South Pacific and Peru -- April, 2015 -- Days 7, 8 and 9

Day 7, April 9, 2015 … Oh my goodness!  Our ship anchored off the shore of the Island of Fakarava this morning.  We tendered to shore and were greeted with the most delightful iconic performance.  There were about 8 or 9 playing drums and singing plus another half dozen dancers – all dressed in colorful Polynesian dress  The dancers were donned with flowers in their hair, leis and grass skirts; the others too had flower headbands and brightly colored floral print shirts. What a wonderful, wonderful welcome!

Fakarava is an atoll similar to yesterday’s Island of Rangiroa … built of coral, no volcanic mountains, forming a ring surrounding a gorgeous lagoon.  It is also one of the newest stops for cruise ships, and it was obvious the islanders were intent on welcoming us.  Only about 850 people live on the island, but the environment is so pure it was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve to preserve rare species.  There were a few people selling their crafts, and we walked a bit to what we think was the area of town. Many different varieties of flowers were everywhere, as well as coconut palm trees just loaded with coconuts!  We visited a beautiful little Catholic Church … palms wrapped around the statues and columns of the building and leis of flowers around the crucifix, Madonna icon and other statutes.  We were told about a church built of coral on this island, but that was 28 miles away and there was no public transportation available.

Polynesian Dancers greeting us at Fakarava

There are, however, beaches all around this 37-mile long, 12-mile wide ring like island. As this is our last visit to a French Polynesian island, we needed to swim one more time in the very inviting turquoise lagoon. Again, the water is clear and there were patches of coral scattered along the sandy bottom. One coral had a large, I’m guessing 9-inch, clam on it, opening and closing its zig-zag shell. 

Cheryl, Marcie & Bob
Swimming in the lagoon

Amazing! Plus there were yellow and silver colored fish as well as black and white stripped ones swimming in and around the coral outgrowths.  It was a totally refreshing swim.  Walking back to the pier, we stopped for a drink at a local cafe, which had a colorfully painted dock … each board a different pastel color.  It was fun watching the birds fly around and then take a direct dive into the water. This was a perfect little island to complete our South Sea Island adventure, as it perfectly summed up the idyllic picture most have in their minds of what it is like here!

Marcie, Cheryl, Skip enjoying a drink at a cafe on the beach
Fakarava, French Polynesia

After returning to the ship, I napped a bit, then we played Trivia (our team really isn’t very good!!), had drinks during Happy Hour and stuffed ourselves once again with another absolutely delicious gourmet dinner.  The ship departed from Fakarava about 6 p.m. and will be cruising at sea now for two full days.  We also lose an hour tonight as we travel eastward through a time zone. While our travels are far from over, today we say good-bye to the French Polynesian Islands, their exquisite beauty, the casual elegance and the warm friendly inhabitants who have already marked a unique turning point in our adventure across the South Pacific!

Day 8, April 10, 2015 …” What does one do while on a cruise ship all day long?” you might ask.  The ship is cruising along at about 18 miles per hour.  The view from our balcony is a deep, deep blue ocean as far as the eye can see with gentle waves, puffy white clouds and an air temperature of about 81 degrees.  The ship rocks a little, but we get used to it quite easily. This morning was nice and relaxing … Coffee and croissants on the balcony, after which Bob walked a mile while I slept in!  There are many activities planned for us guests that we may choose to attend. We went to the lecture on Star Gazing at 10 a.m., which was interesting to hear about what to see in the southern hemisphere skies. Cheryl said she attended the lecture on the life and designs of EFFY, which she found interesting (and with very expensive jewelry pieces even at 65% off!). Before the Terrace Café opened for lunch we opted for a yummy malt. Of course, then we did have another delicious lunch with Skip and Cheryl.

The view from our Stateroom balcany

This afternoon we attended a lecture on the “real” story of Captain William Bligh, whose crew on the Bounty committed mutiny and whose descendants still live on Pitcairn Island. The lecturer kept us spell-bound with this story and left us hanging at the end to come back for more tomorrow. Afterwards, Cheryl, Barb and I attended a martini tasting … how delightfully fun.  Now I have some great entertaining ideas for future parties!!   

Our dinner this evening was at the Toscana, another specialty restaurant aboard ship that serves everything Italian.  Talk about a delicious culinary feast … the menu itself, in both Italian and English, took half an hour to read!  About 6 or 7 courses were available including antipastos, appetizers, soups, pastas, specialty pastas, main entrees plus, of course, wine and desserts!  We move our clocks ahead an hour. It was another delightful day aboard the Oceania Marina … how Blessed we are!!

Toscana restaurant aboard the Oceania Marina

Day 9, April 11, 2015 … No cooking. No washing dishes. No cleaning floors. No making beds. Even no doing laundry if you’re willing to pay for it (which I am not). We are waited on hand and foot … they seat you, place your napkin on your lap, pour your drinks, change silverware settings at every course. They even put the food on your plate In the buffet lines. Cruising is great!  After breakfast we simply had to find out the rest of the story of Captain Bligh. The lecturer, Dr. Paula Smith, said she’s been asked to write a Hollywood script with historical accuracy on Captain Bligh, and she sounded very excited to get the truth out there, commenting how inaccurately Hollywood has portrayed him in all their movies about the mutiny on the Bounty.  I don’t know why I’m so tired these days, but after a nap, I spent some time reading on our balcony … the view, the breeze and the temperature are perfect!

This afternoon we enjoyed the South American cocktail tasting with Barb and Steve ... so fun! And then we attended the afternoon tea where the tea waiter held a box of a dozen or so different teas for us to choose from, another waiter offered little sandwiches and other delicious goodies and yet another waiter came by with a cart of little desserts. Plus there was another table with delicious morsels of goodies and yet another side table with crepes covered in Grand Marnier sauce!  What a great experience … we’ll have to do this again!

Pool side on the Oceania Marina

We all returned to the very formal Grand Dining Room for dinner once again for, you guessed it, another gourmet dinner.   Skip and Cheryl related their wonderful cooking class on Red Ginger recipes, including the duck and watermelon salad Bob so enjoyed when we were at that restaurant. So with that recipe in hand, I don’t have an excuse for not making it at home, right?  After dinner we walked along the deck a little, stopping to view the stars. We turn our clocks ahead another hour this evening.  This has been another relaxing, enjoyable day at sea!

The grand staircase in the ship's reception area
Oceania Marina