We spent all of yesterday at sea. We find these days a great tonic after the multiple stops with lots to see and do. We ate in the Grand Dining Room all three meals, after a much later rising, because we had the time to do it. We hit the track and visited the gym and spent a good part of the morning and early afternoon sitting around the pool in 32 degree, sunny skies. We were told the the ocean temperature, despite its depth was still 30 degrees.
This was the evening for the meeting with the Captain and his officers, which is always crazy busy due to free booze. In talking with people on the cruise, we’ve discovered that the people on this ship are extremely well travelled, many having lived abroad while working. Then we heard from the Captain that over half of the passengers onboard have been on 5 or more Oceania cruises. We found this remarkable, given that on our last ship, albeit one of their smaller ones, that number might have been 20.
Today’s destination is the last of our French Polynesian stops, Fakarava - great name. It is an atoll - that means it’s our first non-volcanic island, being a coral shaped ring - that boasts an ecosystem that is so unspoiled that the entire island has been designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. I’m surprised they even let cruise ships stop here.
I’m driving Dawn nuts by always working on being on the first tender to shore. Up to this point I haven’t failed, but despite having tickets for the first tender, we ended up being the first couple on the second tender today - almost as good. As we exited our tender at the main village of Rotoava, one of the island’s 855 inhabitants greeted us with the little white flower of Polynesia. As we strolled through the village we were greeted with smiles and waves in a very friendly manner. This I suspect will be the last time we’ll receive this kind of greeting.
The atoll is a 60 km long rectangle but from shore to shore it is a mere 300 metres. The windward side is the beach which consists of crushed coral while the leeward side is where the homes are found - makes sense.
When we first sailed into the lagoon, we noted a pyramid shaped structure on the beach. We’re not sure whether it was a lighthouse or a landmark of some kind, but we also found one on the other shore.
The rich ecosystem is home to rare birds, plants and crustaceans. Don’t know about the birds and plants, but we did see some pretty cool crabs scurrying in and out of crevasses along the beach.
I didn’t take us long to see both shores around Rotoava, but it left us with the impression that there was a degree of home pride here with homes simple but well cared for.
Every home had a water catchment system, since fresh ground water is once again non-existent. I wonder if they have to bring in water in the dry season, or if everyone just resorts to bottled water. The catchment tanks in this photo double as water pressure tanks.
We were already back on the ship by midmorning and so off to the pool we went. We have eight more days at sea, so I suspect we’ll be hanging out here a lot.
We were back at the French styles Jacques restaurant tonight and once again loved their cuisine. We sat with a couple from New Mexico tonight and had the usual fabulous cuisine: artichoke foie gras, grenouilles, and lamb for Bill and fillet of beef for Dawn.
This was the evening for the meeting with the Captain and his officers, which is always crazy busy due to free booze. In talking with people on the cruise, we’ve discovered that the people on this ship are extremely well travelled, many having lived abroad while working. Then we heard from the Captain that over half of the passengers onboard have been on 5 or more Oceania cruises. We found this remarkable, given that on our last ship, albeit one of their smaller ones, that number might have been 20.
Today’s destination is the last of our French Polynesian stops, Fakarava - great name. It is an atoll - that means it’s our first non-volcanic island, being a coral shaped ring - that boasts an ecosystem that is so unspoiled that the entire island has been designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. I’m surprised they even let cruise ships stop here.
I’m driving Dawn nuts by always working on being on the first tender to shore. Up to this point I haven’t failed, but despite having tickets for the first tender, we ended up being the first couple on the second tender today - almost as good. As we exited our tender at the main village of Rotoava, one of the island’s 855 inhabitants greeted us with the little white flower of Polynesia. As we strolled through the village we were greeted with smiles and waves in a very friendly manner. This I suspect will be the last time we’ll receive this kind of greeting.
The atoll is a 60 km long rectangle but from shore to shore it is a mere 300 metres. The windward side is the beach which consists of crushed coral while the leeward side is where the homes are found - makes sense.
When we first sailed into the lagoon, we noted a pyramid shaped structure on the beach. We’re not sure whether it was a lighthouse or a landmark of some kind, but we also found one on the other shore.
The rich ecosystem is home to rare birds, plants and crustaceans. Don’t know about the birds and plants, but we did see some pretty cool crabs scurrying in and out of crevasses along the beach.
I didn’t take us long to see both shores around Rotoava, but it left us with the impression that there was a degree of home pride here with homes simple but well cared for.
Every home had a water catchment system, since fresh ground water is once again non-existent. I wonder if they have to bring in water in the dry season, or if everyone just resorts to bottled water. The catchment tanks in this photo double as water pressure tanks.
We were already back on the ship by midmorning and so off to the pool we went. We have eight more days at sea, so I suspect we’ll be hanging out here a lot.
We were back at the French styles Jacques restaurant tonight and once again loved their cuisine. We sat with a couple from New Mexico tonight and had the usual fabulous cuisine: artichoke foie gras, grenouilles, and lamb for Bill and fillet of beef for Dawn.
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