Sunday, February 17, 2019
Where am I?
As we left Pape’ete this morning, the weather had not really improved. As we left the harbor, I’m sure that everybody hoped things would indeed be better by the time we reached Mo’orea. Mo’orea is a small island to the northwest or Tahiti (and the home of the overwater bungalow!) As we approached the island of Mo’orea, the ship slowed down to (hopefully) wait out the very strong winds. If the winds died down we might be able to stop here and safely tender ashore.
The Captain seemed to hold out for as long as he could until the time came when a decision had to be made. Wait out the bad weather, or cancel this stop and head to the next stop in hopes of better conditions. In the end, the Captain’s voice came over the loudspeaker system, announcing that:
- The wind was blowing with gusts up to 50mph
- The ocean was very choppy (as we could all see)
- Mo’orea has no place for us to dock, so tenders would be required
- Tour operators on the shore were indicating that tender operations would be very “iffy.”
- The sum of all of these things added together was that the Captain was canceling our stop in Mo’orea.
Instead of our scheduled stop, the Captain stepped on the gas and we sailed to Bora Bora. Bora Bora was to be our next stop, anyway, so we just arrived in Bora Bora a tad early.
We entered the harbor at Bora Bora, and anchored. From where the Amsterdam sat in the center of the atoll, the sky was only partly cloudy, the air was warm and still, the sun was going down, and I got my first glimpse of the prettiest island I’ve seen so far on this trip.
The Captain did begin tender service for those who wanted to go ashore, but I decided to hold off going ashore until tomorrow. Tonight, I just wanted a cold beer, a cigar, and the chance to stare at this lovely place called Bora Bora.
More tomorrow.
Gorgeous!