Really full, but really rather awesome day in Mo’orea. Spent the morning with a Royal Caribbean organized excursion to go “off-road” through the island, then did a snorkeling expedition of sorts to go search for marine life and it was ah-mazing. Really good time with Mom and Nate searching for all sorts of wildlife (and finding some).
Photo Gallery: https://pics.mattichan.com/-uwc078
Island Views
Amazing panoramic views in all directions. Really a paradise out here, especially the layers of mist and clouds covering the mountains.
Flowers on the Island
As we toured around, the “off-roading” part was a misnomer. We only went off road for kicks and giggles, cause most all of the stops we made were also made by buses that just took the main roads. We weren’t off road for that long at all, but we did make it to some gardens and some lovely flowers all over at all our stops as we travelled through the island.
Fresh Fruit on the Island
We had some fresh fruit that the guides pulled from the trees. For some reason, they decided to place the fruit in the truck in an unfortunate shape before cutting it and giving it to us. It was SO good. The pineapple fields were also fun to see in the crater of the volcano. Definitely stabbed myself a couple times pulling the 14mm lens into the foliage to take some photos.
Wildlife
Lots of ants everywhere that were crawling up our shoes and legs, but also noticed that they were all over the plants and flowers as well. Really cute dog that was just trying to take shelter from the sun as well. Some really interesting birds as well. The birds over by the ocean look like they have a blue-ish beak.
Also made a stop to see some gigantic eels. I was very glad to have the long lens and be far away while others went into the water to get closer and touch them. BIG NOPE from me. The way they slither….too close to a snake for my comfort.
Snorkeling Tour
We almost didn’t make the snorkeling tour because the earlier tour ran late and long. The boat for snorkeling was kind enough to come get us at the pier and we set out to go search for sealife. It was an awesome tour. The first stop, we did some drift snorkeling where we just went up past the point where we were likely to see stuff, and then just floated along and let the current take us. We saw a couple turtles which was really fun (mom even saw one come up out of the water to say hi). Water was nice and refreshing as well, and swimming along was nice and easy. Really nice time.
Next, we went WAY out into the open water to see if we could find some of the larger mammals. Looking for dolphins, most people had kind of given up (I think), but I kept an eye out, and was fortunate to spot a little pod of pilot whales (I think somewhere between 5 and 7). We watched them for awhile, and then our guide led us into the water (much deeper and the waves were no joke), but we were able to swim with the whales for a bit as they came underneath us to say hi. It was pretty intriguing, the guide brought a stick with him in case there was a shark, and gave us instructions to band to together in the event of a shark coming toward us. Really an awesome opportunity and not something I thought I’d ever see or do.
Lastly, we went to another snorkeling spot with SUPER clear water and it was so shallow, we just got to stand and float for a bit with rays, sharks and all sorts of tropical fish. So peaceful and such a good time (and not a ton of people all around), there was maybe one more boat around us, and our boat had 6 people on it (+ 2 crew).
Back to Port
Back at port, we ran into our guide from the morning again (he was great), and also wandered around the port a bit and looked at some of the artisan items for sale.
Food
Got back on the ship, and after a quick shower, made it down to grab dinner. Huli huli chicken, cheese tortellini and ahi tuna steak with a tiramisu and lemon sorbet to finish it off.
Entertainment and Evening
Noticed that Remember the Titans was playing, so stopped in for a bit since it’s one of my favorite movies of all time. The moon was spectacular as well out there over the pacific.
Vibe Check
4 parts joy
1 part sadness – not really an off-road tour
Feedback
Leave a comment or question if you have any thoughts! Anything you want to know about as we go around the world? Any things you want to share as feedback, or any images that particularly spoke to you. I’ll try to read all of them as time permits!
Matti 
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