Moorea the Amazing Large Caldera

Monday August 29, 2016
We arrive by ferry boat after a ride of about half an hour.
Chick has already arranged a ride for us by internet. I didn't know you could do that. We have to ride to the Airport first to pick up other passengers and pay for the taxi before we are taken to our small cottage at Tapu Lodge. Same word as Taboo. It means religiously restricted. Some people here speak English but Chick has to communicate in French most of the time. I am wiped out by the heat today and am good for nothing.
photos #1 and #2 are of Moorea from the window of the plane when we fly over the island on our way to Bora Bora.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016 Spent the day recovering and Chick goes to the store for provisions. I schedule a dive for tomorrow. We are given a large bag of papaya, "for the week" we are told. It taste great and has a little vanilla aftertaste. Some of them are still green so we will get to have them for several days.
photos #3 and #4 are of the view from our elevated little apartment looking towards the sea. It is up a very steep hill which we have to walk when going anywhere. It is steep enough that a vehicle might have trouble getting up it in the rain. Reminds me of my father's driveway in St Thomas, where we had to walk up when the rain was especially strong.
photo #6 Chick in front of our little kitchen.
Wednesday August 31, 2016 I get picked up early for my dive from a small boat. There are about 5 divers and 2 dive masters. I am

required to wear a wetsuit much to my dismay and discomfort but survive because the water is about 80 degrees and I can cool off. I still don't like the restriction. If you haven't worn one it is kinda like a full body girdle.
photo #7 This landscape is called shark's teeth. The water would be the shark's belly.
We dive where it is expected we will see sharks and we do, several blacktip and one nurse shark. One of the blacktip sharks is the fattest one I have seen. He must have eaten recently. Like all black tip sharks it stays far away from us. I saw a very unusual Clownfish here. It was defending four or five sea anemones. Usually there is only one for it to defend. Three of the anemone were closed. I got a photo of two of the closed ones with the aggressive clownfish. I heard in Vanuatu that a clownfish will nip at a diver's mask if he gets too close. I never saw one fish defend more than one anemone so was very surprised with his behavior.

photo #8 anemones being defended.
photo #9 nudibranch I have seen very few here but maybe haven't been looking enough at small stuff.
photo #10 Jackfish
photo #11 Christmas tree worms.
photo #12 a school of fish.
photo #13 Napolean or humphead wrasse
After the dive, I decide that the diving here is not worth the exorbitant cost. It is as about as pretty as diving Catalina, not world class. In a couple of days we will meet two divers who each tried a dive and agreed with me.
Friday September 2, 2016 We meet those two divers with their wives on our 'around the island' tour. It is beautiful and we are most impressed by the huge caldera that makes up a most of Moorea. About half of it has fallen into the sea so it is like a big roundish bowl that empties into the sea very near the inlet that was used by Captain Cook. On the map it is the one on the right. The inlet that Cook used is not named for him because it already has been named after the beautiful maiden that is seen in profile at the top of the mountain that overlooks the Opunohu Bay. The next bay over, on the left, is named for Cook instead. The two bays are an extension of the great caldera that collapsed probably due to subsidence.
photo #14 Chick and I stand above the Opunohu Bay.
photo #15 Map of Moorea showing the two bays.
photo #16 Opunohu's profile above her bay.
From our view of the inlets we drive to a pineapple farm and a vanilla farm where we see both vanilla beans and the orchid like flower of the vanilla. When they brought vanilla here from Mexico they did not bring the bees that pollinate it and they do the pollination by hand for each flower. We get to taste jams made with several local fruits. They are all too sweet for our vegan tongues. We are taken to a distillery which uses local fruits and the liquors that we taste there

are very tempting but we do not buy any. I buy a plastic flower and attach it to my glasses on the left. I remember that the left ear is used like the left hand with a wedding ring. Right ear means available. I find trying to keep a flower over my ear to be near impossible and now I can wear it everyday without trying to keep it from falling. The photo of us toasting shot glasses includes the hibiscus that I gave up on before buying the plastic flower. I will make sure to include a photo of the plastic flower later.
Our final excursion on Moorea was a boat tour of one side of the island. It took us to a spot where they hand feed stingrays and black tip sharks. The rays and sharks are very busy swimming around the spot with lots of tourist in the water with them. I take photos from the boat because I forgot my water camera. One of the guides drags a ray around for tourists to feel. I hear from a New Zealander that he drew a stick figure in the slime of the ray. I hope the rough treatment doesn't cause a problem for the rays since their slime is protective. When we are leaving, instead of being taken back to the hotel where we launched from we are compelled to get into a canoe with a round rung ladder that dipps a lot in the surf. It does so while I have my whole weight on my left foot and my foot slides to the side where I feel a crunch as my middle toe is broken. We are dropped off sort of near our digs. We are told to go to the reception at the hotel and we will have a taxi home. When we get to reception she asks us, "Was that Hiro's tour? He is always doing things like that. Once he has your money you are on your own." We walk about 20 minutes in the hot sun, back to our place.