Hey Jealousy....It's not just a Song

I thought of that song by the Gin Blossoms--"Hey Jealousy" today as I was reading my friend's blog. She and her husband are in Tahiti and have been for quite some time now sailing on the Pacific Princess.
Here is a link to her blog. It is very entertaining and very informative:
http://www.pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/

Anyway, back to jealousy. I was feeling a bit down what with the time change looming over my head, feeling cold weather breathing down my neck, less and less light each day. Well, basically feeling sorry for myself. I was jealous that she was there... again and I was here. Before I got myself into a full blown wallow, I pulled on my theoretic 'big girl pants' and made myself think of all that I have to be thankful for.

First of all, out of all the people I know, friends and family both, I am the only one that I am aware of that's done a vacation like I've just done. The people I know are not wealthy. We exist in that class that is known as the middle class. Some of us are high middle class and some are at the bottom. But middle class all the same.

In general, most of us are happy to have our two weeks at the beach every summer, with a trip to Disney, the Caribbean or a cruise thrown in every few years to change things up. As a matter of fact, I felt that way for many years. Then I got bitten by the travel bug..........

Back in the late 90s and early 2000 was when I got my first bite. I got a passport and went on a cruise to the Bahamas and that was all it took. I began to long for distant destinations, more exotic locales, new adventures, ancient history and cultures foreign to me.

A new savings account was started-this one strictly for travel. As my salary increased at work and my kids grew to adults my travel savings account grew. Some people choose to use their increased disposable income for the latest car or a new house or the latest gadgets. Me, I choose to drive an old car and keep my old house. I also think I am the only person on the planet that does not own a flat screen TV. I choose to spend my money on travel.

Don't get me wrong, I have spent money on my house over the years. It has a new roof, windows, furnace, front porch, deck and kitchen. All necessary improvements done over the last 15 years. I also did a lot of work myself-painting, installing shelving, a new hot water heater, hanging blinds etc....And I think my house looks pretty nice.

Oh, I got lost there for minute. Back to the travel bug. Once bitten I'm pretty sure there is no cure. At least there doesn't appear to be one for me. The further afield I roam, the further I want to go. My latest obsession is Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. But I was very impressed by French Polynesia and would love to spend more time getting to know a few of the islands in more detail.  So who knows what the future has in store!!!

For me, part of the excitement of the trip is doing the research and planning. Learning about the country, culture and history. For about 3 years prior to my trip to French Polynesia, I read about the islands, explored the various ways to visit. And during those 3 years, I saved money to finance the trip.

And here we start talking about another type of jealousy. Other people's!
That's what a lot of people don't understand. They asked me over and over how I afforded it or said snarky things like "it must be nice". I didn't pull this money out of the air, I don't have a sugar daddy footing the bill, I did not run up credit cards to pay for it. I saved for it. I chose to bring my lunch to work. I chose to only eat out once a month or so. I chose to only buy the things I needed--not the things I wanted. I lived on a budget.

I created spreadsheets and budgets for the trip so I understood what I could afford and what I could not. (This is nothing new. I have done this for all the trips I've taken-although not to this extent) I also researched how much things cost and how to save money on airfare or hotels. And in the end, I was able to do and see everything I wanted and spend almost 3 weeks in paradise.

After writing all of this, I realize I am no longer jealous. I am grateful for what I have. I have both of my parents--both in good health, living independently and loving me like no one else ever will. I have siblings that I am thankful for. Especially my sister. She has been there whenever I have needed her to help me or just to listen.

I am also blessed with nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles--all of whom have had a hand in making my life full of love and happiness. My mind is full of memories of time spent at family reunions or just visiting for the weekend or the evening. Holidays full of family and too much food made with love. Laughing until it hurt......

My friends need to be included in this list of gratitude. I don't think I tell them often enough how much they mean to me and how much they've enhanced my life. My true friends have ALL been there for me when I needed help or just someone to listen.

And finally, my children. I don't think they have any idea how they've made such a difference in my life and how much I love them. I remember their first everything and how proud their father and I were, and still are, of them. I celebrate every one of their 'victories' perhaps even more than they do. Until I had them, I never knew it was possible to love anyone that fiercely or as much as I do.

I am blessed.

So, in closing, a post that started out full of 'woe me' is ending with me feeling teary-eyed and grateful for everyone and everything in my life.

I think this Gypsy is going to take a stroll down memory lane in future posts. I'd like to relive some of the more memorable places and experiences I've had over the years. I hope you'll follow along!

Vacation Time Rant

While on my Pacific Princess cruise, I had the opportunity to speak to people from Australia and New Zealand about Vacation Time in their country. This is what I was told:

In both Australia and New Zealand, EVERYONE gets 1 month of vacation time. You also have the option to 'buy' up to another month off and the cost is taken out of your pay for the next year.

Also, you are EXPECTED to take at least 1 month of vacation each year. If you don't voluntarily do this, the company you work for will TELL you that you are on holiday for the next XX days. If you chose to come into work, you are working your holiday.

This completely blew my mind. A person, I used to work for, tried to make me feel guilty for using all of my vacation time. There are even those people that lose days or must take days off from time to time so they don't lose them.

I say, what the hell is wrong with that picture? The company says to you: We are giving you these days off and we will pay you for them and some people say "No thanks, I'd rather work"

Who is the crazy person here? I'm thinking it's not me.

The people I talked to were just incredulous of the atmosphere in the US regarding vacation time.

Staying 'connected' while on your vacation, taking your work laptop or checking Email when you were on holiday...Their eyes got big and said Ummm.. No, we don't do that. Our time off is so we can come back refreshed and ready to work.

According to Miriam Webster, here is the definition of "vacation":

• a period of time that a person spends away from home, school, or business usually in order to relax or travel
• the number of days or hours per year for which an employer agrees to pay workers while they are not working

I believe the US has somehow lost the concept of a vacation. How have we let the companies we work for make us believe that vacation is wrong or something you are not supposed to do very often or for very long? And by God, the 'you better stay in touch or else' mentality has spread from upper and middle management to the peons that work for them. 

This is an excerpt from an article:

U.S. workers are using only 77 percent of their paid time off, according to the research group's report released Tuesday. And the decline is not just tied to recent economic worries; use of vacation days are at their lowest point in the past four decades. In 2013, U.S. workers took an average of 16 days of vacation compared with 20.3 days in 2000, according to the report.

The link to the full article is here:

http://www.cnbc.com/2014/10/23/unused-vacation-days-at-40-year-high.html

169,000,000 days forfeited to the tune of $54 billion in benefits . Look at all those zeroes...That's MILLIONS my friends. 

I think we need to take a long look at where we work and why we are doing this. Is this a choice we are making for ourselves? Or is the company or management trying to discourage vacation time? Perhaps it's time to reevaluate our priorities and move the company from the #1 position in our lives.

Just my opinion of course.

I Finally Used the Cubeshaped-like Appliance in my Kitchen

I know, I know? I haven't really cooked a regular meal in a long, long time. But, for some reason, I just couldn't get the Chef demonstration on the Pacific Princess out of my mind. He cooked up this pasta dish that smelled heavenly and looked even better.

Now, I did not have scallops or peppers---but I did have some diced tomatoes and fresh mushrooms. a shallot, cream, a lemon and garlic. Oh and pasta. So, I improvised!  

And, guess what? It tasted pretty darn good. I was proud of myself. My culinary skills are very, very rusty. I would make this again and use more fresh lemon and more garlic and add pine nuts! (Sorry no pictures of the finished product. I ate it before I remembered I was supposed to take a picture)

Oh and in case you were wondering, my feet are still cold and the heat is still on. UGH It's going to be a very, very long time until it's warm enough for me.

What the Hell happened while I was gone?

It seems like I can't leave this state for a minute and it all goes to hell.

When I left for my vacation in late September, it was still hot enough to use the air conditioner. Now, only three weeks later, I need socks, long sleeves and I had to turn the heat on. I am NOT liking this one bit.

I wanted to flaunt my tan in capris and short sleeves. Dammit, my legs are probably the most tan they have ever been. Sadly, the only person who will see them is me. Sigh.

Leaves? Frost? Pumpkin flavored everything.  And to make matters even worse, according to PennLive, the only thing newsworthy in our area is freakin' Football. UGH I honestly don't care who "WE ARE" and I am never going to be "Ready for Some Football".

It's Ova Joey, It's Ova

Day 20 – Moorea Day 7

Since I left home on September 25^th to start this amazing trip, I’ve not had one episode of insomnia. Not even a mild one. Each night I crawled into bed rather early, was asleep in minutes and stayed that way for a good 7-8 hours. It was a thing of beauty. I used to sleep like that every night. 

Last night, I was awake until 2am, tossing and turning and when I finally did go to sleep, I woke up at least once every hour. UGH Of course, when the alarm went off this morning, I didn’t want to get out of bed. But out I got and into the shower.

I headed over to the restaurant at the hotel for a continental breakfast. They did have a decent spread of “cold” food. Lots of fresh fruit, lunch meat, cheeses, cereal, yogurt, assorted decadent pastries and breads, several kinds of fresh juice, water, coffee and tea. I tried to savor every slice of fresh pineapple, papaya and those cute tiny bananas. I think I could have lived life on those and a fresh baguette!

After I checked out, I went down to the reception desk and asked if they would print me an up to date summary of charges. I guess I should have expected it when the place charges 1875 for a pina colada and 500 for a can of soda. The cost of that breakfast: 3210. But Ehh, we live once!

I was given access to a transit room where I could shower and change before I needed to leave. It’s basically just a room with a shower, sink, chair and table that they clean and restock with new towels, shampoo etc. Nice touch as they couldn’t give me a late check out this morning.

So, I spent about 3 hours sitting under an umbrella by the pool trying to memorize everything. It was overcast but not raining and I think maybe that made it a bit easier to leave. The colors were not nearly as vivid. I got into that water a few times and finally it was time for me to shower and get ready to go.

My shuttle arrived on time and took another couple and me to the ferry landing. We boarded the ferry for the trip back to Papeete. The water was pretty choppy going across but it felt like a rocking chair to me.

Once back in Papeete, all the available taxis at the ferry landing had disappeared, so I got a nice workout in by lugging all my baggage about ½ a mile to another taxi stand I knew of. But before I hired that cab, I stopped at The Retro bar and café for a final Hinano. Sigh

$20 for a ride to the airport and the poor old man driving the cab could not lift my bag into the back of his minivan. So, I hoicked it up there and off we went. I arrived at the Open Air Tahiti International Airport where it felt like it was at least 100 in the shade. I was dripping sweat. Ugh. The time was about 7PM. We waited until 830PM until the signs were put up showing you where to queue to sign in for your flight.

Then I had to march to another office “down there a bit” to get my VAT tax refund processed for the pearl I bought. Finally, you got to queue for the pre-queue for security. Then, after being scrutinized by some sort of guard and asked a few questions, you could continue queueing and finally make it passport control, where you are again questioned about your trip. Finally you are off through the actual security line.

I got stopped in security because they spotted manicure scissors in my carry-on. They searched my bag and took out the offending scissors because they had a ‘point’. I think this was wrong but didn’t want to get put on the TSA naughty list so I just said.. Ooops, sorry. The guy filled out a form and make me sign it. It was all in French. I said what does this say? He said, Just that the scissors were yours. Oooooooook!

After waiting another half a lifetime, it was finally boarding time—11:40PM flight. You walked out of the terminal and across the tarmac, in the rain, to a covered set of very steep stairs. You schlep aboard with all your carry-on. As I walking to the jet, I saw this man, carrying this disgustingly dirty plastic handled bag with stains on it that looked like blood. He was very dirty looking and when I got closer to him, he smelled awful. My seat companion for the next 8 hours? BINGO He was wearing shorts as was I and his wiry leg hair kept touching my leg freaking me out once we got seated.  

I asked the stewardess if she could move me… NO CAN DO. What could I do? I reached down into my carry-on and pulled out my trusty bottle of Ativan, took a couple, inflated my travel pillow, covered up with a blanket and faced the window. And thank the Good Lord, I slept like the dead until we got about 1 ½ hours from LA.

Breakfast was being served so I ate my crepe and fruit, left the yogurt, tried one of the bisquity crackers and left the other two on the tray. Unfortunately, my seatmate is still there, stinking and in addition, has taken off this shoes so I could view his lovely thickened and discolored toenails. He is also playing chess on the seat back monitor and every few minutes he utters in a thick German accent, I VIN AGAIN.

As I handed my tray back to the flight attendant, my man snatched the open bisquits from the tray and picked the (unopened) yogurt out of her trashcan. Oh yes, pure class. Swear to God! I couldn’t make this stuff up.

I reached down for my trusty carry-on and got out my little package of handi-wipes, that I personally think smell like some sort of petroleum product, and proceeded to wipe down all the surfaces in and around my seat and seat tray area to overpower some of the stench. Now, all I smelled was ‘gas station’. A huge improvement.

I fumbled my way through Customs at LAX although it was fairly painless and actually organized. My next flight was on Southwest so my bags and I made the trip from TBIT to Terminal 1 and checked in for the flight to Phoenix.

Quick flight and I was in Phoenix phoning Miss Lindsey to pick me up. Off we went to my hotel. I was staying at a very nice Holiday Inns and Suites near the airport. After I showered and disinfected myself, we set off again. We drove to her apartment and she showed me all her new shelving and some new decorating in the bedroom. Their place is looking nice.

Once Ryan got home from work, we all chatted a bit about my trip and then we were off to Pappadeaux’s for dinner. OMG that place is amazing. We had the best dinner. Started off with a dozen raw Blue Point oysters and a seafood trio appetizer to share (Salmon, Alligator Tail & Crab Dip. A crusty baguette appeared and then our dinners. Ryan got the Shrimp and Oysters on some sort of Spinach Risotto. Lindsey got the special—Halibut topped with Scallops and Shrimp served atop Dirty Rice. I got the Costa Rican Mahi topped with crab served over Dirty Rice and Asparagus.

Then we had desserts---3 of them.  Pumpkin Cheesecake, Hazelnut Cheesecake and Hazelnut caramel Bread Pudding. Can you say STUFFED????????  I love this place.

I’m very tired and have the rest of this long journey home tomorrow. It was so good seeing my kids, even if we only spent a few hours together. They caught me up on what’s going on in their lives and I got to hug and kiss them in person! I am most certainly most blessed. Life is very, very good.

Mauru-uru and Nana!

Things I will miss:

·         The millions of shades of blue.

·         Healthy coral reefs

·         New friends

·         The weather

·         Hearing La’orana every place I go

·         Sleeping like the dead

·         Hearing the roosters crowing all the time

·         Seeing the stars with little light pollution

·         Being in the water every day

·         Waking up to ‘that’ view

·         The soft feeling of the air at night

·         Fresh Pineapple

·         Fresh flowers perfuming the air

·         Baguettes for less than 100

·         Crepes

·         Fresh coconut

·         The fact that you will never starve here because you can find fresh fruit trees everywhere and the fish is plentiful.

·         There is no place Flip-flops are not acceptable

·

Things I will not miss:

·         3210 for a Continental breakfast at the hotel

·         84000 dogs running lose all over the islands

·         Blisters on my feet

·         Mosquitoes

·         Having to pay for water

·         Men with serious man-scaping needs

We Interrupt this Practically Perfect Vacation with a TSUNAMI Siren

Moorea Day 6

I start this blog post in the shade of the umbrella next to the pool. It’s almost 4PM and soon time for happy hour. Feeling quite sad but at the same time so grateful to have had this chance to visit this gorgeous country. The sights, people, colors, reefs and all the ocean wildlife I’ve encountered are forever etched upon my mind.

God willing, I will be back here in a few years to experience it all again.

My day began at 5:22AM and to a very loud noise I couldn’t identify. I searched all around the room and finally deduced the sound was coming from outside my door. I pulled some clothes on and peered out my door and the only thing I saw was an empty corridor and the noise—even louder. I went back inside my room and called the front desk to inquire about the noise. This is what I was told. The noise is the tsunami siren. Please come to the front desk immediately. WTF?

I paused long enough to open the safe and grab my passport. It was raining as I hurried to the front desk. There were people gathered and a woman speaking in French to the group. I asked in English what was happening and was told this: The police were conducting a test of the tsunami alarm system. The hotels were not warned but only informed after the fact that it was a drill. They did not control the alarm—the local police did and this alarm had sounded all over the island.

I made my way back to my room and tried to go back to sleep. No luck. So, I started trying to organize my stuff for the long trip home. I gave up after a short time and decided to read and get a shower. After this I went upstairs to the restaurant and had my first breakfast at the hotel. I can only imagine the cost.

I stopped at the concierge desk and picked up my copy of the whale watch. OMG It’s stunning. Of course, I look dreadful but what can you do with hair ‘out to here’ in the wind? But it’s a beautiful summary of the whole excursion. It's far too big a file to upload, but maybe I can figure a way how to add it once I get home. 

It has stopped raining at this point so I decided to go out to the pool. Even at 11:30 the pool was empty as were the lounge chairs! I had my pick. So, I set up camp for the afternoon. It was hot today too. I tried to savor the feeling as I will be missing that very, very soon. Sigh.

About 2:20 I was a little hungry again and chose the only reasonably priced item on the bar menu—guacamole for 550 and a large bottle of water for about the same. I had seen this go by a number of times in the past days here and it looked good. The chips they served with it were an orangey color and I wondered what exotic fruit or vegetable they were made with. Turns out Doritos are very exotic here. LOL Despite that, the guacamole was freshly made and delicious. And the Doritos went well with it.

I am going to go out for my last night here. I want to go someplace that serves crepes. Then the unwelcome task of repacking begins. I want to pack everything in the suitcase except what I will need overnight for the flight, in Phoenix and jeans for the way home. God, I hope I don’t need a coat when I get there.

Kim Kardashian’s ass is here in French Polynesia. A Kardashian looking chick with a butt to rival Kim’s has just pranced in front of me here at the pool. Wow. That’s one thing about being here--Women of other nations are certainly not afraid to let it all hang out. And I do mean hang out. But hey, more power to them. I would not have the guts to wear some of the things I have seen even with a perfect body. If this chick bends over in front of my face again, I’m going to be sick. It’s not like I’m trying to stare at her butt……. Jesus Jenny.

OK, I wasn't going to post it, but she did have it all hanging out there today............And her man was wearing a skin tight suit and it was easy to see how much he loved the way his woman looked. LOL

OK. Here is a photo to cleanse your mind:

I guess I should get up and get moving. Hoping the hotel gives me a late check-out tomorrow as I don’t have to catch the ferry back to Tahiti until 4:45. That will give me most of another day here.  

Back from dinner and most of the packing is finished. (I did get my crepe) I do have to check-out at 11:00am but the hotel is giving me a transit room to use. It’s private and has a place to shower and includes all the toiletries. Nice touch.

Almost time for a glass or two of wine before bed. A long day tomorrow. And hopefully, no molesters on the plane this time. 

I Can't Drive 55!

Days 18 Moorea

Monday: I rented a car today. I am pretty sure it was supposed to be an automatic but when I climbed into the tiny Ford Fiesta, it was a 5 speed. I last time I drove a manual was when I had my Tracer, which was approximately 1997 or so. I decided to give it a try. Surprisingly, it came back to me pretty quickly, although I will admit to forgetting to hold the clutch in when I parked the car a couple of times. There was one iffy moment when I stopped at a little store to buy a bottle of water. I had to back out, in reverse, on a bit of an incline AND I couldn’t see the road on either side as 2 large trucks were parked there. I did drift a tiny bit forward but then backed up without revving the engine or jerking the car. I was pretty proud of myself.

The speed limit around the island is 60. The signs say: Rappel 60.

There is only one road around the island with several turn offs to the mountainous interior. Off I went in a counter clockwise direction. I encountered what is known as the ‘bad road’. It is the same road only a part of it was damaged during heavy rains. They are in the midst of repairing it but have quite a bit to complete. As with everything here, the repairs move on island time and no one is in a hurry. It’s nice though because it forces you to slow down. I had zero incidents of road rage!!!

I came up to the top of a hill and there was a scenic overlook. Stunned once again, I pulled over to take some pictures. I cannot imagine waking up every day to scenes like this. It was honestly like this all around the island.

I stopped at a variety of places looking for the perfect gifts for myself, my mom and my sister. My Mom’s being a late birthday present and my sister’s being a future Christmas present. I am positive I am not going to find anything for my sister because when I returned the car, I had nothing.

I went into a pearl shop called Eva Perles and found a gift for myself. It is the single most extravagant jewelry purchase I’ve ever made. I am not a big jewelry person but this pendant spoke to me. I worked with the owner, a lovely French woman, who has lived here for many years. She owns the shop. As I was the only customer at the time, she was very informative but not ‘in my face’. 

I ended up purchasing a grade A with a very good luster, baroque shaped pearl. She hand wrote the certificate of authenticity and noted the color as follows: Peacock bleu heart, rose body color and emerald green overtone. Now, at first I was drawn to a more purple colored pearl. However, when we went outside to view the pearls the purple one looked dull against my skin but the one I bought looked beautiful. Maybe because of the orange-y base tones of my skin and the green-ish color being complimentary?  Well, enough of that, I am thrilled with the purchase.

And here is a sort of blurry picture, that doesn't do it justice...

I also went to the Lagoonarium near the ferry dock. It’s 3200 and you park your car near the dock and a boat comes and takes you to the motu. It’s about a 5 minute ride. They have a website if you google and the pictures on the website are true to what the place looks like. It is open from 8-4 and you can stay all day if you like. I stayed for about 2 hours. I wanted to snorkel and was not interested in the fish feeding.

They had a series of buoys in the water with rope between each buoy and stated if you wanted to snorkel you MUST hold onto the rope. You could tell why almost the minute you entered the water. The current was very strong and I’m not sure even a great swimmer could have made their way without crashing into coral heads or being carried away. The coral was in decent shape and there were many, many fish. Some of them were very large and you could feel it when they bumped into you. There were also the resident stingrays and sharks milling about.

It was a good snorkeling place but a difficult one. Once through the snorkeling area was enough for me—it was tiring.

I missed lunch and most of the places were closed until dinner time so I headed back to the hotel and made do finishing up the stuff I bought. I have a can of tonic and a yogurt left! I estimate I saved myself about $200 buying food and water at the store.

I spent the remainder of the day by the pool just reading and then at the bar having my 2 complimentary mai-tais and watching the sunset over the mountains. Tough work but someone has to do it!!

I retired to my room and from there watched another Polynesian show complete with fire dancers. 

Oh and in case you were wondering, this is the view from my bed: 

A day of Rest

I was going to rent a car this morning, before I remembered that Sunday is really a day of rest here. So, I decided to go native and rest! I laid around in bed until an obscene time, got up, got dressed and took a walk around the resort.

The place is actually quite large and is home to a dolphin center and a turtle sanctuary. There were only 3 injured turtles there and one looked dead—although there was a sign saying she wasn’t. LOL

After a stop at the front desk and the concierge, I ended up back at the pool bar where I sat reading my book until happy hour. Tonight I decided to try the Jack Daniel’s Mojito. Two drinks later, they showed me who was boss and it wasn’t me. WooHoo! I was forced to order some food as my room seemed a bit far away. I got a large fruit plate an order of fries and a large bottle of water.

Obviously, I am back in the room now, with a to-go box containing fruit for tomorrow morning!

Absolutely nothing blog-worthy happened today.

But, here are some pictures of the resort.

There are so many kinds of flowers just blooming like crazy all over the place. It smells heavenly here. 

Up early tomorrow to pick up my car rental!  Lot’s to see and do!

Killing me Softly With His Song

I was up with the dawn today. Not really but I was up at 6:45. I needed to be at the dock at 8AM for the Whale/Dolphin watch. I boarded the ship to a gaggle of quacking like noise as there were only French people aboard. I asked the ‘captain’ if anyone spoke English. He said “Madame, we all speak English”. Oooookay. I’m familiar with this scenario. The same thing happened in Papeete on that whale watch. They are very good during the briefing but after that, not so much. And that was the same thing that happened here. I heard English twice until we docked. Mostly, I just smiled and tried to figure out where to look.

But the most excellent thing happened this time—we found a whale. The catamaran had a microphone they lowered into the water when they spotted a whale. I heard LIVE whale song. It was so amazing. It was a young male just singing his heart out. One thing I did learn during the briefing, to give you an idea of their size and weight, the tongue of the whale weighs as much as the catamaran does.

This isn't the best one but I can only upload 100 MB. The chirpy-clicky noises are dolphins. We were told that the dolphins like to hear whale song and actually sometimes if the dolphins are hanging out in one area, there could be a whale near by!

Anyway, the guide said to get ready and I wanted so much to go out there and swim but he said only the very best swimmers could go with him. So, I stayed near the boat, heart pounding. The whale was not adverse to us being near him at all. He ‘played’ and put on a show for us. It was so unbelievable. Once again, I was stunned and I think even more gobsmacked than I was in Taha’a. And that is saying a lot. Once back on the boat, I even got a picture of whale tail! I was so excited.

Whale Tail!!!

As a matter of fact, I was so amazed, ready to pee myself—whatever, that I turned off my camera at one point and thought I was recording the whale. I know…. Smacked myself already. But thankfully, there was a professional cameraman on board and he filmed the whole thing and I could purchase a copy for a mere 7000. What could I do? I handed over the money. I get the USB stick tomorrow!

We also saw several pods of spinner dolphins. That was pretty cool too. They didn’t jump out of the water, but surfaced as a group several times as they came up to breathe.

The scenery along the way was so amazing. The water—I know I’ve said it before but it is the most awesome colors I’ve ever seen. My photos look good, but somehow they don’t quite capture it. There were millions of coral heads I would have loved to stopped at, but not this time.

We sailed past the town of Hapati, which is a known surfing area. The waves were a good size and there were about 15 surfers out there. I have never been that close to surfers either!

The 3^rd stop was in about 5 ½ feet of water with a fairly strong current. It was a place to snorkel with rays and sharks. (I actually thought…..again? LOL) No, it was pretty cool. The sharks at this stop got much, much closer. I mean, like 2-3 feet away from you. The rays were insane. They just slithered all over you and let you touch them. It was pretty amazing actually.

And no, the camera was not on zoom here. 2 weeks ago, I would have been climbing up the guide's back ala Miss Lindsey in Grand Cayman!

After we got back to the hotel, I came back to my room for a little lunch. I’d only had a yogurt for breakfast and was pretty hungry. I made myself a little feast of crackers, cheese, salami and 2 graham cracker-like cookies. Then it was off to the pool to read for a bit and cool off in the infinity pool. I got into the other one today. Both are 4 ½ feet deep with wide sitting/laying area at the edge away from the ocean.

I came back from dinner tonight and they were having the Polynesian dinner show on the beach in front of the pools. I can see and hear it from my room. It really didn’t interest me and it was very, very expensive to attend. They are loving banging on those drums. They are dressed in traditional Polynesian outfits. For the men this means that whole thong thing with these woven leaf things around their calves and a crown of some sort made of fresh greens and flowers.

Most of the men here have those beautiful tribal tattoos that are done in a brown color. I don’t know if I said, but they are very important. The man is said to go to the artist and tell his life and family’s story. Then the artist creates the tattoo based on this information with the appropriate symbolic images in the tattoo. They are also meant as some sort of protection for the person. If the men get them done in the traditional way, it is very time consuming and more painful than the needles.  Here is a link to an interesting article if you are interested:

http://www.apolynesiantattoo.com/polynesian-tattoo-history

I am going to get some sort of tattoo on my thigh to symbolize this trip. Not sure what—turtle, ray, fish. Who knows? I’ll keep you posted.

Back to dinner---most of the restaurants around here will send a car to pick you up and drop you back off.  Very convenient as most people don’t rent cars and nothing is really within walking distance. I went to Le Sunset at the Hibiscus Hotel tonight. I had the shrimp with curry and coconut sauce. They were very good. What killed me was the drink menu. I ordered a Hinano and it was $8 (not even the big bottle, just a regular 12 oz bottle). I know we are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean but the freakin’ beer is manufactured here and you can buy a bottle for about a $1 in a gas station. Yeah well, it went well with the spicy shrimp! And I brought a piece of the baguette back with me in my purse for a salami and cheese sandwich tomorrow for lunch!

And finally, Jeff Beck this is for you! You know how I feel about birds so I must really, really love you. LOL This bird is the boat's mascot and his name is Broken Beak. He hangs about until the boat really gets moving and then he flies off. He was a just a couple of feet from where I was seated and I almost sh*t when I saw him circling and getting ready to land. 

The 80s are alive and well in Moorea

I woke very late this morning due to closing the curtains in the room last night—black out curtains. The room was as dark as a tomb at 10AM. Oh well, what is vacation for?

I got dressed and went to the front desk and reserved another whale watch on a catamaran tomorrow morning at 8am. (note to self: set alarm and leave curtains partially open). I then hired a taxi—10 xpf round trip to the shopping area called Tiki Village. There were at least 6 pearl shops and several gift stores, a few restaurants and a small grocery store. It’s about 10 minutes from the hotel by car.

One thing to note: It’s HOT here. Despite the breeze and the fact that it is ‘winter’, the sun is brutal. I wouldn’t have even tried this walk knowing I would be coming back laden with water and some food for my room.

I had lunch in a one of the restaurants. I purchased a 4 cheese pizza and 2 Hinano beers. (the beer is cheaper than the water) The pizza was enormous and very, very good. Not the usual cheeses—this one had mozzarella, blue cheese, ricotta and some other kind I couldn’t identify). It was huge. I ate three of those slices and got a to-go box. This should be very good to eat cold. The bill was 2000. Much better than the hotel.

I went to the grocery store and spent about 4200 on groceries and wine. I got yogurt, salami, cheese, crackers, mixed nuts, pretzels, a few cans of tonic and soda, v8 and a very large bottle of water. I will pick up a baguette tomorrow morning at the little store across the road from the hotel. Breakfast and lunch for several days! The bottle of wine I got is a pink moscato. It was about 1300 xpf.. not sure what that will taste like but it is chilling in the mini fridge and I will find out later today! (And yes, I did pack a corkscrew!)

All the music I’ve heard in stores in restaurants is very 80s. I thought of my ex-husband when I heard that song called Hey Now, Hey Now, by Tears for Fears I think. (Inside joke for members of my family). I heard his voice singing that refrain with a PA Dutch accent. I also heard Boy George and Culture Club very frequently.

It’s about 2Pm here and I’m off to the pool and beach.  

Early evening now. Spent the afternoon lounging by one of the infinity pools. Happy Hour starts at 430 and really is just an hour. All ‘fancy’ mixed drinks are just 1000! They are regularly anywhere from 1800-2100!!! Even the beer is ridiculous and that isn’t on special. But I had two drinks and they bring a glass full of green and black olives drenched in olive oil, three large chunks of fresh coconut and some toothpicks. This is surrounded by 3 or 4 tiny croissant looking hard crackers of some sort. But hey, they were free and they were olives so I ate them!

I came back to the room around six and took a shower in the giant tub. I rate the shower about 7 out of 10. Not enough water pressure for me—but still does the job! Thankfully, I am only a teeny bit burned on my back, near the top. The sun is so strong here. Without the breeze that is moving the air all the time, I don’t think I could stand to be out in it for very long.

I haven’t yet made it to the ocean for a swim. I did however take a walk near the water close to sunset.

Oh and I did finally hear some sort of current music at the bar today: Happy by that Pharrel guy. I think that was last summer in the US! But most of the afternoon was 80s stuff with a little Polynesian music mixed in. I thought the music would be in French but I've not heard that. 

I'm just giddy with the internet speed here. I'd forgotten that it really doesn't take 20 minutes to upload 3 pictures!! I'll try and go back and add some videos at some point. 

I am excited to be going out on a catamaran tomorrow morning. I’ve never been on one! Cross your fingers that we see some humpback whales!

I will leave you with this: