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Published: September 4th 2008
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We set off back into town first thing to change some travellers cheques at the bank. The bank was completely different to ours - there were just three desks inside and each had little cubicles around them and it was all very old fashioned. Everything had to be written down manually twice which took ages. We must have been in there for 40 mins by the time we finally got our money, and then the banker just opened his unlocked drawer and took out a wad of cash! Maybe in Tahiti people don’t rob banks as it didn‘t feel very secure!
Matt looked for the boat with three masts again as we’d brought the camera with us this time but unfortunately it was already in the distance so he only got a photo of it leaving.
On the way back to our room we called into the supermaket to find some breakfast. We left £10 lighter with freshly baked croissants, a baguette and orange juice. Baguettes are subsidised by the government here meaning they only cost about 50p whereas everything else costs lots! I can see we’ll be eating lots of sandwiches here.
We enjoyed a quick breakfast
on the terrace before Beni arrived to drive us and our bags to the ferry terminal so that we could go to the island of Moorea.
There were four different types of ferry to chose from, all leaving at slightly different times and all costing similar. After debating for ages we settled on the fast cat (although some of the other passenger ferrys went the same speed). I was ready to attempt to order the tickets in French but the lady at the till spoke English so it was easier than I'd expected.
Unfortunately the ferry wasn’t for an hour and a half and the sun was baking hot. I was pleased we didn’t have too many bags as a day sack and wheelie rucksack each was plenty to have to lug around. Eventually we decided to walk over to a different part of the harbour to sit on a bench and watch the boats. It was too hot and Matt had to go and buy us some water to stop us from melting. We were pleased to see the fast cat arriving half an hour earlier than it’s due time and we got on it pleased to
be inside in the shade at last.
The smooth journey only took about 30 minutes and before we knew it we were in Moorea.
When we got off we debated about getting on a bus to our hotel (£4) or getting a taxi (£30). Unfortunately all of the buses filled up quickly and left so we had no other option but to get in a taxi as it was way too hot to wait. In the end we were pleased we did as our driver gave us a a running commentary on the places we passed. As we came around a bay I saw the ship with three masts that we’d seen in Papeete sailing in and the driver told us that it was called the Maltese Falcon and was the only boat of it’s kind in existence. He stopped the car in a great spot so that we could get a photo of it.
We arrived at our hotel (Les Tipaniers) and checked in. Apart from Club Raro last night this was the first bigger resort we’d stayed in - the others had mostly been local run self catering places or eco backpacker style resorts -
but we were drawn to it because it was cheap, was on a good snorkelling beach and had a couple of restaurants on site which were supposed to serve some of the best food on the island. This time we’d gone for a garden room as this was much cheaper (£50pn) and we knew here we’d need more money for everything else. It was fine for us. The resort was made up of about 20 detached bungalows (but they were very close together) and a couple of rows of attached garden rooms.
We went around to explore and picked up lots of leaflets and maps from receptions, then we headed down to the beach. It was very pretty - it was a small white sandy beach with a clear picture postcard turquiose lagoon. On the shore was a dive shop that also rented out canoes and ran trips, and our hotels beach bar.
I was struck by how much clearer and bluer the lagoon looked, but in terms of beach I think we’d been spoiled by staying on Raro first as I don’t think that beach can be beaten. This small beach was gorgeous, but there were people
on it. I admit, there were less people there than you’d find on Hayling on a sunny Saturday, but after Muri, which was practically deserted, it felt crammed.
We felt like we’d had too much sun while waiting for the ferry so headed to the bar for a cold drink before going back to the shade to read up on what we could do during our week long stay on the island.
In the evening we headed to the onsite restaurant that served Italian and French food. We sat outside on a table lit by a tiny candle and enjoyed a romantic meal. Nobody else chose to sit outside with us so we were either lucky, or stupid (maybe there are mosquitos here? - we’ll know by tomorrow if we‘ve been bitten to death!) We did well with our French as only one of the waitresses spoke English. We were pleased we’d bought a French dictionary - it was proving invaluable. Matt taught himself to say he wanted his steak cooked rare in French (yes, he had steak again but in his defence we really had been missing meat on Raro!) My only problem was when I tried to order café noir - I didn’t want an espresso so I tried explaining I wanted it ‘long’ as this it what a normal coffee is called in the Cooks (it’s either long black or flat white there) - the waitress seemed to understand me but Matt was convinced I was going to end up with a liquer coffee or something. Luckily I got what I wanted. Our guide book advised us to try one of the home baked deserts - in particular it said the crème brulee was excellent - so who were we to argue. It was delicious but I’m glad we shared it was it was a bit much for one.
Wine is cheap here as it is shipped over from France in large quantities. Carafes are the cheapest way to drink it and a quarter litre cost about £3. I can forsee us spending many evenings here eating our 50p bagettes and swigging back the cheap vin!
After dinner we headed down to the beach to look at the stars. I’d never seen a shooting star so Matt was determined that I’d see one tonight. We pulled up some sun loungers and lay flat on them looking up to the stars. It was beautiful. There was no light pollution at all and they were so clear. Within about two minutes I’d seen my first shooting star. Ten minutes later I’d seen my second. Unfortunately Matt missed both so he wasn’t impressed. We both admitted that we should know more about astronomy and made a pact that we’d try to learn more about it at some point in the future.
After watching the stars we changed focus and watched some tiny but active fish who were in the shallow water right on the shoreline. They were tiny white ones that moved really quickly and jumped all over the place making splashes.
Then we realised that we were exhausted as we’d spent the past couple of days travelling from place to place so we headed back to our room to collapse.
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Joe
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The Three Masted Ship
The three-masted ship is the yacht Maltese Falcon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maltese_Falcon_(yacht)