Day 63 Mo'orea

A new island
Mark, Molly and Kendall arrived about 9 and boarded for the crossing to Mo’orea. It was nice to see Molly and Kendall again as I had not seen them since their going away party which must have been last August. Molly had recently spent time with Tim, Jordan and William and she remarked at what a sweet little boy William is. (Of course some of us know that anyway)
Mo’orea is only 5 miles from Tahiti and to make it simple we motored across and anchored in Cook’s bay near the Pearl Hotel where they will be staying for the next week.
Mo’orea is, like so many islands in French Polynesia, the remains of an ancient volcano. Basalt towers mark the crater rim and the bays are where the caldera was. Like the rest of the Society Islands and unlike the Marquises, the island is rimmed by a large coral reef that provides protection from ocean swells. The space between the reef and the island is navigable for much of its length and makes an excellent place to anchor.
Cook’s bay was named after the famous English explorer who “discovered” the island in 1769. Of course the people who lived here at the time knew it already existed even before Cook made his discovery.
The anchorage was quiet and the water a beautiful clear green color that reflected the sandy bottom. Unfortunately for me, the doctor indicated I should not swim until my wound healed so all I could do was look.
We used the dinghy to take Mark and family to the Pearl. This resort is like the others with rooms both on land and over the water. There is a beautiful pool and a very expensive restaurant.