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Published: January 11th 2014
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Salt-water swimming pool
Served as snorkel-gear try out Thursday, December 12, 2013. Now I sea you. Today is a day at sea. A travel day between the islands of Huahine and Rangiroa, the largest of 240 islets in a chain of coral islets making up the Tuamotu Archipelago, 4
th largest in the world.
Mostly for me it’s a chance to rest although I don’t take advantage of it. Instead I opt to get out my new snorkel gear and head for the pool to try it out. Everything works. Everything but me. I can make it about two strokes before I’m out of breath. But I am determined to get in to the ocean.
Dee Dee is checking her email every day for news about her extremely ill brother in Vegas. Today she learns he is continuing to seize. It is a long distressing day for Dee Dee.
In the morning Dee Dee and I attend a briefing with 10 other people, all of us who will attend the Capt’s dinner in the galley on the 16
th. The privilege costs $100 each, but the food is prepared especially by the executive chef and offers a behind-the-scene-look at the food prep. Neither Dee Dee nor I
Dee Dee & I
with one of the servers understand the briefing which is conducted in a heavily accented English but the gist of it is single file, something, something, something. Should be pretty interesting.
In the afternoon while Dee Dee goes to a wine tasting, I stop by Afternoon Tea and am seated next to a lovely couple. Communication goes something like this. “Japan.” “Los Angeles.” A lot of nodding back and forth. “Oh, I LA. 13 years,” she says waving to indicate the past. “Tokyo,” I reply, pointing at my chest. “Bullet train to Koyoto.” And so on. Then two very young Aussies are seated next to me and the conversations turns to how they’re both finishing their training to be doctors. I am at once both fascinated and jealous. I want to tell them, “enjoy every second because tomorrow you’ll be looking at life from the other end of the tunnel.” But it’s something we each have to learn on our own. Tea is fun. Waiters serve plates on sandwiches, cookies, scones and cream, pastries. Yummy. A bit of this and a bite of that and it’s time to rest before dinner.
This is the first of two formal dinners. It’s fun to play
Our table
We loved these people. dress up. Everyone looks so lovely. I bring my handy camera along and snap pictures of my dinner companions whose names I hope to remember by the end of the cruise. All eight dinner companions are present tonight. Everyone is on their best behavior towards one another. We laugh, talk, share. All is forgiven and forgotten. At least for the night.
My dinner choice tonight is filet. I have eaten more beef in the past few days then in the past year. The food is good. Not great. Too salty. But still I consume.
I make the mistake of buying a soft drink/virgin drink pass at the beginning of the cruise and now feel obligated to get two or three drinks every day to get my money’s worth. That doesn’t make any sense of course, but that doesn’t stop me from consuming mass amounts of surgery concoctions. With dinner, between meals, with meals, before bed . . . But mass consumption is part of the cruise experience. I guess.
After dinner Dee Dee heads for the Casino and I head up to the cabin to read. I’ve almost finished Bones by Kellerman. Pretty good read. Tonight I
Rangiroa
But it's just a big sandbar! almost finish it before I nod off. Early day tomorrow. I’m excited. And nervous.
Friday, December 13, 2013. No, I Don’t Mind, Not Atoll. Rangiroa is amazing. It’s basically a large sand bar. And it’s one of a couple other sandbars and islets that make up this large atoll. It must occur to the occupants that they aren’t much above sea level. But there’s a complex community here. Vineyards, pearl farms, vanilla bean farms and homes. It’s really amazing.
Dee Dee and I are up early and ready ourselves for an excursion to snorkel. I’m nervous because what happens if I get out in the water and have one of my coughing fits. Unpleasant thought to say the least. We take the tender to the islet and board a small craft with about 20 others and head out to the lagoon. Dee Dee is just along for the ride. She doesn’t do salt water. Unless it’s in a pool. We anchor, and then “boom,” hit the water. No time to fret really. The fish are beautiful. And my new snorkel and mask are working great. But I’m panting. Small shallow breaths. I’m tiring way too quickly. The
Rangiroa
Tender at dock. This is where we caught the small boat from which we snorkeled. Beautiful, plentiful fish. main guide is swimming with a large orange life preserver and I catch up with him and put one hand on that and float along. It gives me time to slow my breathing, but I’m ready to go back. As we pass near the boat I head in that direction. But the guide sees me and yells at me, “No. Come on. This way.” I do as commanded. I catch up with him and once again grab the life preserver. It gives me the chance the slow my breathing until I’m breathing normally. Well, normal considering I’m swimming in a lagoon surrounded by a tornado of twirling swirling fish with an occasional shark swimming below me. The colors are exceptional. The colors of the fish are brilliant. The colors of the water are gorgeous. So much beauty. We head out to where the coral drops off. Fish thin out. Then disappear in the depths. Then we head back to the boat. I am the last one to board. My legs are so shaky I’m not sure I can stand up. But I do. And we head back to shore to catch the tender back to the Ocean Princess. I am
so grateful that the guide insisted I stay out for the complete time. What a wonderful experience.
Dee Dee heads up to the 9
th floor to the smoking corner. There are only a couple of places on board where smoking is allowed. I try to scrub the coral-safe sunscreen, which doesn’t rinse off while snorkeling, out of my clothes. No such luck. But the shower felt really good anyway. I was salty inside and out. Then Dee Dee and I went for a late morning snack and stayed for lunch.
I can not eat one more bite. OK. But just one. We enjoyed Afternoon Tea where I saw my Japanese pals. They seem delighted to see me. She grabbed my hands as we walked by.
About 4:30 pm we pull up anchor and leave the islet of Rangiroa. From the balcony I snap pictures of another islet as we sail by. Unlike volcanic islands with their cone-shaped hills, the islets are flat, looking more like giant sandbars covered in flora.
Dinner time comes way too quickly. Once again we have to adjust to the roll of the ship and everyone is weaving up and down
Rangiroa
Electricity. Farms. Homes. It's really amazing. the aisles. Pretty funny. Tonight I try a mushroom tart, cold celery and apple soup, orange roughy for my entrée, and a Grand Marnier soufflé for desert. I at least try everything. But as I have at every dinner so far this cruise, I leave about half my dinner on my plate. Just too much food.
So far we haven’t made any of the shows. We eat dinner at 6 and the shows don’t start till almost 10 and by then I’m deep into a book and way too comfortable too move. But tonight’s show features a magician so I wake Dee Dee from a nap and off we go. Wonderful show. How does he do that? And that? And that?
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