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Our first trip in 2024 was supposed to be meaningful and memorable. It was French Polynesia, and the islands to visit were Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Fakarava, Rangiroa, Raiatea, and Nuku Hiva.
I can say that along the way we had many surprises, some good and some bad. Participants: my wife and I. School is in French, so, all locals know French. My wife and had a good time talking to them since we speak the language. |
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Taking photos was necessary, and my Samsung A53 was excellent. All I needed was a Waterproof Phone Pouch to take pictures under water too. Well, the pouch I bought protects the phone but does not take pictures under water! No matter how many ways I tried, the water pressure on the screen was strong enough to ignore my finger pressing the picture button. |
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We started our vacation in Papeete, the capital town of Tahiti. The weather was perfect. Papeete has a public beach called Km 18. The beach was very clean, and no one asked you for money for an umbrella or chairs. There was plenty of room under the trees; all you need are towels. Very civilized. |
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Coral and fishes were close to the shore , the water warm, perfect vacation. |
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And there are restaurants close to the beach ... not too many food choices (burgers and fries, kind of, but OK). |
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We embarked on the luxury cruise Oceania on Feb 2nd, 2024. It started well.
The first stop was Moorea. It was a sunny day, scorching, and the only place to stay was in the water, 29.5 Celsius. And it is worth it, coral and fishes, same as in Papeete. From where the tender left us, we took a taxi and asked the driver to go to the closest beach. It was near a resort, I do not remember the name. We stayed in the water for hours. I had a long-sleeved shirt for protection against the sun.
The first stop was Moorea. It was a sunny day, scorching, and the only place to stay was in the water, 29.5 Celsius. And it is worth it, coral and fishes, same as in Papeete. From where the tender left us, we took a taxi and asked the driver to go to the closest beach. It was near a resort, I do not remember the name. We stayed in the water for hours. I had a long-sleeved shirt for protection against the sun.
The next cruise stop was to be Fakarava (one of the Polynesian paradises), but the captain said the waves were too big for the tender to deck. In my opinion, the ocean was calm, the storm was a few hours away. I guess the captain was afraid he could not bring us back on the ship in time. Poor decision. Maybe it was better to cancel the shore excursions and tell the guests that the maximum allowed time on the island was 2- 3 hours, or whatever time before the storm rendered the boarding difficult. Later, there were many other questionable decisions, and the captain blamed the head office in Miami, which he had to listen to.
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The boat headed toward Marquesas archipelago, away from the storm.
The first stop was Nuku Hiva. We saw animals like in my grandma’s village: hens, dogs and horses. |
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We visited the church where Jesus’ statues were like the locals - features and color.
I remember visits to Africa, where I saw Jesus’s representations were black. In my grandma’s village, he is light skin and yellow hair. In churches in the Middle East, he is portrayed in some with places with Semitic features. Does anybody really know what He looked like? |
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Near the church, the mango trees were impressive, like a Christmas tree with mango fruits |
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We bought some mangos from a local lady. We ate in the garden behind the church. |
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Then, we took a swim, then visited the Fertility Goddess on the hill near the beach. Maybe I hurt the goddess in a way, because some bad news waited for us on our return on the boat.
The bad news was that a storm like never seen in the last 20 years ravaged the islands we were supposed to visit.
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The boat found shelter in a bay near Hiva OA island, with about 2000 inhabitants. We stayed there for two days. It was not an island with too many visitors, even if it had some tourist attractions.
Hiva OA was not on the cruise itinerary, but I immensely enjoyed the visit there. When the villagers saw the boat, they prepared the village for the unexpected visit. |
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From where the tender left us, my wife and I wanted to go to the town on foot, about 3 km, around the bay. A local saw us and invited us in his car, then proudly presented his village. He was offended when I wanted to pay him. I made him happy, saying he has a big heart. We asked our new friend to drive us to the beach. |
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The beach had volcanic ashes as sand, and because of the waves, the water was murky. |
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We wanted to return to the boat with the bus. Mai-le, a volunteer travel agent, entered the bus and figured out that most tourists on the bus did not visit the market where local artists sold their art. Also, free fruits were waiting for us (paid for by the Oceania cruise line).
She said, “The artists prepared their work for nothing? And all the fruits waiting for you… It makes no sense. The bus will go to the market, not to the boat!” I liked her craziness; she was adorable. |
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All drivers in the area listen to her. So in the scorching heat, we headed for the market instead of the air conditioning on the boat. The fruits (papaya, mangos, bananas, sugar canes and others I do not remember the name) were delicious. |
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We could have bread with those fruits. It is growing in trees. The locals put the fruit on burnt wood, then peel off the skin, and that’s it - the bread is like a huge potato. Eventually, pieces of bread are put in pots with coconut milk. Delicious. |
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Hiva OA is the island where the well-known painter Paul Gauguin lived. He has a museum on the island and his grave. There is a statue of him, but the paintings there are copies, no original. His tomb does not have a cross.
Another personality who lived on Hiva OA is Jacques Brel, an actor, singer, and composer. His melodies were played by Frank Sinatra, David Bowie, Ray Charles, Andy Williams and many others.
He has a museum on the island, side by side with Paul Gauguin.
When diagnosed with lung cancer, he retired on the island. A rich man, he helped the villagers in many ways. He is well-loved even today. People put stones with nice words on his grave even today. His tomb is just a pile of stones.
He has a museum on the island, side by side with Paul Gauguin.
When diagnosed with lung cancer, he retired on the island. A rich man, he helped the villagers in many ways. He is well-loved even today. People put stones with nice words on his grave even today. His tomb is just a pile of stones.
The big problems started after we left the Marquesas archipelago. We headed into the storm’s tail and could not visit Rangiroa, Raiatea, and Bora Bora. The excursions included with the package we paid for vanished, and we got no compensation. The cruise line blamed the weather, and the tourists absorbed the loss. All in all, out of 6 islands to visit, we missed 4, with one added as compensation (Hiva OA), but way too little. With the technology today, they must have known about the storm and could have changed the itinerary for islands outside the storm trajectory, but they did not want to spend the effort and some money. They wanted the profit, even if that undermined their credibility as a luxury cruise line. All the guests I talked to said they would write negative reviews. A lady from Quebec told us that the trip was a massacre, in her opinion.
Oceania sent us a note that they will give us $500 credit for excursions on the next trip with them, and exempt us from the mandatory tips for waiters in the restaurants and those cleaning our rooms, which is about $400.
Why don’t they give us the money now? Lure us on another trip with them? That, by the way, is very expensive.
Anyway, that’s life. At least they had good restaurants on the boat.
Oceania sent us a note that they will give us $500 credit for excursions on the next trip with them, and exempt us from the mandatory tips for waiters in the restaurants and those cleaning our rooms, which is about $400.
Why don’t they give us the money now? Lure us on another trip with them? That, by the way, is very expensive.
Anyway, that’s life. At least they had good restaurants on the boat.
Eliade Moldovan
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In THESE LIVES, daily Cold War existence under the despotic dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu, is vividly documented. Drawn against a chaotic background of hardships, horrors, and hilarity, story after story depicts every imaginable aspect of that era: from cold, brutal murders and betrayal, to the abiding love between a husband and wife.
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