Our visit to Moorea
Trip Start
Jan 01, 2013
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Trip End
Dec 31, 2012
Where I stayed
Tahitian Princess
Papetoai, Society Islands, French Polynesia
Saturday, December 20, 2008
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Dec 20, Moorea: Greg, my roommate from Sacramento, and I rented an Avis car to drive ourselves around the one-road island for $74 after we tendered in from the boat to the northern village of Papetoai. We invited a lady, Pat, from York, England (we were seat mates on the flight from Los Angeles to Papeete), to join us, and she did. The language on these Tahitian
Islands are French and Tahitian, but many also speak English – especially in the tourist areas. Although the currency is French Pacific Francs, most business also accept US dollars. The island is shaped like an isosceles triangle with two mountain ranges. The one word that describes Moorea is “beautiful.” It's lush green landscape with the turquoise water surrounding it is this side of paradise, and the clouds also added to the beauty.
As we left the port area in our rented car, we drove clock-wise around the island. Our first stop was Belvedere Mountain to get an excellent view of the harbor, then on the way back to the main road, we stopped at a location where the natives used to make human sacrifice. We
stopped at a location where we saw a bus tour, and do we also stopped and saw what they were looking at; a group of bungalows that sits on the water they rent out at $300 to $500 a night. In addition to the beautiful sites, we stopped at a beach front restaurant-bar for drinks where we sat with a young couple from New Zealand on their way to PA for the holidays to visit with the wife's family. We sat at a table under the shade of a tree to enjoy the expanse of turquoise water with a long stretch of white sand beach with mountains in the background. We also stopped at a Catholic church for some picture-taking. A bus tour group also stopped to visit. At $33 each for Greg and I for the car rental and fuel, it was a bargain, and a very good way to tour this beautiful island.
MOOREA
