On Board Oceania "Marina"

There is no formal dress code on our cruise, but we did wear something nice for our dinner at one of the specialty restaurants Wednesday evening. The second photo is typical of the sights of Rangiroa.

Calmer Diving In Rangiroa

My morning dive in Rangiroa was quite pleasant.

Day Three: Kamakazi Scuba Diving In Rangiroa

Tiputa Pass in Rangiroa one of two openings in the island where strong currents between the lagoon and the sea are constantly flowing. The area is teeming with fish, sharks turtles and dolphins. Scuba diving in the pass, called "shooting the pass" is a white knuckle adventure not for the faint of heart, inexperienced, or out of shape. The currents flowing through the pass are going at the speed of white water. Apparently, shooting the pass can be done twice a day when the currents shift allowing for some chance of surviving the experience. I did a routine morning dive at a calmer location in the Rangiroa lagoon and I was able to take some nice fish and turtle photographs. However, during the afternoon "shooting the pass" dive I had all I could do to keep myself from being swept into huge coral heads. I got banged up anyway and now have band aids in several spots on my body. It is also a deep dive, much deeper than I usually like to go, since you have to go deep near the bottom to keep from being swept totally away. At one point, all of the divers dropped to the bottom and grabbed hold of dead coral heads to at least temporarily stop their speedy trip through the pass. While fascinating and exhilarating, this was not my cup of tea since I was too busy trying to stay safe to take all but a few photographs. "Shooting the pass" is a type of drift diving but certainly not the relaxed and enjoyable drift diving in gentle currents that I experienced in a place such as Cozumel. Oh well, chalk this one up to experience!

Moorea: Sail-away Birthday Party at Sea

Since Jim is continually active online, he ‘met’ several of our fellow shipmates on this all-gay Atlantis cruise before we sailed. One of these invited us to a catered birthday party when the ship was anchored in Moorea. This birthday party was held in a huge suite at the bow, and waiters bustled about handing out caviar and other canapés along with glasses of champagne or any other drink one would want. We greeted and met Adam, the birthday celebrant, who was wearing a tall, fake crown, before we mingled with dozens of other guests. The large suite featured several rooms, a deck right at the front of the ship and a hot tub. While chatting with some of Jim’s diving buddies, we saw a magnificent sunset. (See pics.) This was a special party, and not the type we attend often. Then we left, after an hour, for a get-together that Jim had set up in the Martinis Bar. This was for divers and one of them was a fellow Fire Island resident, a designer who had just remodeled a beach house in the Pines; he showed us pics of his spectacular house and then we all went down to see the hilarious, un-‘pc’ comedian Jim David whose is fun and on all of the Atlantis cruises. We laughed until we cried, and how strange is that both grief and humor bring tears to the eyes of humans? We enjoyed a late and very rich dinner of oysters Rockerfeller, soufflé and lobster in the dining room. Our tablemates turned out to be a couple from Seattle who also had a suite. So it seems that yesterday we just couldn’t escape the 1% aboard this vessel! Luckily they were all nice men who didn’t brag about their wealth—they didn’t have to, of course. The ship set sail for Rangiroa shortly after the sunset and anchored on that next island the following morning. --Dan

Moorea Sea Life

Day 2: The Island of Moorea

Many past visitors and travel guides call Moorea the most beautiful island in the section of French Polynesia that we are now in, namely the Society Islands. It’s easy to see why, since the volcanic mountains are tall peaks kissing the clouds and all of the greenery winds its way down to the turquoise colored ocean. Moorea is where James Michener, author of South Pacific, imagined Bali Hai to be. Our guided tour bus stopped on a mountain peak, at the remains of an ancient temple, a few viewpoint stops and a tourist spot called “Tiki” which sold souvenirs (Jim bought a pendant made of abalone), had a restaurant and reconstruction of the house Gauguin lived in, with photos of his art works. However, all of his masterpieces are in the great museums of America and Europe; none remain here. Also, he lived on Tahiti, not Moorea. Nonetheless, one could imagine his spirit in this place. After our morning tour, Dan returned to the ship for lunch and booking tours while Jim went on an afternoon dive. He saw more spectacular, bright colored tropical fish, large sea turtles, and many more sharks. –Dan

Day 1: Papeete

Dan spent the day swimming in a beautiful, protected lagoon full of colorful tropical fish. He also did two sketches of the spectacular scenery here in French Polynesia. Meanwhile, Jim completed two separate scub diving trips. The first trip took him to the spot called "White Valley," where the dive operators set up a feeding station for the local shark population. A great variety of sharks and fish came by for the free handouts. The second dive was to a site with scattered coral and three wrecks: two boats and one airplane. What a variety of fish and colors! Today we visit the island of Moorea.