R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 142

Port 7 Bora Bora — Outrigger Travel

[image error]

Bora Bora

I simply cannot recommend highly enough the magnificent folks at Maohi Nui and their lunch and lagoon snorkeling tour.  It was simply a fantastic way to spend our time here on Bora Bora.  Below you see Ursula posing with our outrigger guide, the flamboyant and exhibitionist (more on that later during this week’s Fun Photo Friday) Patrick.

[image error]

Patrick smoozing with Ursula

Our large tour group split among several Maohi Nui watercraft.  Two groups, including Ursula and I, opted for the mor...

Port 7 Bora Bora — Maohi Nui Tour

[image error]

Bora Bora

The Crown Princess departed American Samoa on Saturday, October 31, 2015.  We sailed for two full days at sea before arriving at our next destination, the island of Bora Bora, Society Islands, French Polynesia.

[image error]

Crown Princess tender in Bora Bora

The sky was cloudy, but that didn’t dampen our spirits.  Despite the gray sky the fog shrouded peaks offered some extraordinary views.

[image error]

Bora Bora

Ursula had prearranged our next adventure here, and so we set out to meet our next tour guide fo...

Fun Photo Friday — American Samoa Favorites

[image error]

American Samoa

Click on any image below to bring up today’s Fun Photo Friday slide show:

Filed under: Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation Tagged: American Samoa, Crown Princess, cruise vacation, Faratoga, Fun Photo Friday, Pago Pago, photography, R. Doug Wicker, South Pacific, travel, travel photography, vacation

Port 6 Pago Pago — The Samoa Flying Fox

[image error]

What kind of fruit is that . . . ?

Those aren’t fruit you see hanging from that tree above.  Those are a species of megabat known as the Samoa flying fox.  These monster fruit bats may to huge in size, but they’re diminutive in weight.  The wingspan can reach nearly 3 feet/.86 meters, but they way only about a pound/450 grams.  Believe it or not, these guys are classified as only “medium” in size.  Larger species of megabats may reach 5.6 feet/1.7 meters and weigh up to 2.6/1.2 kilograms.  Th...

Port 6 Pago Pago — Docking at Fagatogo

[image error]

Pago Pago Harbor

Despite the warm waters that forced the Crown Princess to slow on the journey from Hawai’i to Samoa, we had no problem making the 78 miles/125 kilometers (as the flying fox flies) from Apia, Samoa to neighboring Pago Pago, American Samoa.  Of course, this short trip also required us to travel back into time, as we once again crossed the International Date Line separating the two island groups.

[image error]

Crown Princess docked at Fagatogo — port area for Pago Pago

Ursula, Al and Lisa Fit...

Fun Photo Friday — Apia Favorites

Tatoos

Click on any image below to bring up today’s Fun Photo Friday gallery and activate the slide show:

Filed under: Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation Tagged: Apia, Crown Princess, cruise vacation, Fun Photo Friday, photography, R. Doug Wicker, Samoa, South Pacific, travel, travel photography, vacation

Port 5 Apia — The Samoa Cultural Village and Robert Louis Stevenson

[image error]

Sign post

Our hurry was to get to the Samoa Cultural Village in time for the next native dance and cooking demonstrations, and we made it with just minutes to spare.  Food was cooked in the traditional Polynesian manner of burying the meats and vegetables in a heated pit.

[image error]

Samoa Cultural Village

Included in the village are demonstrations of siapo making.  Siapo is the Samoan version of tapa cloth, the strands for which are derived from the inner bark of various trees.  It’s a very laborious an...

Port 5 Apia — Our first visit to Samoa

[image error]

Sailing in Apia Bay

The Crown Princess left Nawiliwili in the afternoon of October 25, 2015.  We sailed south-southwest four full days at sea, crossing both the Equator and the International Date Line.  During this portion of the voyage our ship needed to slow, delaying our arrival to our next destination.  The problem was the intense El Nino that year.  The engines of the Crown Princess are cooled by sea water, and the unusually warm water during that year’s El Niño required the ship to redu...

Fun Photo Friday — Nawiliwili Favorites

[image error]

Kaua’i Marriott’s advanced weather station

Nawiliwili on Kaua’i was our last port of call in the Hawai’ian Island chain.  Next week we move on to Samoa.  Until then, here’s today’s gallery of Nawiliwili favorites:

[image error]travel...

Port 4 Nawiliwili — Kaua’i Marriott and Duke’s delectable Hulu Pie

[image error]

Kaua’i Marriott Resort

As I mentioned on Monday, neither Ursula nor I are strangers to  the Kaua’i Marriott Resort, and Duke’s Canoe Club Barefoot Bar and Restaurant.  We stop by both whenever we hit Nawiliwili.  Why stop at a resort at which you’re not staying?  For the beauty of it all.  Inside the resort is a very impressive garden, which views such as these:

There’s also a very nifty weather station on the grounds, but you’ll have to wait until this week’s Fun Photo Friday for that....