Day Fifty Three - Back Under the Water Again!

Hello & Happy Birthday to Roxy! :o)

Last I left you, it was a sea day - the first formal night. Jaco has the privilege of 'waving' hello to the newly joined passengers - he loves it, really, he does. We enjoyed another lovely meal in the dining room with Tracey, the Senior Nurse, as well as colourful conversation with the many Waiters & Head Waiters that stopped by to say hello. Last night they made me a wonderful pesto pasta dish - it was fantastic. Jaco doesn't like to eat out, so I'm not sure what will happen this evening... But for the earlier part of the day...

Wow! Rangiroa was amazing! I was back in the water again. My first scuba dive in about 3 years - yes, it's been awhile, but it was well worth the wait! I was a little nervous, as it was a drift dive & I am not a strong swimmer. Not to worry, though, as we cruised right along the reef, 20m under the surface. I wasn't even the first to use up my air either! I managed to be the only one to see the five dolphins hanging out by the lip of the reef! There were 1,000's of Red Snapper hugging the coral - I've never seen so many! I saw Parrot fish, the tail end of a small shark (from a distance, don't worry!), and countless other types of fish. Red, blue, yellow, black, white, stripes, it was amazing! The water was so warm, even hot, at times! The crazy part was the current. I couldn't believe how swiftly it carried us along under the surface. Wow! I wouldn't have stood a chance had I needed to get back to where I'd come from. It was amazing at how quickly it swept us along. We were under the surface for 41 minutes & we started outside the edge of the atoll. By the time we finished, we were well back inside the atoll & a great distance from where we'd started!

It was only a one tank dive, so we headed back to the dive shop & then to the ship. I returned right away to fetch Jaco, as the water was amazing & I knew he'd enjoy a swim! We grabbed a quick bite & headed back out. We wandered down a street, well, actually, it was the only street I saw! We walked to the outside edge of the atoll & watched the big waves. We then turned around & made our way to the inside & calmer edge. He, again, swam WAY out to sea & I played around in the shallow water with my snorkel & fins. I managed to see some neat little fish by a chunk of coral/rock. There were some beautiful hibiscus flowers floating in the water (see below).

We made our way back to the ship after the rain stopped. It was a wonderful warm rain  & cooled the afternoon off by a degree or two. I think it was about 30 again today! We rode the tender back & were escorted by 2 brave paddlers who caught a ride in our wake. They were having a great time! Half way they ditched us & caught a ride back to shore in the wake of the other tender returning from the ship.

It was so wonderful to be in the water & see the amazing shades of blue & green. Wow. Mother Nature really outdid herself here. I met a lady on the tender who is on her 7th visit to French Polynesia. She loves it that much. She travels elsewhere, but always manages to come back here. I can't say I blame her, the more I see of it!

I'm really excited for my next few days of diving. Raiatea is next & then it's Bora Bora, where I'll do the night dives! Spooky, but oh, so fun!!! I'm not sure I'll post tomorrow, but I'll do my best to keep you up to speed. The internet was down for most of the day, so I'm a little late on this one...

Love, hugs & sun-kissed Christmas wishes,
Maria & Jaco
xxxxx

The Captain's Speech welcoming the Passengers onboard - Jaco is third from the left in case you needed help!

Johan, the son of one of the Engineers. Shame, poor lil' fella is the youngest member on board & he is pretty bored. He ran around like a crazy man last night. Bless him!

Little birdies on some posts

Hello Honeymoon #2!!!

Okay, bad pic, but check out those tattoos if you can!

Sunshine, surf & sand... and a sexxy man! :o)

Speaking of all the good things in life - here's the best one in mine!

Pretty little flower floating in the ocean.

Hitchin' a ride!

Okay, even I could jump in water this calm! Wow!