Hi everyone,

Been really lazy. We arrived in Tahiti without any problems on Wednesday very early in the morning. I was literally the last person to go through customs because most of our plane were Europeans, and we arrived right after another jumbo jet with a lot of Americans. It took about an hour I think. Then we headed for the ferry to Moorea, which takes about 30 minutes. Then we transferred to the Intercontinental Resort (IC), which was about 30 minutes from the ferry dock. Beautiful resort and somehow we were upgraded from a Beach Bungalow to an Overwater Bungalow, which was nice. Gail has always wanted to be in one. At the IC most OWBs just jut out over the water rather than being totally overwater, but the back deck has steps into the lagoon. The room itself was very spacious.

We were with the Kneedys, Crystal and Beth, and then the Simpsons joined us. The weather was perfect. The only thing that surprised us is that we had never been in French Polynesia except in February, which is summer here. Since it is now winter, despite the fact that we are near the equator, the water so far has been much cooler than we expected--both in the pool and in the ocean. We'll see how our snorkeling tours go. We sure aren't going to be in wet suits. I still did laps, though the first time I had difficulty catching my breath.

Yesterday, we returned to Tahiti and boarded the Paul Gauguin (PG) about 4:00 PM. We met up with the rest of the DOLPHIN group--about a dozen couples--for drinks, and then we had a very nice dinner with the Simpsons. We all thought that the food last night was comparable to Regent, though the service was a little rocky. Our waiter apologized a number of times because he was dealing with a large group of Chinese—at least 3 or 4 large tables—who did not read English or French and were having a difficult time at dinner.

Yesterday was the first time It clouded up and rained a little, but nothing significant. We departed Papeete after 10:00 PM heading for Huahine. That's where we are now. Today, Gail and I are going to spend the day at a resort--can't have too many days at resorts--or can you? When I checked the weather, the high was forecasted to be in the mid-70s, though it is more humid than it has been, so it feels warmer already and it's only 9:00 AM.

We haven't been on the PG since 2006, and it's going to take us a while to get used to where things are even though it is considerably smaller than the ships on which we usually sail.

That's about it for now. I'll try to post a few photos tomorrow because it is a "sea day." Since we don't have the "free" Internet that we're used to, I have to see how it goes.

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Eugene (and Gail)