Day number three at Le Taha'a Resort and Spa has come and is almost gone. We awoke to the wind howling past the bungalows to find a scary looking storm cloud drenching Taha'a island across the lagoon coming towards us. Is this the end of our luck with the weather? Is this going to be the beginning of rain, cloud and typhoon winds just when our cruise is about to start?
Before I even had time to set up the camera for a time lapse video, the rain was upon us. And then it suddenly passed replaced with beautiful sunny skies again. None of this eight months of continuous Vancouver drizzle!
The winds kept blowing and white caps appeared suggesting speeds of over ten knots, but to me it seemed definitely more like 15-20. A couple sail boats and catamarans motored to and fro in the lagoon.
I watched a receptionist dash from the main desk with leis and tiares in hand to welcome the incoming boat from Raiatea. As our stay nears an end, another excited one begins.
Shannon and I are getting pretty good at doing nothing. We read a bit inside because it was too windy outside. I swam out to the edge of where the water color changed from white to turquoise then walked back under the bungalows. It looks like the crab we saw through the aquarium is a permanent resident on that pillar. I looked forward to breakfast and particularly the fresh juices. We had the buffet again as it was the best value lasting us until dinner. The food was the same with one different table of tasty smoked salmon, some meats and cheese.
After a nap, we went on a trip to the pearl farm on Taha'a. A boat took us over followed by a half hour drive to the southern part of the island where the farm was. Now, I've seen several pearl farms but this one had the best info session I've seen so far. The proprietor went over how the pearls were seeded to the pieces of mother of pearl that were placed in with the nucleus that secrets the material forming the pearl. Inside her house, we saw Tahitian pearls of all sorts famous because they are "black" pearls. The Italian couple we came with bought two loose 8.5mm A class pearls for 260 euros. Pretty cher.
Unfortunately, because of the truck ride and diesel fumes, by the time we got back to the hotel, we were a bit nauseous. Nevertheless, we pushed on to drift down the coral gardens once again.
Despite the sun behind some clouds, it seemed warmer to me. We started off on the Tautau side which was shallower and more difficult to navigate the gardens. Shannon dropped out half way and I continued on to the finish.
Again, I was surprised how close the fish got to you without being afraid. Especially the yellow ones who seem just curious to check you out. This time, I didn't have any black fish nipping at me, although there were many fish that "watched" me as I floated by. One big colorful one seemed content swimming against a current between me and a head of coral. It was so close, colorful and big that I quickly grabbed my camera only to find that it was out of batteries.
Back on the beach, we soaked in the secret hidden lukewarm hot tub, then shivered our way to our real hot bathtub in the bungalow.
A la carte dinner was again good. The tuna tartar with sesame and wasabi oil was delicious. Shannon got the tasty lamb chops I had yesterday and I got a stirfry that wasn't anything special.
The housekeeper came by and left us a note that our departure shuttle was scheduled at 8AM as requested, so that we could meet up with Ben and Chantelle to transfer to the marina.
Yes, kind of sad leaving such a nice hotel, but I think the reason the average stay here is 3-4 days is because the novelty starts wearing off and the wallet wears thin.
We're lucky in that we're going to be cruising around on a catamaran for the next ten days around the islands instead of going home! I'm looking forward to meeting up with the crew, checking out the boat and get underway. Should be great!
Before I even had time to set up the camera for a time lapse video, the rain was upon us. And then it suddenly passed replaced with beautiful sunny skies again. None of this eight months of continuous Vancouver drizzle!
The winds kept blowing and white caps appeared suggesting speeds of over ten knots, but to me it seemed definitely more like 15-20. A couple sail boats and catamarans motored to and fro in the lagoon.
I watched a receptionist dash from the main desk with leis and tiares in hand to welcome the incoming boat from Raiatea. As our stay nears an end, another excited one begins.
Shannon and I are getting pretty good at doing nothing. We read a bit inside because it was too windy outside. I swam out to the edge of where the water color changed from white to turquoise then walked back under the bungalows. It looks like the crab we saw through the aquarium is a permanent resident on that pillar. I looked forward to breakfast and particularly the fresh juices. We had the buffet again as it was the best value lasting us until dinner. The food was the same with one different table of tasty smoked salmon, some meats and cheese.
After a nap, we went on a trip to the pearl farm on Taha'a. A boat took us over followed by a half hour drive to the southern part of the island where the farm was. Now, I've seen several pearl farms but this one had the best info session I've seen so far. The proprietor went over how the pearls were seeded to the pieces of mother of pearl that were placed in with the nucleus that secrets the material forming the pearl. Inside her house, we saw Tahitian pearls of all sorts famous because they are "black" pearls. The Italian couple we came with bought two loose 8.5mm A class pearls for 260 euros. Pretty cher.
Unfortunately, because of the truck ride and diesel fumes, by the time we got back to the hotel, we were a bit nauseous. Nevertheless, we pushed on to drift down the coral gardens once again.
Despite the sun behind some clouds, it seemed warmer to me. We started off on the Tautau side which was shallower and more difficult to navigate the gardens. Shannon dropped out half way and I continued on to the finish.
Again, I was surprised how close the fish got to you without being afraid. Especially the yellow ones who seem just curious to check you out. This time, I didn't have any black fish nipping at me, although there were many fish that "watched" me as I floated by. One big colorful one seemed content swimming against a current between me and a head of coral. It was so close, colorful and big that I quickly grabbed my camera only to find that it was out of batteries.
Back on the beach, we soaked in the secret hidden lukewarm hot tub, then shivered our way to our real hot bathtub in the bungalow.
A la carte dinner was again good. The tuna tartar with sesame and wasabi oil was delicious. Shannon got the tasty lamb chops I had yesterday and I got a stirfry that wasn't anything special.
The housekeeper came by and left us a note that our departure shuttle was scheduled at 8AM as requested, so that we could meet up with Ben and Chantelle to transfer to the marina.
Yes, kind of sad leaving such a nice hotel, but I think the reason the average stay here is 3-4 days is because the novelty starts wearing off and the wallet wears thin.
We're lucky in that we're going to be cruising around on a catamaran for the next ten days around the islands instead of going home! I'm looking forward to meeting up with the crew, checking out the boat and get underway. Should be great!
No comments:
Post a Comment