Tahiti New-er - October 21

Yesterday we circled Tahiti Nui. Today we experienced a newer side of Tahiti. (Yes, we are still in Papeete. It was part of the plan all along.)

We reserved a day pass at the InterContinental. You can’t just show up and get one - there are a limited number of day passes. We took a taxi to the hotel. It is on the other side of the airport, on a point of land.

The hotel property includes a man-made lagoon with a man-made sandy beach, an infinity pool, a marine turtle sanctuary, and more. We really enjoyed this beautiful property. It was not very crowded. The lagoon was crystal clear and was supplied by tidal water from the ocean that flowed in and out through a screen. Bright tropical fish swam in the lagoon and did not seem to mind the occasional human in their space. This was much nicer than the natural rocky waterfront that exists here.

The lagoon:

I am the one under the palm tree, waving at you

In the following three photos, the water you see is not the lagoon, but the open ocean:

Moorea is visible in the distance

Next to the lagoon was a turtle sanctuary where injured turtles are treated and given a chance to recover. It appeared to be part of the lagoon, but it was cleverly designed to keep the turtles in and apart from people.

These turtles are wearing some sort of protective suits

They gave us wristbands, and some yellow-and-white-striped towels. We were able to use the hotel’s chairs, so we were quite comfortable. We sat under a palm tree and enjoyed the pleasant trade winds that kept us from being too hot.

After a while, another couple showed up and took two chairs near us. They had the blue-and-white-striped towels that one gets on a Princess ship. They did not have wristbands. It was obvious to me that they were from our ship and had not paid for a day pass. They ate food that they had in their backpacks They did so by reaching into the backpacks and taking out handfuls of food in a sneaky way. It was obvious to me that they had brought food from the ship with them. This is illegal in many places, including Tahiti. I didn’t speak to them. I didn’t report them to the hotel staff, but I thought about it.

The infinity pool:

Our day pass included lunch at the restaurant overlooking the pool. It did not include the wonderful Mai Tais you may have noticed in one of the photos. “Mai tai” is Tahitian for “out of this world” or “the best.” Or so they say.

Our lunch was delicious. We ordered shrimp poke bowls, plus fresh tropical fruit for dessert. It was delicious and nutritious. However, Ken later had gastro-intestinal symptoms for many hours. We both ate the same food at the InterContinental, and I was fine, so maybe it was something he had on the ship.

Back on the ship, this was our view of “downtown Papeete.”

Today’s fabric is Tonga Batiks - Lakeside Geo Mosaic Pattern Anchor, by Timeless Treasures.