By David
Yesterday we rented a scooter and had a great time touring the main roads of Moorea, including the whole perimeter.
Once again, we have Christine Curtis's generous travel gift to thank for making possible this and a variety of other extras, like the pearl farm tour back in Manihi. Thank you Christine!
Just FYI, we're thinking of sailing on to Raiatea in the next day or two, if the forecast continues to look favorable. Raiatea is about 100 miles west northwest of Moorea.
As noted in our post "Ruminations on Plans," our current thinking is to sell Minimus in Raiatea before our visa expires the end of August. We have our work cut out for us over the next month.
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| We're off! The scooter was a great way to see the island, even though the 25mph speed was way too fast to absorb it the way we're used to walking or on bicycles. |
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| Cooks Bay, Moorea |
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| Another view of Cooks Bay, Moorea |
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| The 4 masted motor sailing cruise ship Wind Spirit lies anchored in Opunohu Bay |
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We took a side trip up to Belvedere Lookout. This is looking north towards Cooks Bay.
Belvedere Lookout is a park-like area with dramatic views, archeological sites and an experimental farm. |
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| Opunohu Bay from Belvedere Lookout. The movie Mutiny on the Bounty was filmed in Opunohu Bay |
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| Again, from Belvedere Lookout, with Cooks Bay on right and Opunohu Bay on left. |
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| The remains of a marae, where human sacrifice was practiced in the 1700's. |
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| At the experimental farm, we stopped for ice-filled glasses of local fruit juice. |
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| Pearl rests on a palm trunk on the west side of Opunohu Bay. |
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| We were surprised to find a bike lane nearly all the way around Moorea. |
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As we rounded the island, we saw many traditional outrigger canoes. This was the only sailing version we saw. Ironically, it was moored in front of the Intercontinental Hotel, a luxury establishment.
Surf can be seen along the barrier reef in the distance. |
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| These outrigger canoes are used for inshore fishing, between the barrier reef and the island. |
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| A view along the south side of Moorea. |
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| Another outrigger canoe used for fishing. These are all paddle powered. |
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| Fish for sale along the road. |
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| Looking across to Tahiti about 10 miles away. |
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A luxury hotel with individual cottages on pilings out over the water. Apparently, these are especially popular on Bora Bora.
Tahiti can be seen on the left. |
Looks wonderful! Happy to hear that things are going well. Don't forget the tacky postcard :)
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