Apr 17, 2012 - The Radiance of the Seas & Bora Bora.

It was with sadness that we waved goodbye to the stunning Opera House, majestic Harbor Bridge and beautiful city of Sydney ...... au revoir, we certainly hope to be able to return someday. At 11am on embarkation day, it took us 6 minutes to wheel our suitcases from our hotel right up to the Overseas Terminal where we were ushered onboard the Radiance of the Seas immediately .... no wait. This is the third time on this ship that we love so much. Aaaaaaah 18 days of cruising - lovely!! Most of this cruise is going to be sea days, just...

Feb 16, 2012 - Papeete, Tahiti

We anchor in Papeete (meaning “water from a basket”) early in the morning. We are thrilled to see land again as we have been at sea for 4 days. It was a beautiful sail-in past the dark green island of Moorea and the mountaineous view of Papeete. We walk off the ship and have to cross the four-lane Pomare boulevard with no traffic light. As we cross the first two lanes, Deb comments, “That was easy.” Courtney replies, “Duh…Mom; there was no traffic”. The last two lanes don’t look as easy. However, the moment we step into the crosswalk, the...

Feb 14, 2012 - Valentine's Day!

Love is in the air even in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The ship has florists on board and they have created beautiful floral creations decked out in red and hearts. Tonight is formal night in the dining room and it is elaborately decorated. This history of Valentine’s Day is interesting. In the third century, Roman emperor, Claudius II cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome to get more soldiers to join his army. Two priests in Rome aided the Christians by secretly marrying couples. For this kind deed, one priest was martyred...

Jan 11, 2012 - January 10-11, 2012 -- Moorea to Los Angeles, California

January 10 – Well, I was right. The sun came out yesterday morning – for a while at least. It was rather watery sunshine, but it was sunshine. It lasted for maybe 4 hours, and then just as the taxi picked me up to take me to the ferry dock, it started to sprinkle. I barely got into the waiting room for the ferry when it really turned loose. By the time I got to Papeete, it was only sprinkling again. I got a taxi to the airport and arrived before the check-in counter was open. In fact, there was very little open there. Only one shop that...

Jan 9, 2012 - January 6-9, 2012 -- Moorea

January 6 – Well, it is all over today. I left the ship about 7:45. Patsy helped me get my 2 bags into and out of the elevator. Since most folks checked their bags, it was not too difficult to get the elevator and get my luggage down to the 3d deck which was the disembarkation point. Also since I was traveling independently there were not many people getting off when I did. Both my bags have wheels so it was an easy walk to the Moorea ferry which was a block or so away from where the Regatta was docked. I took the 9:30 ferry and arrived on...

Dec 11, 2011 - Back Home

We woke up and went for one last snorkel around the bungalows. We said bye to our new friends and one the way back, saw an octopus come out from under a reef, surround a rock with his tentacles, and started changing color. What a great treat for our last time in the water. We packed up, and waited at the pool until our massage, then back to the airport for many hours. Goodbye Polynesia!

Dec 10, 2011 - 4X4 Tour

It was our last full day in Bora Bora. In the morning, we went to the private island to snorkel at the Coral Garden. Before we got in the water, we dug a trench in the sand and raced the hermit crabs. After a few races, we let the crabs go and got in the water and swam to the coral garden one last time. When we got back to the beach, Amanda found a coconut and we spent thirty minutes opening the coconut with just a rock. I drank the milk and we shared some of the coconut. Then back to the mainland for our 4X4 tour. We first went up the hill...

Dec 9, 2011 - Eco Tour

I woke up early this morning and got some pictures of the sunrise over the lagoon and Taha'a in the distance. After breakfast, we were picked up at the resort pier by Steven, Niho, and others for the Eco Tour 1/2 day package, which included shark and ray feeding. Steven greeted us at the pier and we joined the boat with two other couples. We circled the island counterclockwise while Steven made jokes and told us about the history of Bora Bora. He pointed out the WWII cannons, which we would be visiting the following day. Then he and the...

Dec 7, 2011 - Diving in Bora Bora

Today, we woke up early, had breakfast and then waited for our ride to Top Dive Bathys for a two-tank dive. We suited up and got on the boat with our dive leader Alec and headed out to our first stop near Motu Tapu. This would be the deeper of the two dives at about 60 feet. There were already many reef sharks in the area and as we descended, we also saw lemon sharks at deeper depths. At the bottom, we saw a yellow trumpet fish, a beautiful fish that looks somewhat like a flute fish, but bigger with a completely yellow body. We also saw...

Dec 6, 2011 - Spa Day

We woke up and head a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs, and bacon at the restaurant and relaxed around the pool for the early part of the day. Before that though, we headed to the market just up the road from the hotel and got some coke and Tahitian rum to make our own drinks - much cheaper than buying from the bar. Later on, we had a lovely one-hour massage at the spa to work off the stress of travel and flying. It was so nice that we decided to schedule another for Sunday just before leaving. A good massage should reduce the...

Dec 5, 2011 - To Bora Bora

Monday was our last day in Moorea. I absolutely loved the island - it has wonderful beaches with great snorkeling and diving and the most beautiful mountains for hiking and exploring. But we were off to Bora Bora and I was excited. I got in one last snorkel near our bungalow and then we got ready to leave. It was just a 45-minute flight to Bora Bora and quite scenic. We saw Tetiaro, Raiatea, and Tahaa from the plane as well as a great view of Bora Bora from above. We landed in Bora Bora and took a boat to the Sofitel Marara Beach Resort and...

Dec 4, 2011 - Hiking in the Caldeira

Sunday morning, we woke up, had breakfast and got ready to hike the Caldeira. When we arrived in Moorea, the representative from Tahiti Nui Travel told us this was a great expedition, especially considering there wasn't much open on Sunday, so we were excited. We started in Opunohu Valley along a road that turns off the main road at the end of Opunohu Bay that leads to Belvedere lookout, with our tour guide Hiro from Mer and Montagne Tours. We followed a dirt road for a ways, then headed on to the trail, which was actually blazed some of...