Moorea, Winding Down

For our final full day in Moorea, we decided to rent a jet ski and go out on the water in the morning for about an hour. Riding a jet ski there involves a guide, as you have to be very careful of where you ride due to the low depths in the lagoon and the coral.

It was amazing seeing the mountainous and lush island from the water. Definitely a whole different perspective.



Nate wanted to drive and I didn't mind being the 2nd rider. I just had to hold on really tight. I didn't want to be the numskull that fell off the jet ski.



I just couldn't get over the amazing blue color of the water the whole trip. Now if it got in your eyes, that was another story! Thank goodness for sunglasses that stay in place while riding a jet ski. I was getting sprayed the whole time!



Our guide seemed to be quite experienced (he was smoking a cigarette on a jet ski!) and he was able to point out a school of dolphin to us while we were out on the water.

The hour flew by, but we had a lot of fun and were glad we decided to jet ski. The island is just gorgeous!



When we returned to the resort from our time out on the water, we grabbed some snorkeling gear from the rental place by the beach. One nice thing about the resort was that snorkeling gear and canoes and kayaks were free to rent at any time. We got out on a kayak a couple of times and paddled around our bungalow area. As for the snorkeling, we could snorkel right off of our bungalow dock or there was a great spot under the bridge leading to our bungalow that had tons of fish.

This particular day I saw a huge school of these fish with zebra tails (I'm sure that's their scientific name )...



Besides the snorkeling, we spent most of the afternoon chilling on the beach and enjoying our last day in beautiful Moorea. Later in the afternoon I walked around one last time, snapping pictures of the pretty flowers, the resort and this huge old tree....







...all in hopes of capturing a small piece of this magnificent place to take home with me.

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Lunch on a Motu

The next day, we had planned to stay around the resort. At the resort activities desk we had heard about a water ferry that made several trips a day to a nearby motu. What is a motu? Well, it's the term used to refer to a very small island off the main island. There was a restaurant at the motu and an area for snorkeling, so we thought it'd be a good afternoon activity.

The water ferry ride was kind of choppy because of the windy conditions, but we got to see everything from a dog walking around in the lagoon to the many tour boats and wind surfers.





The restaurant was very quaint. The menu was written on a large chalkboard and carried by the waitress from table to table. The tables were setup right on the sand and we had a pretty view of the water from our table.



Nate and I shared a salad with fish and a lemon vinagrette. Very light and yummy. Don't we look relaxed?



Then we traversed the water to circle the small island to get to the snorkeling spot. I can't say enough about water shoes...they are a MUST here. There's no way to get around in the water without them...there are some large pointy rocks. Also, there's almost no way to avoid walking in the water in some spots, so they are a lifesaver.



Anyway, the snorkeling spot was quite peaceful. There were only a couple of others there. Just us and the fish! We had a good time exploring on our own and saw some beautiful fish. Here is my favorite:


Isn't he so colorful? And it just looks like he has a painted on expression!

One traumatic event of the day...I was wearing my newly purchased, island style wedding ring and it slipped off in the water while I was snorkeling. I saw it float to the bottom and one of the little fish grabbed it! I thought he was going to take off with it, but I guess he decided he couldn't eat it, so he spit it back out. Nate saved the day and dove down to retrieve it. Whew! Even though it wasn't my real wedding ring (thank God) it still had sentimental value and I would have been upset to lose it.



After an hour or two of snorkeling, we made our way back to the water ferry pick-up spot and headed back to the resort.

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