Live from the Westerdam-Join the "Pearls of the Pacific" gang's South Pacific Cruise

[kazu]

You might like to change today's earlier location to Raiatea. Bora Bora is in sight now at 10:20 pm.

 

 

 

People will be confused as you referred to both places as Bora Bora.

 

 

O

 

 

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[kazu]

You might like to change today's earlier location to Raiatea. Bora Bora is in sight now at 10:20 pm.

 

 

 

People will be confused as you referred to both places as Bora Bora.

 

 

Thanks, it was Raiatea I was referring to in that post. Too late to edit. Apologies. Raiatea was today. Bora Bora is tomorrow (assuming we can tender).

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry that bad weather seams to plague you.

It does look like everyone had a great time at the pool party.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Hope your weather improves. Our group of friends is also booked on Patrick's tour, if your tour is a go and you meet a group from North Carolina please tell them that we are following along on their journey!

[rafinmd]

Jacqui, how are things with the arm and the rehab?

 

Roy

[Sharon45069]

We got this fellow a couple of nights ago - he is hanging by a vent. And he hasn't been dismantled. Not a stranger to most of you, but his guy has a Malita!!! (That's Bali for leia).

 

 

I wore the leia to dinner tonight and the placed it around the monkey tonight. I got the leia as a gift after I bought my flowers. Yes, this port has a gorgeous market including flowers.

 

 

Nice to give the lonely orchid some company - LOL

 

 

$10 US in the lovely market today. Something had to go right ;)

 

 

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Hi Kazu We are enjoying your notes . Did the folks at the market where you bought the beautiful flowers take U.S. dollars ? That was Raiatea correct ? We are on the Maasdam next year for this cruise and are looking forward to it. Thanks and hope you have better weather.

Sharon and Jim

[kazu]

Hi Kazu We are enjoying your notes . Did the folks at the market where you bought the beautiful flowers take U.S. dollars ? That was Raiatea correct ? We are on the Maasdam next year for this cruise and are looking forward to it. Thanks and hope you have better weather.

Sharon and Jim

 

Yes it was Raiatea. sorry about the typo. Mind on next port - LOL.

 

The market and everyone in the port area took U.S. $ without any issue.

[Ontariotrekker]

Dear Oaktreeb - I saw your post about the singers & dancers where you asked what else they do. I know on a couple of my cruises they were helping out in non theatre type things - bingo, art show etc. When I was on the Prisendam during a full code red, they could be seen handing out plates, dispensing hand sanitizer etc. I've also had them as a second chaperone on a few tours.

 

My question is where the heck is the shorex team since their office is closed more than open?

 

Shar

[Bluemoon319]

Angie, you were really lucky getting on so fast. We arrived at the port at 10:55 and I did not get on the ship until 1 pm. I won't go into the details (you can read them on my blog if you wish) but it wasn't fun. Felt so bad I went to bed at 6:24 (after the hour change). Feeling totally better today.

 

We had a great M&G with over 100 in attendance. It was nice to put faces and names together.

 

I was able to get my dinner switched to fixed Main with no problem. No idea why they could not have done this some time in the last 11 months!

 

Could you please post a link to your blog?

[gigianne]

What an absolutely fabulous time we had on our tour today with the famous Patrick. We had an amazing time - a bit of rain but if you can believe it - the sun came out as we were having lunch at Patrick's motu. I am sure others will be by to tell more and post pictures. Thanks to the CC members who signed on to the tour and helped to make it special day!

[1of4]

What an absolutely fabulous time we had on our tour today with the famous Patrick. We had an amazing time - a bit of rain but if you can believe it - the sun came out as we were having lunch at Patrick's motu. I am sure others will be by to tell more and post pictures. Thanks to the CC members who signed on to the tour and helped to make it special day!

 

Oh yeah! I was hoping that since nobody was posting that the tour was a go. :) :D

 

Sun...how great is that?! :cool:

[MsABGilroy]

A big thank you to Gigianne for setting up the tour with Patrick. It was an awesome time with stops to meet stingrays and reef sharks, fabulous snorkeling (we had to be told it was time to move on), and an authentic lunch on a motu that belongs to Patrick's family. The weather turned out to be perfect! A fabulous day--and you can bet we'll sleep well tonight!

 

 

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[rafinmd]

Could you please post a link to your blog?

 

Click on Scrapnana's name and look at her signature. The link is there.

 

Roy

[Scrapnana]

Bluemoon - here is the link

 

http://halcruises2016.blogspot.com

 

 

Another thanks to Gigianne for setting up our excursion today. Just a few pictures (more will be in my blog when updated tonight).

 

Grilling the fish

 

The pig uncovered

 

So many choices

[kazu]

Jacqui, how are things with the arm and the rehab?

 

Roy

 

Thanks for asking Roy. My elbow does not like the rain and wind that we have had over the past few days and has been objecting to most everything with pain. Not quite what my surgeon and physio envisioned when they ok'd the cruise.

 

But today made a difference so hopefully the pain will start to improve as the weather does and I will continue working away.

 

I did manage to open the balcony door with my left hand (mostly) for the first time today. I may pay for that later. LOL

[kazu]

What an absolutely fabulous time we had on our tour today with the famous Patrick. We had an amazing time - a bit of rain but if you can believe it - the sun came out as we were having lunch at Patrick's motu. I am sure others will be by to tell more and post pictures. Thanks to the CC members who signed on to the tour and helped to make it special day!

 

It was an absolutely fabulous day. Thank you Georgina for organizing this one. Great job :)

 

I have a ton of pics and don't forget to send me yours from underwater and I will attempt to get them all up - assuming I can get some upload co-operation.

 

I was SO glad we could do this one. This and Raiatea were highlights for us. Not being able to do Raiatea was such a huge disappointment. Thankfully today was just a marvel :)

 

Just a stunning day. Many, many thanks.

Edited April 21, 2016 by kazu

[kazu]

So, while Bora Bora is fresh and there are just SO many pics, I am going to try to load some for you.

 

I will return to Raiatea later (if that's ok). We have lots of sea days ahead of us so there will be plenty of time.

 

If no one minds I go out of order,

 

Today we were on a tour that Gigianne organized with Patrick.

 

We got on the tenders smoothly and were in Bora Bora.

 

But the day started out pretty dreary and looked grim.

 

 

Just the same, we were going. If Patrick cancelled, so be it.

 

Kudos to Captain Van Eerten who tried a strategy to get us into the lagoon earlier so that we would not be affected by swells on the entry. Once you are in the lagoon you are fine but getting in can be tricky.

 

Once in port, it wasn't long before Patrick and his team were there for us (we were early). They were very organized (we had three canoes booked with Patrick) and in no time we were in our "canoe" (not sure if that is the right word to describe them but that is what they are called) and off. We were in Patrick's canoe.

 

 

A lovely ride through the lagoon and what did we see on the way?

 

 

The scenery along the way was exquisite.

 

 

Some of those famous "over the water" bungalows. Some are pretty pricey - $3,000 per night plus breakfast at $50 pp. WOW!

 

 

 

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[kazu]

In not time at all - we were at our first stop - to swim with sharks and sting rays. Now, these Sharks are not that dangerous really, they are mainly scavengers feeding on dead things. But.....

 

It was an amazing experience.

 

I stayed on the "canoe" for a few minutes capturing a few shots.

 

I confess I was also worried about the ladder with one arm and swimming over. It is shallower where we had the experience but deeper where the boat was.

 

Our roll call members having fun.

 

 

Can you see the shadows in the water? Those are Sting Rays!

 

 

Here are some Sharks from the "canoe"

 

 

 

 

 

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[kazu]

After a bit, I did attempt the climb down the water and swimming over to the group and Kazu did not too bad for a one armed bandit. Patrick was concerned about me crossing the Sharks' path and motioned me to stop and took me across (I think they know him).

 

The sting rays took a huge liking to me (more than I cared for) and were constantly startling me, much to the enjoyment of the group. Maybe they were attracted to the wire in my arm? LOL.

 

Patrick is a genius with these creatures of the sea, was feeding them, telling us where to touch them (and not to) and it was an incredible experience.

 

After that we headed back to the canoe.

 

Here is a pic of the "canoe". (Another one of Patrick's)

 

 

We were serenaded by Patrick a lot. He would play and sing and stop to show us sites.

 

 

Those over the water bungalows - there are the expensive ones here.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Vict0riann]

It was a wonderful experience, and I'm just so happy we were able to do it. It was a disappointment that the tour in Raiatea was cancelled, but he was a good guide there to refund the costs. Now there's more money to spend on pearls!

 

I'll try to post a few pics after dinner (if I get permission from Kazu). LOL. She really lit Patrick's fire!

[kazu]

Hi Kazu We are enjoying your notes . Did the folks at the market where you bought the beautiful flowers take U.S. dollars ? That was Raiatea correct ? We are on the Maasdam next year for this cruise and are looking forward to it. Thanks and hope you have better weather.

Sharon and Jim

 

I thought I answered this earlier this morning but I don't see a reply.

 

There was no problem having U.S. $ accepted in Raiatea and for the little bit of looking I have done in Bora Bora (on tour earlier), it appear there is no issue here. No worries at all.

 

It was a wonderful experience, and I'm just so happy we were able to do it. It was a disappointment that the tour in Raiatea was cancelled, but he was a good guide there to refund the costs. Now there's more money to spend on pearls!

 

I'll try to post a few pics after dinner (if I get permission from Kazu). LOL. She really lit Patrick's fire!

 

OMG - you took PICTURES. :eek::eek::eek:

 

Sure, go ahead Vict0riann. It certainly was compromising position :p:p

[kazu]

After that we were off for another beautiful ride to head to our next stop.

 

the snorkelers were very, very happy.

 

Kazu is not a good snorkelers and with one arm, she was not going to try it.

 

The water was 3 to 5 feet deep. 3 feet is fine but 5 feet is above my nose. LOL.

 

So, I stayed on the "canoe" with a few others and we fed the bait to the fish.

 

The water was so clear but I fear my camera is not good enough to capture what we saw.

 

The coral was beautiful. If you do any coral reef excursions, remember to wear the suntan lotion that is reef friendly, please do NOT stand on the coral and the coral with colours is alive and must be cherished. The coral without colour is dead.

 

We saw beautiful blue, yellow and white coral along with the fish. Now, I know some will report the scientific names of the fish they saw but I will just say that we saw beautiful blue fish, grey striped fish, yellow striped fish, parrot fish (yes, the infamous fish that eat coral) along with many others.

 

I am hoping the snorkelers that had the underwater cameras will. Share and I will happily post the pics, but, in the meantime, here are some of the exquisite fish we saw from the canoe. (The water was crystal clear, it was the waves that muck up the pics).

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[kazu]

There was some great scenery along the way....

 

 

 

Pretty soon we arrived at the motu. The Motu has been in Patrick's family for generations.

 

 

They were already there working on our lunch...

 

 

There were tables set up on the beach, in a shaded area and in the water. Some of our roll call members just jumped at the chance of the tables in the water.

 

 

 

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[kazu]

The bar was opened very quickly!!! There was beer, red wine, white wine & Chandon champagne.

 

Of course, there was water and pop for those that preferred it.

 

 

 

Some of the food prep...

 

 

 

 

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[kazu]

Lunch was delicious. Eat with your fingers!!! No silverware nor serviettes (another good reason to bring your HAL towel - LOL)

 

But before we could get to lunch, of course we had to see the prep of our pig.

 

Here is Patrick explaining how they do the pig and unveiling it, layer by layer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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