The tendering process from ship to shore takes some time management if one is not going on Oceana-sponsored tours. People on their tours have seats on the tenders first, so people going on their own often have to wait a couple hours to get ashore. That can make them very late for any tours they've booked on their own. However if one gets to the assembly area for tendering very early, they can sometimes get on the first tender.
Originally we signed up for multiple excursions with the cruiseline which ended up totaling almost $2,000 -- an outrageous amount compared to what we've paid for excursions in the past. We began searching for other options several months prior to the cruise and canceled the ship-sponsored tours we'd booked. As it turned out, we saved hundreds of dollars and have done everything we wanted to do!
This morning we got up at 5:30 to prepare for the breakfast delivery to our room at 6:30, so we could then get to the tender meeting area before 7:30 and be ashore before our 8:30 tour meeting time. We made it! Our tour caravan had a van, a Land Rover and a bus, and only the van was air conditioned. We booked very early for this tour, so we not only ended up in the air-conditioned van but in the front seat by all the main vents. It was wonderful!
Our guide was from France and had moved here 16 years ago with her husband who is from here. She met him while he was serving in the French military, and the rest is history! We spent almost four hours driving around the interior and stopping for some breathtaking views. The population is very scattered -- we saw one small village of a couple hundred people. The terrain is mountainous, since the island was formed originally by volcanoes. The flora is spectacular with many plants being the same or similar to those we have in SW Florida. Fruits are abundant are form a good portion of what the locals eat.
View of our ship as we climb the hills
Lovely bay - Nuku Hiva was formed of volcanic rock
Interesting short road with a stone marker at the end
Small town of about 200 people
...and the views just keep coming!
The side of the island and mountains we were focused on was very lush and tropical. It included thousands of palm trees that were planted and are cultivated for the island's main crop, coconuts, from which copra is produced. The other side of the island, which we saw a small slice of is totally different with its many pine trees. A large percentage of the flora was brought here over the years. and planted, like the pines and coconut palms.
Palm plantation
When we returned to the ship we had enough energy to go to lunch then sit and read for the afternoon. We each dozed off periodically but roused ourselves enough to meet our friends for tea followed by Happy Hour then dinner. Denny and I went to the casino for less than a half hour before retiring for the night.
Speaking of which -- numerous people have asked me how I like retirement so far. That's a tough one to answer, since we left on our trip my first day of retirement. If this is what retirement's like, I can honestly say I love it!
We've talked a bit about our upcoming doggie search that will start when we're home. We'll be looking at Wheaten Terriers as a possibility. Who knows what awesome dog we'll end up with!
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