Bora Bora and beyond

The internet connection took a short vacation over the last few days and I haven't been able to update the blog.  But here  I am with a few quiet minutes to myself while Mr. Gadget is at the gym.  I'm enjoying a peanut butter cookie and a scone (without cream and jelly) and exercising my fingers.

Today we arrived at Bora Bora--a beautiful island in the Tahiti island collection.  It's surrounded by a coral reef which creates a beautiful lagoon--in which we are anchored.  We got off the ship this morning and walked around the small town near the tender (lifeboats that are lowered to take passengers to and fro) pier.  It's hot today--around 90--so Mr. G and I didn't spend too much time on shore.  Neither of us are fans of hot weather, so we've been mostly enjoying the wonderful views (and napping) from the lounge chairs.  We had scheduled an excursion, but cancelled because we were disappointed in our two excursions in the Samoas.  The description of this one--and also the one tomorrow in Moorea--was similar to the previous poor-yet-expensive ones.  There was one highlight of our tour in Apia, W. Samoa and that was a stop at the former home of Robert Louis Stevenson.  He moved from Scotland to Samoa late in his life because he suffered from tuberculosis.  He lived there for 4 years before his death and he's buried on a hill overlooking the ocean behind the property.

Something I found interesting is that people in Samoa have burial plots in their yards for family members who've passed on.  Some are in the side yards and some right in the front of the house.  Some were simply concrete slabs while others appeared to be marble with ornate decorations.

Pago Pago, American Samoa was rather disappointing but this was mainly because we were on a noisy old bus and our guide didn't provide any commentary to speak of.  We will be pointing this out to Princess Cruises in our customer service satisfaction survey.  Many others were disappointed too.
We had two more sea days between The Samoas and Bora Bora.  Tonight we'll sail to Moorea, and late tomorrow we'll head for Papeete on the island of Tahiti.  After that, it's all downhill.  We'll spend 8 days sailing back to Los Angeles.

A couple more things to report:  A folksinger came aboard a few nights ago and is doing several shows.  He sings many of John Denver's songs and as many of you know I'm a big fan.  I hope I can stay awake till 10 for his show tonight.  He also brought his wife along and she has given two programs on palm reading.  I attended both and found them interesting.  I learned that I'm creative, have a good sense of humor, need my space, and that I don't let money slip through my fingers.  Are you the same way?  Hold your hands up in front of you with your fingers close together and palms facing toward you.  Can you see light coming through?  If you see just a little light then you're like me and you're good with money.  If you see lots of light, then you best stay out of the casino.

I expect the internet to be more reliable after we leave Tahiti, so I'll try to post more often on the last 8 sea days.  Now I'm going out on the balcony to gaze across the lagoon at those expensive hotel rooms up on stilts with the thatched roofs.  You know, the ones you always see in travel agent ads.  I wonder if those folks are having more fun that we are?  I wonder what happens when they call for room service?  Does a rowboat appear? Gotta go get the binocs.