Everything Else Moorea

Beside tempt fate with shark and raw fish, we did a less risky tourist things as well.

Sunset from the overwater bungalows at the Hilton.

Unlike everyone else who lives in California, I have never been to Hawaii or other tropical island, so of course I had to do a polynesian dinner show! We chose the Fire dancing show at the Hilton because a) it was about $50 cheaper than the tiki village show, b) bbq dinner with a menu we both could agree on for the price (probably around $70pp), and c) it was at the Hilton and we wanted to crash a 5 star party. It was a really good choice. The food was amazing and the dessert bar made me feel like I had died and gone to heaven!!!! The pastry chef there was amazing. I had 5 little bite sized desserts, including a 3 bite creme brulee and a weird vanilla foam thing. I didn't have one thing I didn't love.

I bet these guys are a ton of fun to party with!

After all that good food, we were front row for an amazing show! These people love to perform. After the show they let you come up and take pictures with you. They are so happy, laughing and having a great time. I wish I spoke french so I could have had an intelligent conversation.

They asked me to come up and being the awkward tourist trying to shake my hips, but since I had on really tall shoes that I had never worn before, I passed. Good thing, because they picked the lady sitting behind us and she could dance really well.

Not sure I would be down with this

They did the fire part of the show outside, and it was pretty awesome too. Hard to see because I didn't bring my glasses and had to stand on a chair to see over all the cameras people were holding up, but still awesome.

Another night we did happy hour at Hotel Hibiscus, where they had a great singer/guitar pair. It started with Tahitian music, but then she started taking requests and did popular french songs. Everyone was having such a good time they started doing audience participation songs, some of which I remembered from French 1 my freshman year of high school. Win! She even sang a song in English and dedicated it to us. Such a fun night!

If you ever make your way to Moorea, make sure to go to the lookout. We rented a car one rainy day so I could go buy my pearls, we go go to a dinner show, and to see the island. The views are amazing, especially on a clear day. On the way home from the lookout, we stopped at the juice factory. Probably the biggest inside joke on the island. Thinking we are going to get to try all these yummy juice drinks made fresh, it ended out they only wanted to serve us alcoholic drinks. Pre-mixed cocktails, rums, liqueur, and something that tasted like moonshine. Only one taste of pineapple juice at the end. Fun, but definitely not what were were expecting. No one wants a DUI in a foreign country.

View from a trail just above our resort

Before we left we took a hike to get an overview of the private Motu where we had been snorkeling and to capture the breathtaking beauty of the island. I would totally come back here!

Sharks, Rays, and Reefs, oh my!

After watching Ali and Roberto's date to a heart shaped island last summer where they swam with Rays, I have made it my life mission that I will cuddle up with those majestic creatures. This was probably one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life. The rays are so beautiful. So curious and graceful. Not the type that killed Steve Irwin, btw. Apparently those rays aren't the ones that are safe to swim with.

Rays off the side of the boat. I'm told rays are flat sharks.

"My mom is gonna freak out when she see this!"

Locals thought it was hilarious I could not tan. Serge was so awesome the picture goes up anyways. 

While visiting the rays, a shiver of black tip reef sharks gave us a visit. Sharks seem more afraid of people than we are of them. Our guide, Serge, was absolutely amazing, a local fisherman/marine biologist who works to preserve the reef and maintain the marine sanctuary that provided us with amazing snorkeling. The reef is so pristine, it is like you are swimming in an aquarium! In addition to the ray experience, he also taught us a lot about the reef and everything living in it. He runs his operation through Hotel Hibiscus, only does small groups (ours was private because we went early in the AM before anyone else has signed up), and is very reasonably priced. Just in case you ever find yourself in Moorea looking for a ray guy.

Clockwise from top right: tuna tartar, tuna sashimi, poission cru, and Moorea salad

Hotel Hibiscus ended up being a surprise gem. I enjoyed the food, and they had a lot to offer people with a variety of tastes. I pretty much ate fish the whole time, and my favorite was a appetizer that had the local speciality "Poisson Cru", tuna tartar, tuna sashimi, and Moorea Salad (fruit, shrimp, coconut milk).  The bar manager Hoania was super hospitable and fun. We ended up going to the beach with his wife Eve and daughter and inviting them back to the villa for Jacuzzi, dinner and drinks. They were so much fun! It is amazing the people you meet on vacation, and I hope they can come visit one day! The hotel restaurant also does wood-oven pizza, which we had on the beach for lunch one day.

Moorea is a such an amazing place. The snorkeling off the motu (little island) was amazing; we saw more rays, tons of super friendly and colorful fish, and even an eel. The fish came right up to your mask and were vibrant and plentiful. I can't imagine a more perfect island to vacation on.

Only one more post about Moorea. Then we can move on to less exotic things, like 60 day bachelorette shape-up and the bucket list!

Bit by the travel bug: Moorea

It's no secret that my travel destinations/aspirations are strongly influenced by The Bachelorette, hence the trip to French Polynesia. Although Ali whisked her men away to Tahiti and Bora Bora, I settled for Moorea, which come to find out from the locals, is considered to be the best island and much preferred to Bora Bora. If you are going to French Polynesia, Moorea is the bee's knees. It definitely beats out Tahiti and is much easier to get to than Bora Bora. I really can't find one bad thing to say about the island.

We stayed at the Legends Resort Moorea, a 4 star highly rated resort on the island. It was beautiful. Each villa has a private deck (ours had a partial ocean view), a private hot tub, and covered seating/eating area. PLUS, there was air-conditioning, which made the tropical heat/humidity much easier at night. We figured out that if you keep the bedroom cold the critters won't come in. Better to keep the lizards, millipedes, mosquitos, ants, and other polypedal creatures in the living room and kitchen, where they belong.

Our partial ocean view off the master bedroom

Probably should have taken photos before we spent a week not picking up after ourselves

The only channel in English was world CNN. Plus: being able to follow Weinergate!

Out kitchen had less food, way more ants, and a little more booze.

The resort also had an amazing infinity pool where I captured some decent sunset photos:

to the west, with the private island in the background

to the east, towards Tahiti

I liked the resort, but next time I am going to go for an overwater bungalow so I can just snorkel off the back patio. These villas are pretty pricey and they are only slightly less expensive than the overwater bungalows. I didn't really cook much because groceries were so expensive (and I was LAZY), so I really didn't need the kitchen. And, it is on a hill (rather, the side of the mountain), which got old really fast since we walked everywhere. This resort is a best bet for locals coming from Tahiti on holiday and families who would be making meals for kids anyways.

Biggest thing I realized in my first 24 hours in French Polynesia: I LOVE to travel. This was my first big trip outside of the US (not counting Canada), and I had no idea that traveling abroad would make me feel so liberated and hungry for more. Seeing new places and meeting new people turned out to be more  exciting than it was scary. Extreme lifestyle makeover #1: Go somewhere new, outside of the US, once a year. I am considering setting up a separate savings account just for traveling adventures.

Just go with the flow: Tahiti

Getting to Moorea was no simple task. It takes about 24 hours travel time to get from home to Paradise. From parking fiascos (thank goodness there was no traffic!) to delayed flights to SPRINTING through my least favorite airport (LAX) to find the mystery terminal and barely make our flight, we definitely started vacation out on our toes.

finally on the Tahiti flight!

With all this, we knew that the luggage was not going to make it on the flight. After all, luggage can't sprint to it's terminal. We were right. I was cursing United as we ran around like chickens with our heads cut off, not knowing that this was actually a blessing in disguise.

Catholic Church in Papeete

Once in Tahiti, lack of luggage allowed us to wander the island without bags in tow. We walked from the airport to Papeete (about 2.7 mi) and saw some local color. I probably wouldn't recommend this (my mother would be less than pleased to hear about this), as it might not have been the safest idea, but it was a ton of fun and we didn't encounter one malicious person. Even the stray dogs were friendly. It was 5:30 am after all.

We were able to walk around town before all the hustle and bustle began. It would have been nice to have some local currency, but our home bank and LAX were out of French Polynesian Francs and all the local banks were closed. Maybe we could have seen this movie in French:

Sunrise from runway overlook

Watching the sunrise over the Pacific was awe-inspiring. The goal of the trip was to just roll with the punches and leave everything behind. I had been waiting 5 years for this trip, and finally I was there. Everything felt surreal, it was happening so fast and each moment was hard to hold onto. I could feel myself changing and for the first time in a VERY long time, I felt like I was in control of my life and my destiny.

The Great Escape

View from the pool at the Legends Resort Moorea, where I had my great escape.

You know you have made it when people at the airport say they want to come back as you in their next life.

I walked away from this amazing trip with a new understanding of what I want my life to look like and how I want to live it. Extreme Life Makeover French Polynesia edition?

New attitude, new bucket list items, and new beginnings this summer. Stayed tuned for a best of Moorea trip post this week!