Beautiful Moorea

After our departure from Marina Taina and the engine was performing well, we motored across the strait between Moorea and Tahiti. In our opinion, Moorea is as beautiful as Bora Bora, often hailed as the world's most beautiful island. Marlon Brando's "Mutiny on the Bounty" was filmed here.

As we sailed across to Moorea from Tahiti, I snapped this shot of Moorea. The two islands are so close that many people work on Tahiti and live on Moorea, commuting via a superb ferry system.

As we sailed by this volcanic ridge, we were both taken by the relief visible in the afternoon light.

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A little further along, more of the ridge is visible.

This is not the same ridge but is even more dramatic.

As we entered Opunohu Bay, our favorite, we were greeted by this gorgeous volcanic ridge.

Opunohu Bay, one of the most beautiful we've visited.

The volcanic origins of this island are obvious.

After anchoring, we enjoyed our traditional cocktail hour and gazed at this beautiful beach so close to us. Note the VERY shallow water offshore.

I arose at 0700 since that was our usual time, and went on deck to catch the sunrise.

A look over the top of our dodger at the other boats moored here with us. Closest at right is Liward, friends from Marina Taina.

This is one of my favorite photos from among those that I shot that morning.

Directly astern of us is another beautiful scene.

This spire is part of the ancient caldera that built Moorea.

A clever sailmaker's family advertises and the wife visits each boat each day to remind us of the services. She speaks several languages. It looks like laundry day.

As we finished breakfast, this lady and her dog paddled by to the beach. Her clothing choice means that she had no plans of getting wet. The dog was calm, fortunately for both of them.