Finally, our overwater bungalow which was really fun.  The best part was not even the glass window in the floor of the room because the visibility wasn’t great most of the time although it is kind of neat to see these tropical fish swimming beneath you.  The best part was the balcony which, facing the water, had you feel that you were surrounded by ocean.  The coral head just below the surface was a rookery and all kinds of young fish were swarming around it.  

I did two morning dives yesterday and two this morning.  Yesterday the water was rough —the ride was far and the waves were choppy.  They were beautiful dives though.  Everyone loves to see sharks which I now dub “the lions of diving” and they were, I admit impressive.  Black tipped reef sharks yesterday and lemon sharks this morning.  A small bright orange fish was at the tip of the nose of the lemon shark and I kept wondering why the shark did not simply just gobble him up.  But it turns out the fish was a “pilot” fish guiding the shark around.

I heard the songs of humpback whales in the water on one of yesterday’s dives and one of today’s dive.  So beautiful and haunting.  Yesterday’s sounded louder the closer we got to the ship.  This morning I almost thought there might be two whales — one in a higher register and another answering in a lower register.  The water though, was still a bit choppy and every time I saw the ladder swinging around my heart sunk.  But Stephen, the divemaster, was really helpful.  He took my BCD from me in the water (without me even asking) and generally took care of me during the dive.  My diving has improved since Indonesia, my buoyancy is better and I move better.  The current during all of the dives made them a bit of a workout.

Dinner last night at a French restaurant was delicious.  Fresh Mahi-mahi and a wonderful dry white wine.  Plus they had someone dedicated to drive patrons to and from their hotels.

We have only been gone a few days but it feels like a lifetime.  One of the reasons I love travel so much is that it stretches time by breaking routines and including so many new sights and sounds and experiences.

The moorish idols on the reef look like large drumfish but they do not hide under ledges.  I have seen some gorgeous swaths of anemones stretching along the rocks and the bottom and the fish which hand out in its tendrils are a darker variety of clownfish plus a swarm of much smaller black fish and also some very small bright blue ones.

I have decided that we are the only people who dive who have no tatoos.  A foursome from Switzerland was on the boat today in addition to Ian and Tamira. They had obviously done a lot of diving and I heard about the sharks in Bimini (apparently there is nothing else to recommend it).

The first stop on the cruise itinerary was Moorea so when we were back there on the 9th we took a land tour in a 4×4.  After the obligatory stop at a lookout we went to see the freshwater eel which are slimy gelatinous creatures.  The guide flipped one out of the water and it oozed and slithered all over my bright white sneakers.  Then on to see a marais (Polynesian temple)  All that is left of the marais are rock walls about 3 or 4 feet high built in a rectangle.  No one knows much about the practice of the Polynesian religion because of the strong prohibitions against it with the arrival of Christianity.  Over a couple of centuries a number of chestnut trees bloomed in this particular marais and the whole site had a spiritual air.  On to see the pineapple plantation which spread out below the mountain like a lush green carpet.