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| This very aeroplane had a fatal accident killing all on board only days later! |
Baguettes
and apricot jam for breakfast. Very French but missing the chocolat chaud or
real coffee I remember and love. One of the Frenchmen tells me Nicholas Sarkozy
polled most votes over Segolene Royale, Jean-Marie Le Pen, and some ‘green’
I’ve never heard of.
In the manner of such puzzling European contests,however,
there must apparently be a re-run in two weeks because there is no overall
victor.
Air Moorea can put us on a flight just 25 minutes after we arrive
unannounced at their tiny terminal.
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| runway on Moorea |
The whole procedure is a delight by
comparison with today’s general security-heavy procedures. We just walk onto
the apron and climb on the venerable Twin Otter.
No x-ray, no ‘banned liquids’,
no baggage checks. Not even a safety briefing. Just aviation as it should be. Mind you I guess Tahiti doesn’t have too many
tall towers to fly aeroplanes into. The flight lasts exactly 5 minutes at 500ft
across the intervening azure sea.
Allie has the chance to look over the (sole)
pilot’s shoulder – another rarity these days.
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| welcome to paradise! |
Within
20 minutes we are installed on what is probably the best beach on Moorea and
Allie is off snorkelling. We spend an idyllic 4 hours or so in and out of the
crystal-clear water – even better than the Cooks – before walking the 3km or so
to catch the ferry for return to Papeete
The walk is a struggle in 30+ degrees and humidity in the 80s. The
ferry is a welcome relief from the airless heat of the shoreline but delivers
us into
Architecture and style of any
sort is almost completely absent which we find surprising for a French
territory.
Back
at the airport following a very summary walk around the capital , a delay of
nearly five hours in our LAN-Chile departure to Easter
Island is announced. After hanging onto the ‘fleapit’ as long as
we could without incurring further cost or the wrath of the 150kg madame we
suffer the inadequacies of the Faaa
Airport France
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| on board the twin otter |
ALLIE: DAY 68: Sunday, 22nd
of April
A trip to Moorea by plane and boat, Papeete downtown, waiting for Lan
Chile
We decided to fly across with Air
Moorea to the little island of Moorea. It’s just 30km from Tahiti but supposed
to have lovely beaches and beautiful landscape. The flight in that little ‘Twin
Otter’ is great! No security checks, just walk onto that aircraft, take a seat
and off we go. The cockpit door is widely open and I can watch the pilots
movements.
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| views to Moorea |
No safety briefings, no stewardess to check the correct storage of
bags – wonderful! After only a brief 7mins we land on Moorea. Steep mountains
rise from the centre of the island, everything seems to be much more laid back
then on Tahiti.
 |
| approach to Moorea |
It’s only a short walk to the
beach and that’s where we stay for the next couple of hours, swimming,
snorkeling and watching the locals at their Sunday out.
Most of them just sit
in the shallow water, sip a beer and listen to their stereo recorders. To my
surprise I see a wide range of brazen display of naked breasts. That would be
against the law in the Cooks but here the French ‘laissez-faire’ mentality has
obviously taken a firm place in society. Not that it matters to me. The sad
thing is only (as in most such places) that it’s always the most wobbly and fat
women that tend to show the world their bodily parts.
The snorkeling is great. Crystal
blue water, some nice corals and colourful fish. Before we ourselves get
roasted like barbeque chicken, we leave the beach and walk the 3 km to the
port. On the way we stop at a little fruit shop and enjoy some delicious Three
big boats are waiting in the harbour, we take the slow one that will take an hour
to cross the straight back to Tahiti. It’s a relaxed journey on the sun-deck.
Do you want to hear two really
important travel tips? If you want to safe lots of money and stay happy, don’t
go to Tahiti and don’t stay at ‘Chez Fifi’!
Papeete on a Sunday surely must
be the most desolate and boring capital city in the world.
All and everything
is shut and the houses don’t reflect anything of the traditional charm that
some of the other French colonial towns do have like for example Luang Prabang
in Lao.
Even the catholic cathedral is a disappointment. At least the tourist
brochure has the guts to admit the fact that this city is not worth more then a
quick drive past it to the airport. We do exactly that.
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| heading back to Tahiti on the ferry |
Back at Mrs grumpy Fifi we
refresh ourselves with a shower and a little doze before we go down to the
airport at 8pm only to find that our flight to Easter Island is delayed by
three hours and not due before 4 am!
Spend the last 2000 doncs on two beers and
a horrible tasting pizza whilst waiting 2 ½ hrs for our check in.
The airport
is a scandal. Except for this cafeteria there is no proper bar, the internet
café is shut and the toilets look like they haven’t been cleaned since Captains
Cooks first arrival.
Finally check in with Lan Chile
and a long wait.
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