora Bora. We will be doing his tour in April and it sounds wonderful (although I'm not sure about getting up close and personal with sharks:eek:).

[hpf]

Thanks for the information about Patrick's tour in Bora Bora. We will be doing his tour in April and it sounds wonderful (although I'm not sure about getting up close and personal with sharks:eek:).

 

And I thought you were going to say "with the natives in thongs". :D

 

Hehen

[arzz]

Day 34 - Papeete (Tahiti), French Polynesia

 

We have had such incredible weather that I should not complain that we did not have sun today. When we awoke the sky was overcast and cloudy and it pretty much rained lightly on and off all day.

 

We had a tour scheduled that was organized by a cruise critic member - we did the Green Pacific Boat tour and even considering the weather which was not ideal it was a very nice tour. The Green Pacific Boat is a motorized catamaran that can take up to 40 people but today it was chartered for our group of 20. There was plenty of comfortable padded seating on the large covered deck, observation deck above, a bar, a washroom and a friendly crew. Who could ask for more?

 

The plan for the day was to first go out to find dolphin, then swim and snorkel, then lunch, then back to the ship. As we started out on our journey the sky got more and more grey and it was clear that off to the side, where the island of Moorea is supposed to be, it was very dark and raining hard.

 

We motored all the way out to the line of reef that protects Papeete from the pounding surf - and in the grey weather, with light rain falling and the wind blowing, we passed through a gap in the reef - but not without significant maneuvering - apparently the wind today was opposing the current from the tides which created an interesting situation - as the large breakers broke on our bow and pushed the rushing water around our feet. Quite the experience.

 

Once outside the reef there were huge swells that we just rode up and down until - yes - there was a group of dolphins who swam with us for a time jumping and playing at our bow. Despite, or maybe because of the weather, I was quite impressed and really enjoyed seeing these wonderful sea creatures.

 

From there we motored over to a sandy area where the water was shallow enough to stand in for swimming and snorkeling. It was cool and windy so not everyone went in to the Tahitian waters. That was OK as there were juice and Mai Tais on board. After swim time they served a very nice meal of chicken skewers, grilled sausage, a local fresh tuna ceviche type of salad prepared in coconut milk, and local fruits. A very nice day.

 

Actually, a very tiring day - after returning to the ship we showered and went up to the Crow's Nest for some guitar music and discovered that we could not keep our eyes open - it is only by sheerest accident that I awoke in time to make dinner this evening.

 

At dinner we were all surprised to see the Crown Princess now docked on our port side - as she had not been there last time we looked - our waiters said that she had just arrived. We listened to the stories from the folks who stayed on board and watched the large shipping containers unloaded and then loaded on the Amsterdam. Our fruit cup at dinner contained avocado and melons instead of apples. The preferred wines came in. Apparently the fruit situation had gotten a bit precarious and the ship had to take on some extra local fruit a couple of days ago.

 

We leave Papeete after an almost complete overnight - all aboard is at 4:30 am. At dinner we mused whether we will be hearing Gene on the intercom announcing that everyone is back on board and inviting us to a sail away party at 4:30 this morning - we thought they could serve pigs in a blanket ...

[arzz]

Roger and Karen - (Dr. Dobro)

 

what a great surprise to hear from you while you are on your 80 day Pacific Odyssey. Sounds like a great trip - you really should post about it as many folks (like us) on cruise critic will be interested.

 

Especially thank you for sending us the limerick as we have been wanting that. Hang in there in trivia - sometimes the team is just magic (like we had on the Amsterdam at the holidays) - other times you have to work for it. Hope to sail with you two again someday.

 

From somewhere between Moorea and Rangiroa - I will post my daily blog later.

[arzz]

Day 35 - Oponohu Bay, Moorea

 

The weather was better today. Some clouds but mostly sunny. The interesting piece, however, was that the breeze (and there was a noticeable breeze) was cool - so if you were out of the sun it was incredibly comfortable.

 

Today was another tender port (as the majority of our ports this trip have been) but the air was not too hot and and we were inside the reef so the ride was easy and the tenders came rapidly today.

 

Someone on board said to me today that Moorea is what they thought Tahiti would be. We ported in Papeete yesterday which is a large metropolitan area. There were nice beaches and snorkeling available but staying around the port, well it was just a big city in the middle of paradise.

 

Moorea, on the other hand, is an island that sits about 20 nautical miles off the coast of Tahiti. The around the island road is about about 60 kilometers (or less than 38 miles) in length. There are no big cities here, just small villages, craggy volcanic mountains covered with incredibly thick green vegetation, and a few resorts.

 

We picked up an around the island tour at the tender pier. The three hour tour actually ended up taking four hours, but it was worth our time. This island is stunning. So are the beaches. Folks we spoke with this afternoon who went to beaches or snorkeling also had magnificent days.

 

Our tour began by taking us to "the Belvedere" a tall mountain that overlooks Cook's Bay - its peak is surrounded by permanent mists and not visible from the port. To get all the way up you need a four wheel drive vehicle or just hike. Our first stop was at a lookout over Cook's Bay with the mountain "Bali Hai" (used in the movie South Pacific) in the background. We walked around in the mists and dodged mosquitos surrounded by incredible natural beauty.

 

Our next stop, close by, was at an ancient sacred site where there were rock mounds that were used as part of the ancient religion on the island - rumor has it that under the rocks are the bodies of those that were sacrificed in religious rituals. We were still in the heavily forested mists. The roads to and from these sites were narrow, full of switchbacks and steep drop offs. Several times when our small bus met oncoming traffic and one of us had to back up - I had to close my eyes.

 

Everywhere we went on the island we were surrounded by beautifully colored wild chickens and roosters. Some of the roosters even stopped to pose for pictures.

 

The tour made two commercial (and restroom) stops along the way. The first such stop was at an agricultural school where they made and sold fruit jams which we could sample for free. They also sold fresh fruit juices that were essentially fresh fruit that has been run through a blender - we had a tall glass that was half papaya juice (on the bottom) and topped with pineapple juice which was unbelievably good.

 

There are huge pineapple plantations on this island as well as coconut, grapefruit, banana and breadfruit groves. Local industry includes the juice factory and coconut processing (they process the whole coconut - including the production of coconut oil). All of the products produced by these ventures are for local use on this island and Tahiti - they do not export.

 

Tourism is another big industry but in the past several years the large resorts have stopped employing locals and instead they bring in workers from France so island unemployment is high as is alcoholism, domestic violence and incest. Our guide said that there used to be a lot of jobs for everyone in the tourist industry and they have now all gone to the French.

 

Our second commercial stop was at the juice factory where they also produce juice mixed with rum - we all received samples of their coconut-pineapple-rum juice which was quite tasty and produced a happy bus for the rest of the ride around the island.

 

We passed many schools today but they were closed as this week is a school holiday. I missed seeing the groups of children at the local schools.

 

As we cruise along this evening on our way to Rangiroa we can see across the water, traveling parallel with us, the Crown Princess that we left behind in Papeete last night. Sure hope she doesn't port with us at Rangiroa since she is such a large ship the two of us in port together would certainly overtake the island. I guess we will see in the morning.

[arzz]

Day 36 - Avatoru, Rangiroa

 

We are still in French Polynesia. Today is November 6 ... on November 16 we arrive back in San Diego. We have only one more port day after tomorrow. Most folks would be delighted to have a ten day cruise ahead of them ... on board the feeling is different. Everyone can feel the cruise winding down and few people want to see it come to an end. This trip has been delightful in so many ways. I have nothing of substance to complain about - actually nothing to complain about at all.

 

This morning we anchored off of the "island" - this is another coral atoll like Fanning Island - but this one hardly has any substance at all. It is a skinny ring with a large lagoon in the center - the lagoon measures 42 miles by 14 miles. Much larger than what we would normally classify as a lagoon. We were anchored in the lagoon and could only see the shore nearest the ship - we could not see the across to the other shore - yet from the Crow's Nest we could see across the island out to the ocean as this island consists of such a narrow spit of land.

 

It was raining hard when we got up. The skies were very cloudy - there was a noticeable wind, temperatures in the mid seventies. We had a leisurely breakfast and decided that we would tender over around 10:30 am. When we got down to the tender platform area a tender had just arrived and we saw more people coming back from the island than those who were waiting to leave. Those returning were wet. We chatted briefly with a couple of folks and decided that the morning was not the time to go in.

 

We tried again after a light, early lunch. The sky was still overcast but the rain clouds were no longer there. Due to the winds even from our position in the lagoon the tender rolled back and forth significantly over the waves. Once on the island we could walk along unpaved roads to the ocean shore (about a quarter mile across) where there were rocky coral beaches. The tender pier is in a very small town that had facilities for divers (diving is big here), a couple of small cafes, and stalls selling pearls and handicrafts. The Post Office is in a town 10 km around the island.

 

We walked across the island to the open ocean beach, shopped the stalls and stopped for a quick beverage at a cafe that claimed to have free wi-fi. Well, DH couldn't even get a wi-fi signal on his phone - so much for the free wi-fi.

 

Yesterday he went to the post office and purchased an internet card only to be told later that the system was down. If he could have gotten to the post office today he could have used yesterday's card. For some reason he has been unable to download his email from ship, and even more importantly he wanted to download the last two books in "The Game of Thrones" to keep him occupied during our crossing home. Oh, well - he might have to resort to reading those old fashioned things made out of paper that they have in the library on board.

 

After returning to the ship we met friends who had signed up for a snorkeling excursion with HAL. After a harrowing tender ride to the island early in the morning when it was still raining hard they found their snorkel boat, smaller than the tender, bobbing in the water with a life jacket laid out on each seat. Considering the winds and the expected currents from the winds (and the life jackets) they decided to turn around and tender back without going on their excursion.

 

This, essentially, was our day. Tonight our clocks go forward by 30 minutes.

[Wehwalt]

I suspect you took Frankyfrank's tour in Moorea ... I went to the same places with him.

[Alphen]

Only spotted this live report, after watching this week’s airing of Discovery channel’s Mighty Cruise ship episode of MS Paul Gaugin around French Polynesia. Until now, I was not aware of the beauty of this area and reading your live report, only makes me more jealous of this beatifull cruise on Amsterdam. I have put this cruise on our list, probably have to wait another four years after semi-retirement, since 48 days is way out of our holiday off from work!

 

Love your report and see so many of our memories pass by in your colorful description of your everyday cruise life!

 

I hope Amsterdam will continue to schedule this cruise for a couple of years

Edited November 7, 2015 by Alphen

[Copper10-8]

Only spotted this live report, after watching this week’s airing of Discovery channel’s Mighty Cruise ship episode of MS Paul Gaugin around French Polynesia. Until now, I was not aware of the beauty of this area and reading your live report, only makes me more jealous of this beatifull cruise on Amsterdam. I have put this cruise on our list, probably have to wait another four years after semi-retirement, since 48 days is way out of our holiday off from work!

 

Love your report and see so many of our memories pass by in your colorful description of your everyday cruise life!

 

I hope Amsterdam will continue to schedule this cruise for a couple of years

 

30 SEP - 17 NOV 2016 Jeroen, 53-days on Mokum ;)

[SilvertoGold]

30 SEP - 17 NOV 2016 Jeroen, 53-days on Mokum ;)

 

That's a good term!

[Copper10-8]

That's a good term!

 

That's one of the nicknames of my city of birth ;)

[cccole]

We will be on Tahiti and Moorea at the end of the month and I loved that even with over cast skies you were able to enjoy the beauty of the islands. Possibly your last stop in Nuku Hiva will have the wi-fi your husband needs. As always, thank you for letting us cruise with you and your positive sense of adventure. Cherie

[Alphen]

30 SEP - 17 NOV 2016 Jeroen, 53-days on Mokum ;)

 

Anything for late 2020 will do, unless you can put in a good word for me with Jeanine ;)

 

Otherwise, four weeks is the max we can cruise for the moment.