(1/2 – 1/22/2019)
The main reason we decided to book Oceania Cruise’s Chile to Tahiti Cruise was the 2-day stop in Easter Island. It was uncommon for cruises to stop by Easter Island, and it was even rarer to have a 2-day stop!
Some in-laws also booked the same cruise. However, they vacillated at the time of final payment. They liked the port calls, but they were concerned that there would be too many sea days. We told them that they were welcome to cancel the trip, but we were going anyway. After that, everybody decided to go. In retrospect, that was a smart decision, because we cannot find any cruises with a 2-day stop in Easter Island nowadays.
Day 1: Chile
San Antonio cruise port was about 2 hours away from Santiago, so we needed a transportation. We decided to book a tour with transportation to visit additional places before embarking on the cruise.
The first stop was Valparaiso, a charming and colorful seaside town. Valparaiso was famous for its funicular elevators and remarkable mural paintings all over the city. A funicular ride took us to the top of the city with magnificent views. We strolled around to marvel at plethora of colorful mural paintings and had lunch in Valparaiso. It’s truly an amazing city not to be missed!
Then next stop was a vineyard and winery. We were surprised to find that Chilean white wines were cheap (about $7 a bottle) and full of flavor. We bought several bottles to take on the cruise.
Then we were dropped off at San Antonio port and went through similar cruise ship onboard procedure. Rei and I had an ocean-view cabin with full floor to ceiling window. In-laws all splurged on balcony cabins.
Day 2 – Day 6: Sea Days
We had 5 consecutive sea days before reaching Easter Island. There were enough onboard activities to keep us busy. There were one or two lectures per day. The series started with lectures about Chilean history, especially the 1973 coup led by General Pinochet and the death of then-president Salvador Allende. (I recommend that you read “The House of the Spirits” by Isabel Allende, one of my favorite authors and a niece of Salvador Allende.) When we were close to the Easter Island, there were lectures about the nature, history and culture of the East Island.
When we were not attending the lectures, we walked on the upper deck and/or swam in the not-too-large swimming pool. There was also a well-stocked library that I frequently visited. We also stopped by the (included) coffee bar to have frozen coffee treats and cappuccino coffee daily.
The sea was a bit rough when we started, but we had smooth sailing on the “Pacific” Ocean afterwards. This was a great relief, because both Rei and I were prone to sea sickness.
We were on Oceania Marina. The cuisine on this cruise ship was superb! They even served lobsters at the lunch buffet! Other types of food were equally tasty. Marina had 4 specialty restaurants, and we could make a reservation once in each of them on this trip. We had dinners at 3 of the specialty restaurants: Jacques (French), Red Ginger (Asian) and Polo Grill (seafood and steaks), and we especially enjoyed the miso seabass at Red Ginger. There was also delicious teatime with sandwiches, scones and various cakes in the afternoon. Oceania quickly became our favorite cruise line!
We were told that there wouldn’t be Wi-Fi when we sailed closer to Easter Island. Rei was furious.
“What do you mean no Wi-Fi? Shouldn’t there be satellites everywhere?”
Day 7: Easter Island (Rapa Nui)
After five sea days, we finally reached Easter Island (Rapa Nui). We booked a 2-day excursion with Easter Island Travel. Their excursion not only provided better coverage of Easter Island but also was cheaper than the cruise excursions. We found out that many fellow passengers also booked the same excursion. There were multiple groups, and we were in Group 2.
It was cloudy and drizzling when we arrived at the first site, Ahu Akivi. There were seven moai statues standing there. The statues were the only ones facing the ocean on Easter Island. Easter Island was verdant with green plants and colorful flowers.
Fortunately, the rain had stopped. We visited Rano Raraku with many giant statues. There were also unfinished statues that were still lying on the ground. This was a larger site that required walking and even some climbing. It’s very impressive!
Anakena had “newly improved” moai statues with red topknots that were quite interesting. The statues were facing inland with their backs to the ocean. The site was near a beach with palm trees. Legend has it that the place was a historical site where the first king Hotu Matu’a landed on the island. There was a sign declaring the place to be “The birthplace of Rapa Nui’s culture.”
We had a lunch break in a small village. There was a performance too. We enjoyed both the food and the performance.
In the afternoon, we visited Tonariki, where there was a group of 15 impressive moai statues, the largest group on the Island. This was a spectacular site for photo taking. We were given enough time to walk around the statues and to take many pictures.
The last site of the day was Puna Pau, the main source of red volcanic scoria for making the red topknots. It was an important Rapa Nui site. There were information boards showing the transportation of red topknots and how they could have been placed on top of moai statues.
We returned to the cruise ship after a very busy day of sightseeing, just in time to view the beautiful subset from the ship. The clouds turned orange with colorful reflections on the water. It’s truly splendid!
Day 8: More Easter Island
It’s great that we had 2 days on Easter Island so that we were able to see more interesting sites. We also had better weather today.
We first went to Ahu Tahai this morning. The place was an ancient village with ceremonial complex. There was an interesting statue with a big red topknot and restored eyes. There were also other partially ruined statues without red topknots. Those statues also stood near a beach with their backs towards the ocean.
Then we went to Orongo, the place of the famous and deadly birdman competitions. The birdman competition was an annual event. Warriors from each clan competed by descending a cliff to retrieve sooty tern eggs. The clan with the first warrior to return with an unbroken egg was the winner of the year. Their leader became the Birdman, the ruler of the next year.
After Orongo, we went to Rano Kau to view the volcanic crater, which has been flooded and became a wetland.
The last destination of the day was Vinapu. The place had the best fitted rock wall that reminded us of Inca’s fitted rock walls albeit on a much smaller scale. This made people surmising that Easter Island might have contact with the Incas.
Since the cruise ship would sail from Easter Island this evening, we only had a shorter tour today. After the tour ended, we still had time to explore the island by ourselves. Rei and I walked along the coast and were able to see puffer fish and green sea turtles! I also managed to take very good pictures.
We really enjoyed the two days on Easter Island!
When we were sailing away from Easter Island, we were able to see Tonariki statues from the cruise! We were also able to see an impressive rainbow going all the way into the water. It’s really amazing!
Day 9 – 10: More Sea Days
We had two more sea days until we approached Pitcairn Islands. The islands were famous for the Mutiny on the Bounty story. There was a movie on this, which we could watch on the cruise. Until then we just enjoyed the amenities on the cruise and continued watching the fabulous subset.
Day 11: Pitcairn Islands
Pitcairn Islands stop was an onboard experience; that is, we wouldn’t land on the island, but the island residents would board the ship to share the experience.
Fellow passengers were all excitedly waiting on the top deck to welcome the Pitcairn Island residents visiting the cruise. Soon we saw 20+ people riding on a small boat approaching our ship. The Pitcairn people boarded the cruise and set up their booths selling hand-made crafts and T-shirts. All passengers gathered at the “market” to peruse the merchandise and made purchases. We bought two hand-made wooden fish magnets and a few T-shirts.
We could also pay to get our passports stamped, which we did. Now I had a wide collection of exotic passport stamps! There was also a presentation at the auditorium by Pitcairn Islands Tourism, which we all attended. It was followed by a welcome lunch, which also gave Pitcairn people a chance to try different kinds of food. After lunch, there was a performance too.
Then the Pitcairn people left on the same boat they came in the mid-afternoon, and we continued sailing to Polynesian.
Tonight, we dined at the Toscana restaurant that served Italian food. We ordered seafood pasta, lobster pasta, Ossobuco and salads. We even ordered a dessert sample that included 5 choices! The food was of course very delicious.
Day 12 – 13: More Sea Days
We had two more sea days that we continued the similar routines. Now the lectures were about Polynesian nature and culture. We surely got well educated on this cruise!
The sunrise was amazing. It started with pink and orange clouds. When the sun finally rose above the horizon, it looked like the entire sky was on fire!
The second sea day was a “dessert day.” They served all kinds of fruits and desserts in the main dining room. OMG! The desserts were all very colorful, and they all looked super tempting. Each of us probably ate close to 10 desserts!
Since the cruise wasn’t full, we were able to book another dinner reservation at Jacques. In addition to the delicious food, we had more desserts too! We were surely overeating on this cruise.
Day 14: Fakarava
Fakarava was an atoll. We could see Topaka Lighthouse when the ship approached Fakarava. There were no shore excursions, so we simply walked to beaches to snorkel. (We had our own equipment.)
We had a bright sunny day. The island was full of colorful tropical flowers. Beaches were pristine, and there weren’t a lot of tourists. The ocean water was clear and warm.
I had a great time snorkeling near the beach. An older couple were lounging on beach chairs nearby. When I came out of water…
“Did you see the shark?” asked the old gentleman.
“No,” I replied.
“The shark was swimming right beside you!”
Oh well…
Afterwards, we visited the small church Église Catholique Saint Jean de la Croix on our way back to the ship. The church had a very impressive interior with blue colored arched ceilings and colorful decorations.
Day 15: Sea Day
We simply relaxed on the cruise.
Day 16: Bora Bora
The cruise ship arrived at Bora Bora this morning. We all chose different shore excursions for the morning. Rei and I went on a land tour to see the island. In the afternoon, we would all go on a catamaran tour together.
The land tour first took us to see Bora Bora pareo paintings, which was an art of hand painting with dyes and stencils onto the traditional Polynesian sarongs called pareos. The pareos were all very colorful and beautiful. We only took photos but didn’t make any purchases, because they were impractical for us.
Then we drove through scenic beaches, great for photo opportunities, before reaching a place to see Bora Bora crabs. These were land crabs living in holes underground. They had strong claws that could pull things like flowers and plants into their caves. It’s very interesting.
The catamaran ride in the afternoon took us to a snorkeling site with tropical fish, rays and lemon sharks. Lemon sharks were quite small and non-aggressive, so we were able to snorkel around them. The water was shallow and warm, so everybody was able to enjoy.
On the way back to the boat, we saw more colorful tropical flowers. Bora Bora was a very beautiful island.
Day 17: More Bora Bora
We all went on another snorkeling excursion together this morning. Today’s group was larger than yesterday’s. We boarded a large boat to the snorkeling spot. Many black Frigate birds and terns flied overhead.
The water was warm and shallow – only reaching at waist level. It was very clear too, and we could see colorful tropical fish just by standing in the water. If you want a clear view, just stick your head into the water with goggles on, no swimming was required. Therefore, everybody got into the water. There were a lot of yellow, white and black-colored convict tangs and butterflyfish in the water.
We have snorkeled in many places in Mexico, Hawaii and the Carib. I would consider Bora Bora the best snorkeling site among all.
On our return trip, we saw the famous (and super expensive) overwater bungalows. They were very impressive, perfect for vacationing in paradise.
Day 18: Raiatea
In-laws all decided to take a culture experience tour, while Rei and I would do Fa’aroa River kayaking.
We were on a 2-person kayak with me in front and Rei at the back. The person at the back was supposed to control the sailing direction of the kayak. Rei, with his terrible coordination skills, managed to drive us into every tree and shrubs along the river. Every time that happened, we had to untangle ourselves first; therefore, we made slow progress. This was a verdant area with many green trees and shrubs and colorful tropical flowers. The river flew smoothly without any rapids or currents.
After we returned, Rei found out that the bag he stowed behind him had disappeared! Inside it were some beach towels and his two cell phones. (Yes, he had 2 cell phones.) He panicked. The guide said that we didn’t have time to go back to look for the bag. He will let the guide of the afternoon group know so that he can help look for it. There was nothing else we could do.
Then the last kayak returned. One of the kayakers held up a bag and asked whether it belonged to any of us. Indeed, it was Rei’s missing bag! The kind person told us that he found the bag hanging high on a tree branch. So, it must have gotten caught by a tree branch when we got entangled by the trees. Rei was very relieved to recover his cell phones. He thanked the kayaker profusely.
We had a free afternoon, so we walked around the port area after lunch. There were some very colorful mural paintings around the area. We also saw Mynas, Zebra Doves and Black Noddy birds. Back Noddy, with its “mean” appearance, looked like Angry Bird!
Day 19: Papeete
We disembarked in Papeete this morning. Since our flight home was at 11pm, we had time to tour Papeete on our own for the day. Rei rented a small car to drive around.
We first stopped by the municipal market, though we didn’t make any purchases. Then we visited the Pearl Museum. The museum showed artworks of pearls and provided comprehensive information and history. It’s an interesting visit.
Afterwards, we drove around the island for sightseeing and stopped by the the Arahoho Blowhole and the nearby Faarumai Waterfalls. We saw some churches on the way, but we didn’t stop to visit them.
We stopped at La Plage de Maui restaurant to have a seafood lunch. The food was delicious. The restaurant was by the ocean. Customers simply dumped the leftovers into the water, and fish would come to eat the leftovers. This was certainly an eco-friendly approach. We decided to order an ice cream dessert to share. The dessert came with 3 large scoops of ice cream, and we were glad that we didn’t order more.
After lunch, we visited the botanic garden Jardin Botanique de Motu Ovini. It’s a pretty large garden with several areas. There were a lot of trees and flowers, even a waterlily pond. The museum was closed though.
Grotte de Maraa was a site with fern-draped natural caves. There were also some anthropomorphic figures onsite with a sign showing “Abodes of Gods.”
The last site we visited was Ta’ata Marae, which was a historical landmark. A marae was a religious place in Polynesian societies. Ta’ata Marae consisted of 3 areas enclosed by low stone walls. There were many birds resting on the lawn, including Chestnut-breasted mannikins, Mynas and Red-browed finches.
This ended our 3-week cruise vacation. It was a memorable trip with a lot of cultural experiences, water sports and natural sightseeing.
Amy 'n Rei 