Christmas in French Polynesia

After leaving the Fijian Islands in early December we had a few minor changes to our itinerary again. But the plan to spend more time in Samao, American Samoa, and French Polynesia certainly made up for it. I'd never even heard of the Wallis and Futuna Islands, so I don't think I missed anything..

We spent three full days in Apia, Samoa. A small island of about 40,000 local residents and Apia is the capital city. The entire country (island) has around 220,000 people. I never felt like I was in a city. It was more like a long string of small commues all tied together by an amazing and very colorful Bus system. I went, by bus, from the Port Area to the end of the primary road which took about 1.5 hours. After that the roads went up the mountain and the buses were not equipped to go there. The scenery was beautiful and I took lots of pictures. I was surprised to see above-ground burial sites in front of homes. I was told that the tradition in Samoa was to keep your relatives with you after their death. Because of the underground water levels, the grave (tombs) were above ground (just like in New Orleans) and they were on the family property. Big ones, small ones, it didn't matter. I saw kids sitting on the tombs while waiting for the school bus.

Another day I took a long walk through town just absorbing and observing. The Immaculate Conception Cathedral was absolutely gorgeous. I arrived in the afternoon just after a wedding ceremony. I even received permission to take a picture of the Bride & Groom. The original Cathedral was built in 1857, damaged in the 2009 earthquake and restored in 2014.

I love walking through the Open Markets in town. The different fruits and veggies are interesting to see. Here they had hot chocolate for sale. Yes, it was hot outside and I was definitely sweating but I had to have some Samoan hot cocoa. They ground up the cocoa beans and then poured hot water over the beans. There was optional sugar to add, which the hostess highly recommended. I added a teaspoon and she said More...More...More. It was definitely needed. If made with milk it would probably been better. We smiled and said Yum, Yum and moved on. It only cost about a dollar and as soon as we found a place to deposit our cups of cocoa, we did.

Then, look what I found on my stroll through town. My favorite restaurant in all of North Carolina. I doubt if their Steaks can match the Atlantic Beach Island Grill's but I did smile. Some of you (Julia) may recognize the shirt I'm wearing. The colorful decoration is a Mola made by the Indians in the Panamanian San Blas Islands. Don actually gave me this shirt when we were on the island of Bonaire many cruising years ago.

In Samoa, I found an interesting addition to my "fishy" wall collection. I met the lady who did the artwork. But what was really interesting was the paper the drawing was on. It is a Papyrus paper made from the stem of the banana tree. It seems they use everything and all parts of everything. Always have to have a delicious cocktail after a long day of playing tourist. Notice the reindeer and the Christmas tree are all decorated using Coconut shells.

And now we are off to American Samoa. We actually had two December 15's here. Passed over the International Date line. We will lose the day we gained sometime in January when we head back south again. Pago Pago, American Samoa is on the island of Tutuila, and is an American territory with a population of 49,000. It is truly a working port town surrounded by jungle covered volcanic mountains. It is one of the oldest Polynesian cultures in the Pacific and yet the American influence is everywhere - US currency, shopping, and everyone speaks English. There is also a huge Starkist Tuna processing plant right in the harbour where we were. And, as happens in many islands, we were greeted by local entertainment.

One of my first stops was a small museum right next to the Port. It reminded me so much of the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort. Great exhibits of their history in a small building that is only supported by donations. I spent time talking about the museum with the Manager. She was a delightful lady who introduced me to 2 of the 6 ladies who were making baskets to sell in the Museum. The ladies come into town 5 days a week from 8:30 until noon and make baskets, chit-chat, have lunch, and go home. She said the ones that I bought take about 6-7 hours each to make. I loved the baskets and asked if I could buy 6 of them as gifts. She laughed and said she was sorry but there was only 3 available so I bought all three. Of course, I decided to keep all 3 for myself. I got creative and used two of them as ceiling light covers. Gives my cabin a whole new ambiance. I couldn't believe the size of the melting pot for Whale Blubber.

I loved the busses that are pretty much the only transportation. They are individually owned and no schedule. But they are cheap and will pick up everyone standing beside the road. I rode for about 2 hours and the cost was about $3. I loved the name of this Church (Saints Peter & Paul) but it should have included the Virgin Mary in the Name. Get it??? Peter, Paul. and Mary? Lots more gathering places for the neighbors as well as tombs for family members.

Four Sea Days gives us some time to rest up and start getting ready for Christmas. There was Karaoke night and the bar tenders are busy. I spent time filling Christmas stockings with candy for all my favorite Crew Members. A friend down the hall even made the stockings from material she bought on some little island. We had about 8-10 Christmas trees decorated around the ship. We all put some sort of Christmas decoration on our cabin doors. Oh, I almost forgot that we got to enjoy a Christmas Toenail Painting event. All for free - performed by Staff officers (including the captain) and the Spa manager. You could have a choice of red or green or both polish. We were ready for Christmas after we visit Bora Bora.

Bora Bora is a volcanic island with a lagoon, barrier reef and is part of the Society Islands of French Polynesia. The waters are absolutely beautiful - different shades of turquoise all at one time and white sandy beaches. Lots of residents spent lots of money to go diving and snorkeling. I chose to sit on my balcony and enjoy the view with a cocktail or beer in my hand.

Bora Bora is definitely a destination for the rich and famous. I did attend a Wine Tasting Event at a lovely French Bar & Restaurant. We had four good French wines & paired with some very good small bites. All for $125. Just one of those things you gotta do. Right!

After it was over, my friends decided they were going to stay for dinner and I opted to walk back to the ship for dinner. It was only about a 20 minute walk, so no big deal - I had walked all over town earlier in the day. That is one thing about living on a cruise ship - you walk a lot! Five minutes into the walk it was pouring down rain. I, of course, did not even think about bringing an umbrella. I never do. But a very nice local lady and her son pulled over in their car and asked where I was going and then said, Get In. So, I did. They drove me right to the ship and it was still raining. Very nice local people but not a place that I particularly want to go back to.

Christmas Eve day began in Bora Bora and we pulled up the anchor about 5:00pm. The festivities began with a reading of funny Letters to Santa submitted by residents. After dinner there was Night Before Christmas presentation with music, singing, and live musical performances by the VVR Choral and others residents. After that, we were all invited to enjoy a cocktail called a Tom & Jerry. It was "interesting". They said they mixed them lighter this year after people said they were too strong last year. Christmas cookies were also enjoyed. Supposedly there was more drinking & dancing after I left and went to bed.

Christmas morning started with the Christmas Pajama Breakfast party in Raiatea, French Polynesia. Eddie, one of our residents, is really into Christmas. He organized the Pajama breakfast and then hid the Elf somewhere in the restaurant. The search was on...prize was a bottle of wine. He played another game with wine as the prize. I didn't win that one either. Next on the Days agenda was the Dallas Cowboy football game. Boo, I didn't win that one either!. We all wore our PJs all day.

Santa and his reindeer arrived about 10:30. He was supposed to arrive up on the Pool Deck but Mother Nature didn't cooperate. Games, dancing, more Christmas carols, etc. The afternoon brought on the Christmas Outfit Parade. And we also had a White Elephant Gift Exchange. The Residents could choose how much or how little we wanted to participate. All in all, good fun and most people seemed to enjoy the day. Our Popcorn performance (movie) for the evening was - you guessed it - something about a wonderful life. We had one resident who crocheted over 400 small Christmas tree ornaments - one for every resident, staff, and crew member. She had 3 friends who got up early Christmas morning to hang the ornaments on our doors.

There wasn't much to see and do in Raiatea since it was Christmas Day and the day after. Everything was thankfully closed. I didn't even get off the ship.

How many times can you say beautiful turquoise water and Polynesia? We spent 3 days on the island of Mo'orea. I had been there with my friend, Eve, on her sailboat several years ago. There is a limited number of things to do on this island but diving and snorkeling are the top ones. I did go to the Rum distillery and a great pizza place. One of the main food items that we don't have on the Odyssey is pizza. Therefore, it becomes a focus of our desires on every island. Mexican food restaurants used to be included on that list but there is no such thing as Tex-Mex in FRENCH Polynesia. My share of two pizzas and 3 cocktails was $50 but it was very good. I did find a helpful list of words in French, English, and the local Polynesian language. Guess I better stick with English.

December 30 - my sister Kay's birthday and she is getting on a plane in Houston to fly to Papeete, French Polynesia. She will arrive at 5:00am on New Years Day and the Odyssey leaves that same afternoon. Gonna be a hectic day. Papeete has a big grocery store chain so I did go out and get some snacks and other necessary items before her arrival. It is fun to walk the aisles of the grocery just looking for items that you haven't seen in a while. Or buying things that you didn't even know you needed. Kind of like going to Sam's Club - you can't get out of there for less than $100.

I have checked with Guest Services on the Ship to make sure Kay is on the Manifest, I've checked to make sure her room is OK, and I've set my alarm to get up early and head to the airport to pick her up. Let the next adventure begin.