Friday in Raiatea (look that up in your spell check)

Traveling to some new exotic foreign land always brings with it anticipation, mystery, intrigue, and at times challenges. Fortunately, except for finding an Internet connection on a tiny island in the middle of the South Pacific, the challenges have been few ... the intrigue plentiful.

As often occurs in 21st century travel, it does not seem possible that a mere 48 hours ago, I was at home in Southern California. Now, on the second stop of a ten day Tahitian cruise, So Cal seems a distant experience.

The eight hour flight from LAX to Papeete aboard Air Tahiti Nui was relatively painless. The seats not overly cramped (though a bit hard), the food actually quite edible, we left LA at 4:30 PM and arrived at 9:30 PM (because of the time change) in the tropics ... the Papeete FAAA airport reminding me of similar airfields I visited nearly a decade ago in central America during a journey that took me to nearly a dozen small Latin Americans towns. No jet ways here, just the old metal stairways they wheel up to the front and back of the Airbus in preparation for the short walk to the terminal where security appears non-existent and Polynesian girls are on hnd to welcome you with a flower lei. We had arrived.

The ship is the Regent Seven Seas "Paul Gauguin," the smallest cruise ship I have even been on. There are only 350 passengers (it is sold out), and a staff of about 200. They fall over themselves waiting on you. Unlike the larger ships that can carry 2000+ passengers, everything here is compact. There is one central elevator, one central stairway, four decks where all the activities are. And, unlike the big ocean liners, here you're not traipsing down hallways the length of football fields just to get from your room to the pool, the gym, the restaurants, or closest bar.

And everything ... well, almost everything ... is included in the fare. You want a Grey Goose martini up with an olive. It's yours. Nothing to sign, no bill to pay, and no tipping. How about some Russian caviar or fresh Pacific oysters on the half shell? Grab a plate and a spoon. (The food is the BEST we have ever had on a cruise ... comparable to the best San Francisco restaurants). Want to water ski, kayak, snorkel ... go to the swim/activities deck, let them know, and hop on the boat. Now, there are charges for shore some excursions, and spa services like massages, and if you want some of the best French wine ever bottled, it'll set you back up to $800. But if you want two buck chuck, it's included (just kidding, just kidding ... the complimentary wine is very good French and Chilean wine).

The first two stops, Huahine and Raiatea, part of the Society Islands, are pretty much two tiny towns settled on two tiny islands in the middle of a very big sea. Amenities are few. One grocery store (where prices are totally outrageous because almost everything has to be imported from great distances ... Australia, France, & the US seem to be the main source of goods here), one gas station, a couple of pay phones, a paved stretch of narrow road that winds through town, and a small population of easy going islanders who great you with "Bonjour" and speak very little English. The main form of transportation is by foot, bike, boat, and kayak ... pretty much in that order. White sand beaches pretty much line the shores upon which the towns emerged generations ago.

Though the ocean here is crystal clear with an aqua blue hue, we are told this is pretty ugly compared to what lies ahead. For us, the main activities of swimming, snorkeling, hiking, diving, etc, begin on Monday when we arrive in Bora Bora. For now, it's mostly just walking around.

The walk through Huahine yesterday took about 10 minutes. Today, the walk through Raiatea, in between downbursts of heavy rain, took about 30 minutes. We watched from the dock of a group of about 40 school kids carrying back packs and bedding boarded a ferry for a winter retreat on a nearby island. South of the equator, it is the middle of winter here, and it has rained much of the day, with very strong winds. As a result, the captain said the swells are about 8 to 9 feet. And while the ship, being as small as it is, is more susceptible to the rocking of the seas, it's not bothering me (though it is pretty funny watching passengers stumble down the hallways

For now, I'm going to leave the stateroom, exit the ship, and head over to the Internet cafe to upload this blog (hopefully the connection is better than dial-up, though some people I talked with said it is pretty slow). Internet permitting, I'll be back.