We had our first Christmas as a married couple today. It was nice and we both love all our gifts. The stand out for me has to be the Sig Sauer .45 that Sarah got me. I think Sarah really likes the Kitchenaid appliance that I got her. She is excited to use it right away. My parents also sent some nice gifts. Thanks for the knives, Atlas Shrugged shirt, bamboo utensils, and the defrosting sheet.
Later today we will be going to Sarah's parents' home to have some brunch and Christmas out there. On the way I am going to drop off some gifts for the Cochran's.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Bread Fruit and Kayaks
I am not sure when I am going to be able to make another post until we get back to the states, so I thought I would make the rare second post in one day. Today we slept in until 8a and pretty much had our day planned out. After some breakfast and my first post, we were on our way.
We started by heading up to Belvedere lookout because it looked a little clearer than yesterday. I was able to get a better shot of both Opunohu and Cook's Bays as well as the mountain separating them. There were also some other picturesque mountainous views that I got some photos of.
After our return to the hotel we promptly checked the kayak out to take take around the northeast corner of the island to the pearl shop and the friends we made yesterday. The trip, about a mile and a half long, took about and hour and a half as we faced strong headwinds the entire trip. Once there we were shown around their property and then treated to a meal of bread fruit, coconut, and canned beef.
The bread fruit was barbecued over an open flame for about an hour. While that was cooking we husked a couple of coconuts, cracked them open, and then grated the inside. The result was a pile of coconut shavings on a plate made from coconut palms (which we helped to weave). Once the bread fruit was cooked it was peeled and plated on another leaf plate. The canned beef was quickly heated in the fire that the bread fruit was cooked in.
With the food plated we began our meal. The bread fruit is pinched off the core of the fruit and then used to pick up coconut, beef, or both. The fruit is very doughy (hence the name) and quite good. At one point our host had me pick up a handful of coconut shavings and squeeze them over the beef and bread fruit. The result was coconut milk and the taste on both the beef and bread was tasty. It was reminiscent of a dish I had last night (tuna marinated in coconut milk or poisson cru).
After our meal we talked with our gracious hosted for about 30 minutes before climbing back into our kayak for the ride back to the resort. The return trip was about 1/2 as long, only about 45 minutes because we had the wind at our backs most of the trip. After a quick dip in the pool, a shower, and a Hinano or two, we are both refreshed.
Tonight we are going to stay in an eat some leftovers and cook up some of the food that we have in our cupboard. We will probably shoot the breeze with Muk (the proprietor) and some of the other guests. In the morning we have to check out by 10:30a, but we are supposed to return our rental car by 9:30a. I am hoping to be able to keep the car until 2 or 3p so that we can spend more time on Moorea.
Tomorrow we have to catch the ferry across to Papeete and then catch a taxi to our hotel near the airport. We stay the night in Papeete and fly back on Sunday the 19th (my parent's anniversary). We get into LA Sunday evening and then fly to Seattle. We have about a 6 hour layover in Seattle before flying home on the 20th.
Our timing is apparently pretty good. Moorea has very few tourists over the time that we have been visiting, but there are a lot more on the way. The weeks in and around Christmas are very busy. I am very glad we were here during a slow period.
Anyway, hopefully we will be able to make a post tomorrow, but if not, then probably once we land in LA, or at the latest, in Seattle. TTFN.
We started by heading up to Belvedere lookout because it looked a little clearer than yesterday. I was able to get a better shot of both Opunohu and Cook's Bays as well as the mountain separating them. There were also some other picturesque mountainous views that I got some photos of.
After our return to the hotel we promptly checked the kayak out to take take around the northeast corner of the island to the pearl shop and the friends we made yesterday. The trip, about a mile and a half long, took about and hour and a half as we faced strong headwinds the entire trip. Once there we were shown around their property and then treated to a meal of bread fruit, coconut, and canned beef.
The bread fruit was barbecued over an open flame for about an hour. While that was cooking we husked a couple of coconuts, cracked them open, and then grated the inside. The result was a pile of coconut shavings on a plate made from coconut palms (which we helped to weave). Once the bread fruit was cooked it was peeled and plated on another leaf plate. The canned beef was quickly heated in the fire that the bread fruit was cooked in.
With the food plated we began our meal. The bread fruit is pinched off the core of the fruit and then used to pick up coconut, beef, or both. The fruit is very doughy (hence the name) and quite good. At one point our host had me pick up a handful of coconut shavings and squeeze them over the beef and bread fruit. The result was coconut milk and the taste on both the beef and bread was tasty. It was reminiscent of a dish I had last night (tuna marinated in coconut milk or poisson cru).
After our meal we talked with our gracious hosted for about 30 minutes before climbing back into our kayak for the ride back to the resort. The return trip was about 1/2 as long, only about 45 minutes because we had the wind at our backs most of the trip. After a quick dip in the pool, a shower, and a Hinano or two, we are both refreshed.
Tonight we are going to stay in an eat some leftovers and cook up some of the food that we have in our cupboard. We will probably shoot the breeze with Muk (the proprietor) and some of the other guests. In the morning we have to check out by 10:30a, but we are supposed to return our rental car by 9:30a. I am hoping to be able to keep the car until 2 or 3p so that we can spend more time on Moorea.
Tomorrow we have to catch the ferry across to Papeete and then catch a taxi to our hotel near the airport. We stay the night in Papeete and fly back on Sunday the 19th (my parent's anniversary). We get into LA Sunday evening and then fly to Seattle. We have about a 6 hour layover in Seattle before flying home on the 20th.
Our timing is apparently pretty good. Moorea has very few tourists over the time that we have been visiting, but there are a lot more on the way. The weeks in and around Christmas are very busy. I am very glad we were here during a slow period.
Anyway, hopefully we will be able to make a post tomorrow, but if not, then probably once we land in LA, or at the latest, in Seattle. TTFN.
Bon Voyage to Richard, Hello Black Pearls
Since my last post we have managed to slow things down a little bit. No diving, no snorkeling, no wave runners. We have seen polynesian dancers, had great food, and circumnavigated the island.
Wednesday night the hotel had a polynesian dancing troupe give us half-hour show and it was fun. I wasn't too excited to attend because I have seen some pretty extravagant shows (from when I was a kid in Hawaii) and they were long, and after the first 30 minutes or so, boring. This was just the right length and it included some audience participation. Both Sarah and I were selected, among about a dozen, to participate. It was cute and not too embarrassing.
After the show we went to the resort restaurant and had some very nice food. Just right. Again, we were all tired from the day and hit the hay early, excited to sleep in today. Of course we were all up early, around 7a, and trying to figure out what to do for the day.
Thursday was Richard's last day with us and we wanted to see the rest of the island, so we rented a small car and took off around the island around 9:30a. We took a little road up the Opunohu Valley toward a lookout called Belvedere. From it you could look down both the Opunohu Valley and the Opunohu Bay and the Paopao Valley and Cook's Bay. Kind of cool to see both in the same view.
We saw a couple of archaeological sights dating back to the 13th century. One of the sights was an ancient archery platform from which the inhabitants had contests. The other was an ancient dwelling. Brian Davis would be loving it.
From Belvedere we headed back down to the bay and drove around the island. We made one stop to check out a large waterfall. It was about a 15 minute hike up a moderate to easy trail to the falls and it was worth it. I even stripped down to my skivvies and took a waterfall shower. It was fun.
We stopped and bought some cuban cigars, had some pizza for lunch, and then came back to the resort to relax on the patio until Richard's departure. It is about a 15 minute drive to the ferry from our resort, so at four o'clock we took Richard to the ferry and dropped him off. Once he gets home, back in Chicago, he will have 23 hours before he heads to Nevada to see his parents. He is literally going from one vacation to another.
Sarah and stopped at a small black pearl store on the way back to the resort. Muk, the owner of our resort, told us it was the only place on the island that would not rip us off, and that the owners were very nice. He was right. We spent a little over an hour there looking at pearls and talking to the gal who runs the shop and her brother who is the jeweler.
We got to learn a lot about how the Mooreans feel about the French (they don't like them much) and a little about life in paradise. They are probably a lot like most Alaskans; they don't really see the splendor in which they live. I think that talking with them reminded them to take a look around. I think it did because they really seemed to like us and they invited us back today to harvest some bread fruit in their yard and eat some with them.
I think Sarah and I are going to take the resort kayak down to the pearl place to visit with them, an then....we will will see what the day brings.
Today I will be posting some photos of local flowers, the resort cats, and the waterfall. The yellow cat we call MC (mangy cat) and the other is call VC (vacation cat). Sarah wants to take care of them, but they seem fine to me, and I don't think they need any food from us, since there are chickens literally everywhere on the island. In fact there are homeless dogs, cats, and chickens running around everywhere. It seems like the cats would keep the chicken population in check, but I think there is so much fresh fruit to eat, that none of the animals are in need.
Check out Facebook for the full spread of photos.
Wednesday night the hotel had a polynesian dancing troupe give us half-hour show and it was fun. I wasn't too excited to attend because I have seen some pretty extravagant shows (from when I was a kid in Hawaii) and they were long, and after the first 30 minutes or so, boring. This was just the right length and it included some audience participation. Both Sarah and I were selected, among about a dozen, to participate. It was cute and not too embarrassing.
After the show we went to the resort restaurant and had some very nice food. Just right. Again, we were all tired from the day and hit the hay early, excited to sleep in today. Of course we were all up early, around 7a, and trying to figure out what to do for the day.
Thursday was Richard's last day with us and we wanted to see the rest of the island, so we rented a small car and took off around the island around 9:30a. We took a little road up the Opunohu Valley toward a lookout called Belvedere. From it you could look down both the Opunohu Valley and the Opunohu Bay and the Paopao Valley and Cook's Bay. Kind of cool to see both in the same view.
We saw a couple of archaeological sights dating back to the 13th century. One of the sights was an ancient archery platform from which the inhabitants had contests. The other was an ancient dwelling. Brian Davis would be loving it.
From Belvedere we headed back down to the bay and drove around the island. We made one stop to check out a large waterfall. It was about a 15 minute hike up a moderate to easy trail to the falls and it was worth it. I even stripped down to my skivvies and took a waterfall shower. It was fun.
We stopped and bought some cuban cigars, had some pizza for lunch, and then came back to the resort to relax on the patio until Richard's departure. It is about a 15 minute drive to the ferry from our resort, so at four o'clock we took Richard to the ferry and dropped him off. Once he gets home, back in Chicago, he will have 23 hours before he heads to Nevada to see his parents. He is literally going from one vacation to another.
Sarah and stopped at a small black pearl store on the way back to the resort. Muk, the owner of our resort, told us it was the only place on the island that would not rip us off, and that the owners were very nice. He was right. We spent a little over an hour there looking at pearls and talking to the gal who runs the shop and her brother who is the jeweler.
We got to learn a lot about how the Mooreans feel about the French (they don't like them much) and a little about life in paradise. They are probably a lot like most Alaskans; they don't really see the splendor in which they live. I think that talking with them reminded them to take a look around. I think it did because they really seemed to like us and they invited us back today to harvest some bread fruit in their yard and eat some with them.
I think Sarah and I are going to take the resort kayak down to the pearl place to visit with them, an then....we will will see what the day brings.
Today I will be posting some photos of local flowers, the resort cats, and the waterfall. The yellow cat we call MC (mangy cat) and the other is call VC (vacation cat). Sarah wants to take care of them, but they seem fine to me, and I don't think they need any food from us, since there are chickens literally everywhere on the island. In fact there are homeless dogs, cats, and chickens running around everywhere. It seems like the cats would keep the chicken population in check, but I think there is so much fresh fruit to eat, that none of the animals are in need.
Check out Facebook for the full spread of photos.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wave Runners and Stingrays
It has been a good time since my last posting. Last night we had dinner with an older couple from the LA area and it was marvelous. Great food and great company....there was even a pretty good father-daughter music act who did a pretty nice cover of Simon & Garfunkel. After some cribbage we were all sacked out by 9:30p.
It is a good thing we got to bed early because today has been a whirlwind of island activity. Sarah, Richard, and I have been at it since 7:30a. We started with a couple of dives (our last two) and just finished with a wave runner tour and stingray encounter.
The dives were fairly straight forward between 40-80ft with plenty of tropical fish, black tip sharks, a turtle, and a moray eel to name a few things we saw. Richard is not a certified diver, but after doing an introductory dive yesterday afternoon he was invited to come back and dive with us today! I think he really got a kick out of it. Check out the photos on Facebook! It really was very relaxing. Sarah and I are getting very good a conserving our air, and I think we have really improved our diving skills overall on this trip.
We were returned back to our hotel and had just enough time to grab a hearty lunch before heading out on some wave runners. We went on a tour of Cook's Bay an Opunohu Bay before heading out toward the island that Sarah and I dove off of yesterday. This time, however, we rode on the inside, or the lagoon side, of the island. There we were able to visit with some Stingrays. The were so peaceful and gentle, coming to us to be pet and fed. We spent 15-20 minutes hanging out with them before heading back. What a trip!
Tonight we are going to a special dinner with a Polynesian dance, etc. It should be fun to watch, although I don't think there will be too many folks in attendance. There just aren't many tourists on the island right now. But that should pick up just about the time we leave....perfect.
I don't know what we are going to do tomorrow, but it should be relaxing and fun. TTFN.
It is a good thing we got to bed early because today has been a whirlwind of island activity. Sarah, Richard, and I have been at it since 7:30a. We started with a couple of dives (our last two) and just finished with a wave runner tour and stingray encounter.
The dives were fairly straight forward between 40-80ft with plenty of tropical fish, black tip sharks, a turtle, and a moray eel to name a few things we saw. Richard is not a certified diver, but after doing an introductory dive yesterday afternoon he was invited to come back and dive with us today! I think he really got a kick out of it. Check out the photos on Facebook! It really was very relaxing. Sarah and I are getting very good a conserving our air, and I think we have really improved our diving skills overall on this trip.
We were returned back to our hotel and had just enough time to grab a hearty lunch before heading out on some wave runners. We went on a tour of Cook's Bay an Opunohu Bay before heading out toward the island that Sarah and I dove off of yesterday. This time, however, we rode on the inside, or the lagoon side, of the island. There we were able to visit with some Stingrays. The were so peaceful and gentle, coming to us to be pet and fed. We spent 15-20 minutes hanging out with them before heading back. What a trip!
Tonight we are going to a special dinner with a Polynesian dance, etc. It should be fun to watch, although I don't think there will be too many folks in attendance. There just aren't many tourists on the island right now. But that should pick up just about the time we leave....perfect.
I don't know what we are going to do tomorrow, but it should be relaxing and fun. TTFN.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
R&R in the South Pacific
We are having another fantastic day in paradise. Last night we relaxed at the resort and met the owner, an ex-patriot named Muk. He is a very interesting guy who came here in the 50's and has lived here ever since. He is one of those guys who has the gift of gab and the stories to use it.
He recommended a very nice restaurant that we all thoroughly enjoyed. I love having fresh shrimp, oysters, mussels, etc. The mahi-mahi is excellent here. Served with a nice garlic butter sauce....mmmmmm. For desert we had an open faced pear pie. All Very good. Richard and I played some cribbage before hitting the sack. Sarah was pretty tired and hit bed pretty soon after we got back.
Moorea is a beautiful island, and scuba diving from a boat has allowed us to see a fair amount of it. Yesterday we dove out of a shop located at the Hilton Mooread Lagoon resort. It is located on a peninsula between Cook's Bay (where our hotel is located) and Opunohu Bay. Today we dove out of a resort on the west side of Opunohu Bay called the Intercontinental Beachcomber.
Our first dive was off a little atoll just on the edge of the lagoon and northwest of the resort. The site, called the Tiki, is near a shark cleaning station. At this particular spot Grey Sharks come to have their teeth cleaned by small fish. These fish voluntarily swim into the sharks open mouth in order to get a few morsels that may be lodged in between the shark's teeth. It was was fascinating to have that view, and although we where a good distance away, I managed to get a couple of hazy photos (check out Facebook).
Our second dive was across Opunohu Bay to the east, not to far from where we dove yesterday. We descended on a small volcanic crater and then proceeded to take a tour of some coral canyons. We saw countless tropical fish during the dive, but on our return to the crater we stopped about ten minutes to check out some Clown Fish who viciously protect their patches of anemone. They are incredibly tough little guys for being so small. I was also able to get some nice photos of some Tiger Fish. Very cool.
Richard is off doing a dive inside the lagoon (a place where they take enthusiasts who do not yet have their certification) and Sarah and I are relaxing back the Bali Hai. Later we are going to catch some dinner at a nearby restaurant, and then probably hit the sack early again. I think the latest we have been up is 9:30p. It is just so relaxing.
Tomorrow Sarah and I have two more dives, and then in the afternoon we are all renting wave runners and taking a 2 hour lagoon tour.
He recommended a very nice restaurant that we all thoroughly enjoyed. I love having fresh shrimp, oysters, mussels, etc. The mahi-mahi is excellent here. Served with a nice garlic butter sauce....mmmmmm. For desert we had an open faced pear pie. All Very good. Richard and I played some cribbage before hitting the sack. Sarah was pretty tired and hit bed pretty soon after we got back.
Moorea is a beautiful island, and scuba diving from a boat has allowed us to see a fair amount of it. Yesterday we dove out of a shop located at the Hilton Mooread Lagoon resort. It is located on a peninsula between Cook's Bay (where our hotel is located) and Opunohu Bay. Today we dove out of a resort on the west side of Opunohu Bay called the Intercontinental Beachcomber.
Our first dive was off a little atoll just on the edge of the lagoon and northwest of the resort. The site, called the Tiki, is near a shark cleaning station. At this particular spot Grey Sharks come to have their teeth cleaned by small fish. These fish voluntarily swim into the sharks open mouth in order to get a few morsels that may be lodged in between the shark's teeth. It was was fascinating to have that view, and although we where a good distance away, I managed to get a couple of hazy photos (check out Facebook).
Our second dive was across Opunohu Bay to the east, not to far from where we dove yesterday. We descended on a small volcanic crater and then proceeded to take a tour of some coral canyons. We saw countless tropical fish during the dive, but on our return to the crater we stopped about ten minutes to check out some Clown Fish who viciously protect their patches of anemone. They are incredibly tough little guys for being so small. I was also able to get some nice photos of some Tiger Fish. Very cool.
Richard is off doing a dive inside the lagoon (a place where they take enthusiasts who do not yet have their certification) and Sarah and I are relaxing back the Bali Hai. Later we are going to catch some dinner at a nearby restaurant, and then probably hit the sack early again. I think the latest we have been up is 9:30p. It is just so relaxing.
Tomorrow Sarah and I have two more dives, and then in the afternoon we are all renting wave runners and taking a 2 hour lagoon tour.
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