Noon reading:

• Position: S 17° 29.80′, W 149° 51.40′
• Speed: At anchor
• Course: At anchor

A few interesting facts about the island:

• It is generally pronounced: Mo-orena.
• The island we see today is based on the remnants two caldera from ancient volcanoes (along with its coral reef)
• There are 11 fresh water springs on the island.
• These springs form (small) rivers that enter the lagoon. The fresh water from these rivers inhibit the development of coral creating 11 openings in the reef.

It was a reasonably quick morning as we prepared for our first of two excursions today – a “Scenic Cruise” around the island. It is definitely not lost on us that we respond to 5 consecutive sea days by spending the next two days on boats. But it really is a great way to get an overall impression of these small islands and their sea life.

So at 9:30 we presented ourselves at the tender (yes, once again we’re anchored out in the lagoon and tendering in to the dock.) and rode into the port – thankful that the tender was covered as we were in the middle of the reason they call this the monsoon season.

It came as not a significant surprise that they wouldn’t let us off the tender with the announcement that all remaining morning excursions had been cancelled due to the aforementioned “liquid sunshine”.

So we tendered back to the ship and spent a couple of hours relaxing.

The weather did, however, make for some great photos:

By afternoon the rain had (mostly) left so we tendered back to the dock to meet our 2:00 bus tour.

We were greeted on the dock by local vendors selling their handicrafts. They wear traditional floral crowns to celebrate, to party, to welcome us.

This was an interesting tour led by an excellent guide. He talked about the history, the economy (historical, Covid, and current), the culture, the flora and fauna – he kept us engaged for the 3 1/2 hours of the tour. His best line – “Before the missionaries came we had many gods and one religion. Now we have one God and many religions.”

BBB: We’re getting used to the frustration of Bruce’s Brain Busters Team Trivia. But somehow we keep coming back for more. Maybe it’s the excellent bourbon. More likely it’s the fun company as we together bemoan our aged brains. Tonight was pretty normal: 10 out of 19. Here are a couple of samples:

• She was known as “The Swedish Nightingale”
• This archipelago off the coast of Africa is known for its namesake wine and is a autonomous region of this country (2 points).
• Remember, no fair peaking and send your responses by text or email.

Once everyone was back on board we left this evening for our last port in French Polynesia, arriving in Tahiti at about 10:00 PM.

Once we were docked they opened the gangplank so that those who wished to go ashore to sample a bit (or a lot) of nightlife could do so. We didn’t. Cheryl headed to bed while I headed out to see if I could find decent wifi somewhere on the ship.

One last item of interest: In the public restrooms on the ship they pipe in bird sounds. Here’s a sample:

So that’s Moorea. Tomorrow Tahiti. Till then, R