Last week when we were anchored in Opunohu Bay, Moorea, we shared the bay with the small cruise ship The Paul Gauguin, which carries about 300 passengers. The Gauguin does deluxe cruises throughout The Societies, Marquesas, Tuamotus and Cook Islands. Usually The Gauguin leaves its anchorage in the late afternoon, around 4:00 p.m. so that it can overnight to the next island. But this one night The Gauguin remained in Moorea; we could see its bright lights as the patrons enjoyed their dinners aboard.
After dinner and when it was very dark we suddenly we heard a loud KABOOM and ensuing percussion as the sound echoed off the nearby mountains. What the???? We popped up on deck to see what had exploded and were treated to a a waterfall of incendiary light that looked like it was falling over the cruise ship.
We could see that a big barge had motored out to an area right between us and The Paul Gauguin and was setting off fireworks right in front of us. Our very own fireworks show!
The show went on for a good 15 minutes at least and the pyrotechnics were excellent. The spectacle seemed even more exciting than usual considering we were "out in the middle of nowhere" and with the loud booms reverberating off the mountains behind us.
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| The barge, overshadowed by The Paul Gauguin, begins the grand finale. |
It was a fantastic surprise and we enjoyed the heck out of it. After the show many of the boats in the anchorage, Cinnabar included, honked their loud horns as a show of thanks.
The Paul Gauguin remained in the bay for the evening and departed Moorea the next day, bound for her final destination of Papeete.
We are also now in Papeete, waiting for our friends Mike and Linda to arrive for a visit. When they board Cinnabar we'll head back to Moorea for some snorkeling and other fun.
Sylvia
Papeete
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