Today we made our second stop in French Polynesia at the Windward Island of Moorea. Moorea is only 11 nautical miles northwest of the island of Tahiti. We were anchored in Opunohu Bay which was first visited by the British explorers Samuel Wallis and James Cook in the 1760s. Like Bora Bora it is thought that early Polynesians migrated here from Samoa around 200 AD. The valleys on the island are very fertile, so evidence of advanced agricultural practices have been found by archeologists. It is believed that the Polynesian woman Teraura, who accompanied the Bounty mutineers to Pitcairn Island was from Moorea.
This morning Kully and I took different excursions. I went on a snorkeling excursion, while Kully went on scenic tour called “Moorea through a Lens”, so most of the beautiful pictures we’re posting today are from her camera. We reunited this afternoon for a Scenic cruise around Opunohu Bay.
The snorkeling excursion was wonderful, but unfortunately, I left my GoPro at home, so I was unable to take underwater photographs. However, I did get some great shots of scenes above the water.
Has you can probably tell from the photos it was a little overcast today, but Kully was still able to get some beautiful pictures. Her photographer/tour guide took her group to some of the most beautiful locations on the island where she was able to take some great photos. Here’s a few of them:
My favorite is the one of the small church with the reflection in the puddle, and I never get tired of seeing Palm Trees.
We met back at the small craft pier for our boat tour of Opunohu Bay and Cook Bay. We thought it was a little ironic that we’ve been riding around on a big boat for 10 of the last 14 days and now we’re getting on a much smaller boat to ride around a little bit more. Tourists do some crazy things! The tour was very entertaining. We had a guide who was very funny he did a great job of telling us about the history and geology of this beautiful place.
Our next port of call will be tomorrow in Tahiti, French Polynesia.
“Just another day in paradise.” David Symonds
Don & Kully's World Cruise on Viking Neptune 
Leave a comment