Thursday, September 20, 2007

Moorea Buffets: July, 2004



After we had soaked up the views, we headed on to more stops. A scenic lookout from which we could see Cook’s Bay and Oponohu Bay, the ruins of an ancient temple, and a waterfall that we reached with a twenty minute hike, all proved to be fantastic.

Following our gloriously scenic and comically bumpy ride through the interior, the truck headed back to the coast and stopped at a beautiful beach. While we relished the gorgeous surroundings, our shabby-looking guide Tommy climbed trees and gathered fresh ingredients for an impromptu buffet.


Tommy laid out large green leaves over the dusty truck tail gate and then proceeded to prepare pineapple, coconut and other freshly picked fruit using nothing but a machete. By the time he finished, the truck bed looked like the work of a tropical Martha Stewart rather than a scraggly-bearded, scruffy-looking guide.

We were so impressed by the entire tour, we decided to sign up for the shark and stingray dive offered by Albert Tours the next day.

We returned to the ship for lunch in the Veranda Restaurant, where once again we enjoyed plentiful choices from the buffet and menu. While everything was delicious, how can you spend time in French Polynesia without enjoying all of that magnificent fresh seafood and tropical fruit?