French Polynesia: Moorea, Pape’ete, Huahine, Bora Bora Feb.16th 2007
These islands spread across 2,000,000 square miles of the South Pacific is an area as large as the continent of Europe. The first explorer was English Samuel Wallis in 1767 but by 1880 the French expelled the British (they were busy elsewhere) and the islands became French including the Austral, Gambier, Marquesas, and Society Islands (Tahiti etc) and the Tuamotu atoll. These islands are very well kept. Except for Pape’ete which is a bustling port and congested city they are very laid back. We loved Moorea and Huahine which are sparsely developed and truly what we expected to find. Bora Bora is ringed with very expensive hotels and here we snorkeled in the gorgeous Blue Lagoon with the stingrays and black tipped sharks that are all quite tame. You could even pet the very soft and velvety rays. We didn’t get beyond “Bloody Mary’s” famous bar but heard that there was quite a bit of poverty here in Bora Bora. One night we had a fabulous Polynesian troupe onboard with fabulous music and dancers. A very hot but fascinating group of islands to visit.
The most amazing night Silversea could magically and secretly produce was laid before us as we left Huahine. They had replicas of many of the Gauguin paintings done in NYC that perfectly fit each window in the dining room ringed with gold frames and lots of hanging orchids.