Cruise from Tahiti

We flew from Denver to LA and then were told that my checked bag (all my clothes) were still in Denver.  They didn't know when it would arrive; perhaps after the cruise. Grabbing a taxi, we made a one-hour shopping trip to Kohl's to replace the missing items before flying on to Tahiti.  The absent bag showed up 4 days later in Bora Bora. Now I have an extra bag and wardrobe for the trip. I was able to get upgraded seats on our flight to Papeete and also a confirmed upgrade to Auckland.

A sunrise rainbow greeting us upon arrival in Papeete on the island of Tahiti.

Sunset over Moorea as seen looking west from Papeete.

At a private beach at Bora Bora.  We snorkeled off the beach to the left, but we were called back from the reef because it was an outing sponsored by our cruise line, and they had no lifeguard for that area!  (and were worried about liability).

The Paul Gauguin anchored inside the reef at Moorea; the ship carries about 330 passengers.  At each island we anchored and used the ship's launch to reach shore.

We rode e-bikes and walked the shores of Cook's Bay on Moorea.  You could see many types of fruit  growing wild in the trees and bushes along the roads.

This is the volcanic peak referred to as "Bali Hi" in the movie "South Pacific".  It is often cloud-shrouded and impressive; rising from the surrounding jungle.

I would recommend our Paul Gauguin cruise to anyone who enjoys the tropical ocean. We snorkeled almost every day; sometimes we would just walk on the beach until we found a good place to snorkel, and sometimes we would take a paid excursion on a boat to some outer reef. Flowing with the current through fantastic coral gardens on Taha'a was amazing. The ship and crew were perfect. We much prefer this smaller ship to those with thousands of passengers. I will have to wait to transfer photos from my underwater camera until we get home; no Bluetooth or SD card port. The barrier reef, clear blue lagoons, and lush mountain sides are picture perfect.

The profusion of coral, fish, and other sea life is amazing.  I took 90 photos and they only showed a small part of what is present.

Dawn floating through a coral garden.  This photo does not capture the variety of colors.  She wears a "rash guard" suit to prevent sunburn.

Great variety of fish, but they don't stand still for photos.  Coral is much easier to capture.

Disturb this animal and this brilliant filtering array withdraws completely within the coral shell.

A young, black-tipped shark; not as aggressive as its white-tipped cousin we are told.   In Panama they extolled their white-tipped sharks, so who do I believe?

 In places the coral was like a forest, providing hiding places for thousands of small fish.

This is certainly a colorful specimen.  Sorry, I couldn't get photos of more varieties.

Papeete is a bustling, expensive, crowded, very French, somewhat third-world city.  We are staying in an apartment over night; bought dinner at the local supermarket and brought it home to eat. No credit cards used; French Polynesian Francs used or perhaps the US dollar discounted. Don't allot extra time to stay in Papeete.  An outlying resort would be better.  Taking a taxi from the town to the airport (3-4 miles) took 1 1/2 hours due to traffic congestion.

Outrigger canoe racing is apparently a very popular sport in Tahiti.  We often saw them practicing out on the bay.  Our cruise line dock is in the background.