21 March -- Bahia D' Opunoha, Moorea, French Polynesia

We arrived  early this morning and once again the only access to the bay is through a very narrow opening in the coral reef.

Now we are off the tour the island and more history to tell y'all about later!

We took a tender ashore and were welcomed with flowers and an artisan market that we browsed through and of course, made a few small purchases!  We walked about and noticed the church, Papetaoi, and found out it was the first Protestant church in French Poylnesia and started the diffusion on Protestantism in the 19th Century.

Moorea, meaning Yellow Lizard, is one of the younger islands, in terms of volcanic formation.  It has a population of around 10,000 people and an average wage of $1500 per month.  The island has 6 major cities, each with its own mayor.  Children learn French at pre-school. followed by English in 5th grade and in 7th grade they can chose another language. Tahitian language is home-taught.

Our tour guide, Maui, was quite informative and we spent the majority of time in the federally protected Opunohu Valley, created by the volcanic activity.  The soil is very lush and grows everything.  Due to the humidity in the area, forestation stays green year-round.

We made our way up the mountain road to the Belvedere Viewpoint which offers spectacular views of the Sacred Mountain, Mt. Rotui, which was our focal point as we entered the Bahia D' Opunohu this morning. The roadway is very narrow and windy with an number of tight switchbacks -- very slow going but we had an experienced driver, Gabi!  The viewpoint is 790 feet above sea level and we could see the 2 bays separated by Mt. Rotui, i.e., Opunohu Bay on the left and Cook's Bay on the right.  Interestingly, Capt. James Cook first entered into Opunohu bay and not the bay named after him!

 

We also saw Mt. Tohiea (Shark's Tooth) which is the highest point on the island at nearly 4000 feet. 

On the way back down we first stopped at the ancient temple of the island, Afareaitiu Marae, dating back to the year 900.  

We took an unpaved road through some lush agricultural fields including the pineapple fields.  A island native can lease an acre of this land from the government for $300/year and will make much more selling his produce locally and throughout the Society Islands.  Nothing can be exported!  

Our next point of interest as we came down was Mt. Moua Puta, which shows the maiden's head looking skyward, and her hair flowing down the mountainside.  If you look closely you'll see a hole in the mountain face, at the top, which is her eye!!

We then came into the city of PaoPao on Cook's Bay and made our way back to the pier.  And interesting point is that Moorea has 4 large springs which is enough to furnish all the fresh water needs of the people, whereas Bora Bora had to revert to desalinization for their water.

We are now on our way to Papeete, Tahiti where we dock tonight.  What a beautiful sunset we were treated to on the sail-away!

A 40 person Tahitian dance group is coming onboard for a late night performance!