Whine & Cheese

TftSP Part V: Boating & Shark Feeding

Tales from the South Pacific
Sunday, May 22nd - Moorea

Our big activity today was a catamaran tour of the Moorea lagoon and also included shark and sting ray feeding and a picnic on a private motu.  The shuttle picked us up at the hotel at 9am and we were off boat waiting for us on Cook's Bay.

We learned about this tour from one of the guys at the Moorea airport.  He struck me as a bit slimy... don't get me wrong quite friendly... but clearly very (over) eager to get people to take his company's particular tour.  When the shuttle dropped us off near the dock, the first order of business was to pay for the day's activities.  The brochure at the airport quoted the cost as 6000 CFP (again 100 CFP = 85 cents US$) - but the people ahead of us were paying 7000 CFP.  We quickly got into a conversation with an American couple that was ahead of us in line ... comparing notes about the 1000 difference.  The spunky gal was having none of the "price increase" they were alleging and paid the lower price... as did we.  Now I would have not argued too much, but the cashier gave in to the lower price without much fuss... so even on a friendly island, buyer beware!

We got to the boat.. and it wasn't exactly a catamaran... well what I picture when I think catamaran... pretty much flat bottom covered "party" boat... but that was perfectly fine.  We cruised around Cook's Bay and the water and surrounding mountains were just gorgeous - still found it hard to believe we were here and experiencing such incredible works of nature.

Our main tour guide named Siki, was quite the character... kind of struck me as more Jamaican than Polynesian... and as the tour progressed a little bit too much of a smartass for my taste... but truly I did not mind, and others were definitely enjoying his personality... doing this tour 4+ times a week would make me a little punchy too!

Anyhow, he named each of the mountains around Cook's Bay... and told us about the formations... trying to convince us that is was some kind of Polynesian Rorschach Test... I saw "face of woman looking up to the sky" in one of the mountains... but thankfully I was not the only one who could not see... I kid you not... "King Kong playing the piano"

Here is a view of Cook's Bay and the surrounding mountains:

Next stop was shark feeding.  We dropped anchor at a deeper spot in the lagoon (guessing 10-15 feet deep) where there was a buoyed line we could hold onto while snorkeling.  We were told to stay on the LEFT side of the line... since the right hand side of the line was a "shark restaurant."  Not exactly the most comforting thing to hear, but with all the tour groups coming by I am sure the sharks are not even very hungry!

It was kind of crazy as everyone was jumping into the water and getting there spot on the line.  By the time I got in, I got a mouthful of semi-salty water (the lagoon is a bit salty... but not as salty as the ocean) and then had to get myself way over to the end of the line.  By the time I did I was a bit tired... and the current was a bit more strong than compared to my earlier snorkeling experience.  My first attempts were not very successful.  Since the water was deeper here I think I was going down too far, thus cutting off my air supply.  Yesterday we had snorkeled in about 4 feet of water, so it is pretty hard to get to deep there. 

But when I did there were dozens of sharks swimming around... black-tipped sharks that we were told were 3-4 feet long.  They were also a ton of other fish and lots of beautiful coral as well.  Don't worry we weren't feeding the sharks... just watching the pros give them some food as we hung onto our buoyed line and watched.  It was really quite an experience.  And while we knew what line NOT to cross, there are not those rules in shark-land!  Just as I was ready to get out of the water... a shark swam about a foot or two right underneath me... talk about an adreniline rush!

Here's a picture of the sharks...thanks to a handy Kodak underwater disposable camera!

Another shark pic can be found on my Flickr vacation gallery.

The tour continues in the next post... with sting ray feeding and the motu picnic.  Stay tuned!

TftSP Part IV: The Amazing Race?

Tales from the South Pacific
Fri-Sat, May 20-21 - Moorea

Ok, this entry is a little out of sequence... but all this traveling makes us feel like we are on The Amazing Race.  I guess it is all this airport stuff and heading off to an exotic location and catching shuttles, etc.  And you don't get that same feeling when you are catching a 50 minute flight between Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Being a natural eavesdropper, my scanning out of the "teams" began in the waiting area at LAX.  We had the middle-aged married couple in tropical shirts who were clearly the French Polynesia experts and were being sought out for their advice from other inquiring couples.  There was another gay couple (yeah!) ... my gaydar buzzed louder than an emergency door being accidently opened (sidenote: how many employees does it take to shut off an alarm in under 5 minutes time?  More than 4 apparently.)  There are the honeymooners and another pair I dub "tough couple" -- not the stereotypical pair that you would expect to be on a flight to the South Pacific.

We are all obviously on the same flight... but the "race" begins as we head through the passport check and customs.  We seem to be Team #1... but the other gay guys pull closer as the "Europeans only" security line opens to accept Americans.   

But then it is off to Papeete's Terminal 2 for the 10 minute flight to Moorea -- we laugh at the site of the "terminal" since it is nothing more than a large hut and about the combined size of our living room and kitchen.  But all the couple catch up here... but there are 2 flights to Moorea!  We make it on board with the first one with "tough couple."  Gay guys are left with their their beers at the makeshift bar.

We find their are two shuttle services at the Moorea airport... but despite having a lead we are told that we will have to wait for the other flight to arrive (actually the same plane going back to Papeete, Tahiti and then turning around and coming back here) before we are shuttled to our hotel.  Team Tropical Shirts and Team Gay Guys 2 catch up... Team GG2 is on our shuttle, the Tropicals and Toughies are on the other shuttle.

The other shuttle leaves before ours... but not too far behind.  But our driver catches up and decides to pass the other shuttle!  I silently cheer to myself... "Rapido, rapido... we are in a Race and competicion!"  Yes, the 8-hour flight has obviously deluded me into thinking Phil Koegan is waiting for us at the hotel.

Not everyone is at our same hotel though... we "lose" the Tropicals... but keep crossing paths with the other two "teams" over the next day or so... my competitive TAR spirit though is still intact... Team Gay Guys are at the concierge desk before us... darn!!  We're at the beach before the Toughies...yeah!! 

So while we will probably never get to be on TAR -- it was fun fantasizing about it just for a bit. 

Additional note:  Now that the trip is over, I really have a great respect for the teams that do run the Race... it was exhausting doing "our leg."  I can't imagine multiplying that over and over again... especially all that security/passport screening that we never see... plus all the language barriers (no wonder they are yelling for someone to speak English...haha!)  We didn't have much problems, but iiiick!   Also, waiting around (particularly at the airports) is enough to drain the life out of you too!  I can see why the Teams bond so strongly with each other...in a sea of strangers, it was always nice to see a familiar face!

First Set of Vacation Pix

Ok, I went ahead and posted a small collection of some of the best pix on Flickr. 

I took 256 pictures on my digital camera alone.... another 70 or so are coming off my regular 35mm camera and about 25 more on an underwater disposable....

Right now I put up 25 pix on Flickr (2 pages worth... and right now in reverse order, starts with leaving Bora Bora and eventually "ends" with Moorea).  So these are my gut reaction "cream of the crop" pix... or hopefully at least a bit of a tasty appetizer.

I will likely post a gallery here eventually... and my vacation diary posts will contain pertinent pix... so you shouldn't be lacking much in the visuals department!

Head on over to my Moorea/Bora Bora Flickr page ... I will let you know when/if there are additions!

UPDATE: Just to follow-up on Beth's comments... all the pix currently on Flickr (and posted thus far here) are from my little 'ole "nothing fancy" and not terribly new digital camera - a 3.2 megapixel Toshiba PDR-3300.  Was real lazy and didn't even bring in any of these into Photoshop Elements to do any touching up, etc... just some re-sizing.  So what you are seeing are pretty much "as is" results.  Got back my pix from my 35mm Canon Rebel (and put on CDs) yesterday afternoon... and have to say I am more pleased with the results from the dig cam!

TftSP Part III: Snorkeling 101

Tales From the South Pacific
Saturday Afternoon, May 21st - Moorea

After about an 1 1/2 out on the beach we headed back to the bungalow to get our snorkel gear to catch the noon boat over to the motu. 

I have 2 embarassing things to admit:  a) I have a strong gag reflex, and b) I have to hold my nose when going underwater.  So you can guess that snorkeling was going to be a challenge.  Even on the safety of dry land in our room, I can't even put the snorkel mouthpiece in my mouth without spitting it out... since it tasted so plastic-y.

But neverthless we head out to the beach hut near the resort's dock and rent flippers.  The boat trip is very Survivor like ... the boat pulls up to the motu as close as it can get and then the captain tells us to get out... so we climb the ladder into the water and wade/walk to the island.  Well, okay it is not really like Survivor... there is a little food hut just around the corner and he'll be back to pick us up in about 2 hours (or 4 hours later if we'd like).

We head over to the area between 2 motus where we are told there is the best snorkeling.  It is a bit windy, but the water is gorgeous colors of blue -- just like in the pictures... which I suspected didn't do them justice (they don't).

If I thought the snorkel gear was going to be difficult to deal with... I seriously underestimated the flippers.  They were nearly impossible to walk in... and I tumbled a few times just getting into the shallow water... and manage to sustain my first injuries of the vacation -- a couple of nicks on fingers from the sharp coral just beneath the surface of the water.

We manage to get out to deeper water... though you can still stand up and it is time to get to snorkeling.  My first attempts do not go any better than those in the bungalow. Spitting.  Gagging.  I am just lacking belief that I will be able to breathe through this snorkle gear.  Todd takes to it immediately, which only adds to my frustration.

Fast forward... I eventually get it... the rhythm of the breathing and I am underwater and checking out all the fish and the coral.  It is really quite amazing... just like floating around someone's aquarium.  Snorkeling is really like riding a bike -- it is a lot of self-trust, and once you get the hang of it, it seems something that would be hard to forget how to do.  Granted I still came up a few times, coughing and gasping when I lost hold of my mouthpiece... but I was eager to keep going down and exploring.

But my snorkeling adventure made me forgot about the sun!   I had not re-applied sunscreen... and obviously one can not wear a big floppy hat when snorkeling... so by the time the sun set ... all the places I had missed before with my SPF 45 coverage were bright pink.  Just a few hours ago, I was laughing at the bright pink people on the beach... but now they were the ones with the last laugh.

Tales From The South Pacific (TftSP): Part II

Saturday Mid-Morning/Early Afternoon, May 21st - Moorea

Busy day... but with no formally planned activities.  We got out first taste of sticker shock... literally!   A $60 US total table for a breakfast buffet - having been to our fair share of Vegas buffets (including some pricey ones), we know it can happen... but this spread was about 10% the size of anything we have had in Sin City.

After breakfast, we planned some future activities.  We called up and reserved a catamaran shark & ray feeding tour with motu (small island) picnic for Sunday and booked a 4x4 island jeep tour with the hotel concierge for Monday afternoon.

For later today, we also plan to go off to one of the motus for some snorkeling.  As briefly noted above, motus are small islands within the lagoon.  One of the hotel boats will drop us off for a couple of hours -- so it'll be nice to get away for some peace and quiet... and given our activities for the next couple of days, this seemed like a good relaxing option.

We next hit the resort's main beach.  This may be a surprise to most folks but French Polynesia is not known for its beaches.  Since most of the islands are protected by coral reefs, they do not have the pounding surf that creates soft sandy beaches.  I suspect most the beaches here at the resort are man-made... but you aren't getting any complaints from me.

The beach is really quite nice.  The sun already seems quite strong and it is only 10 am local time - but the gentle breeze from the lagoon is making it very comfortable.   There are a lot of Europeans here... a quick scan of the beach and I am guessing there are only 3 couples from the States (out of about 12-15 pairs).  Several women are doing the topless thing - but not much to look at, even for a couple of gay guys.  But I swear this one woman should really not sun her breast for too much longer... they may just shrivel up and disappear altogether!

There are a folks who are already bright pink from the sun... and I have to laugh.  Though I am fair-skinned myself, I am determined that it won't happen to me... the early morning sun is telling me that sun does not mess around down here just south of the Equator.  I have put on my SPF 45 and have a big floppy hat to cover my face and ears.

Tales From The South Pacific: Part I

Friday, May 20th - Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean

According to the screen in front of me, we have 4 hours and 56 minutes left to go.  I don't know how terribly accurate this little plane is that they are showing me -- not very true to scale... unless we are flying on a plane that is the size of the state of Texas!

But we are cruising at 560 mph at 36,000 feet with an outside air temperature of -47 degrees Farenheit... while interesting, I am thinking this a bit too much information.

The flight has been good so far and the service has been impressive.  We received a flower upon boarding and then this packet containing headphones, a moist towlette, and socks.  Yes, socks.  This is a new thing to me, but Todd tells me they are for when you take off your shoes and your feel swell... so you have these socks... never heard of such a thing.

Beverage service has been consistent and much to my surprise alcohol is served for no additional charge (in coach!)... so we had a glass (ok, plastic cup!) of red wine... so I guess this makes up for the $7.50 martinis we had last night at the hotel in LA.

Saturday Morning, May 21st - Moorea

By 6 am local time, my body is telling me I should get up... despite the long travel day (we didn't get to the hotel until 9pm local time)... then again, my body could me telling me it is 9am back home.  In bed with the doors to the deck of our beach bungalow slightly open, I can hear the birds chirping and the distant roar of the ocean.  Since the island is surrounded by a coral reef, the ocean breaks several hundred yards out from land.  So "roar" might not quite be the word.  But it is all incredibly peaceful, but yet it seems impossible to sleep.

I go out to the deck and the sun is coming up.  It is spectacular.  It gives me goosebumps -- and it has nothing to do with the morning temperatures -- quite comfortable already to just be sitting out here in nothing but a swimsuit - but here we are... hard to believe that we are finally at our tropical getaway.

We're Home

Hello Everyone!  We made it back home safe and sound... though certainly going through some culture shock.  While the islands were obviously amazing, I have to admit... though all available if needed...  no phones, no Internet, no newspapers, no TV... was truly a big part of the vacation.  Who needs those things when you are in a place like this... hardly "American-ized" at all... with the exception of Coca-Cola (though the labeling was all in French)... there was barely the hint of life in the States... not one fast food chain, no Starbucks, etc.

Moorea and Bora Bora truly exceeded our expectations... amazing since after 6+ months of planning and A LOT of money it seems like that would have been a difficult thing to do... so that is truly saying something!

As promised, I did keep a travel journal while we were away... so over the next several days (or how ever long it takes!) I will be typing that in... that is if I can read my own handwriting (geez, that is hard thing to do since I hardly ever do it anymore!!)... but I want to get it all down... after all this is a journal/diary, right?!?  I decided just to keep the entries I posted while away... always nice to go back to some eye candy right?   

I hope you enjoy reading about our trip... it was truly a once in a lifetime experience... though we both agree that we may have to do something about that "once" part!

The Current All-Time Fine Wine Leader

It's been a fun week of FW eye candy and now we can declare our current all-time leader...

With 97 days, it is Josh Duhamel!   

You pretty much guessed that already I bet huh?   I have long gone on about my man-crush over the star of NBC's Las Vegas...  though I have to still catch up on the "explosive" season finale... but I have a feeling Josh's Danny McCoy will be back for another season.   This shot is a cropped shot (yes, the unedited shot goes all the way down!) of this now infamous Greg Gorman photo shoot... back in his earlier days.    Though I have to say, his "back" shot is a lot hotter... but figured I had to kinda show his face here, right?!   Any doubt he was going to be a star? 

So that's it... hope you enjoyed the countdown and we'll see if anyone else can challenge Josh for the overall title in the coming months and years!

W&C is on vacation. Feel free to leave a comment, but this post will be deleted upon our return and replaced with a real vacation diary entry.

One Last Bora Bora Sunset

Our trip has come to an end. 

Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy one last tropical sunset before catching our overnight flight from Tahiti back to LAX ....

In addition to the big let-down that it is all over... the amount of travel time head of us sounds exhausting.  We hop a flight from Bora Bora to Tahiti early this evening...  leave Tahiti 10 pm local time and arrive LAX 10 am... switch terminals and catch our 1+ hour flight from LA back to Phoenix on Saturday afternoon... sounds all very Amazing Race huh?

W&C is on vacation. Feel free to leave a comment, but this post will be deleted upon our return and replaced with a real vacation diary entry.

Fine Wine All-Time #2

We're down to the Final 2...

At #2, with 87 days on the list is... Jeff Probst.   

Pardon this tabloid shot of the Survivor host... but it pretty difficult to find shirtless Probst pix!    I am thinking may be the only other public one... other than the cute one (with his pants down revealing Taz boxer shorts) that I posted originally.  Without much eye candy on last season's Vanuatu (unlike the recently completed Palau), Jeff pretty much remained on the FW list for that entire season... I like his snarky attitude... and heck these pix show there something going on beneath those button-down island attire.

Have you guessed who our top guy is?  Hit reload tomorrow to find out!

W&C is on vacation. Feel free to leave a comment, but this post will be deleted upon our return and replaced with a real vacation diary entry.