According to our paperwork, we are going on the Pa'ati Reef Island Tour so we get up at 6:00am. This is a tender port meaning that we have to get a tender ticket for the first tender out this morning. We arrive at the tender ticket location with a half dozen people ahead of us. Since there's chairs for the first few, the Russian guy who we had dinner with and speaks little English grabs himself and Mom a chair while I go for coffee and a roll. It's 6:45am and we don't have a clue when someone will show up with the numbers to pass out. I return with my bounty from the Lido and we hang out. From the Lido I could see the first tenders are out, getting things set up like ramps, pop ups, lines and barriers, making ready for the guests to follow. It's still raining. The gal shows up about 7:40, we get #2 and head to the Lido for breakfast. No sooner do we down two eggs and some fruit and we're called to board for Rangiroa. Even in the rain, the island looks nice from the ship.

Rangiroa is the largest atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago. An atoll is a ring shaped coral reef or close coral islands that enclose or almost enclose a lagoon and Rangiroa is the second largest atoll. Like many atolls, there is no running water in Rangiroa. Each household must retrieve and store rainwater in tanks. The interior lagoons are a haven for black pearl farms, fish-breeding farms, snorkeling and scuba diving. A snorkeler or an inexperienced diver can dive in less than 40 feet of water to visit a reef that has a vast variety of tropical fish and coral. Its beautiful lagoon measures 49 miles long and 15 miles wide. The protected waters of its lagoon are a beautiful emerald green and blue.

During our ride to the island, we wonder if this will turn out to be a good day or not. Maybe the trip will be cancelled. We arrive at the pier and meet our group. There's a light mist falling and our tour leader, Laurie, and the captain discuss choices. It seems many have already come up with excuses as to why they can't make this jaunt and the boat captain, noting the cancellations and weather conditions, cancels the outing. With that, we attempt to salvage the day by booking an overland tour but there isn't any available. Even the pearl farm tour complete with sales pitch is booked and pearls of all kinds are a big thing around here.

The breeding of pearl oysters in the lagoon can produce different types of cultured pearls. In fact, black pearls (meaning the marine cultured pearls produced from the black lip oyster) are abundant in the atolls of French Polynesia. These pearls, which have a wide range of natural colors, from white to dark and all kind of grey, are the only cultured pearls in the world with so many different natural colors. The technique to produce marine cultured pearls was developed in Japan and, except some minor details, is similar in French Polynesia. A mother of pearl bead is inserted in the animal together with a piece of tissue (mantle) taken from another pearl oyster. The piece of tissue, as a graft tissue, will develop quickly and will form a skin around the bead and then will deposit mother of pearl on the surface of the bead. Many will be rejected by the oyster and only 20%25 of the pearls will be perfectly round at the harvest, about 2 years after the seeding.

We walk down the only road in sight which takes us to the other side of the atoll, a distance of about a quarter mile. Nothing to see here but more ocean and the town is about 6 miles further along the shore road. While others continue the jaunt, Mom's done with walking so we head back, stopping at the little huts set up just for our ship's visit by the island craftspeople. Mom finds a few things she likes and purchases them. It's fine with me as I take refuge under the tent covers from the downpour, knowing full well that this protection is costing me $ as Karen moves between the tables.

We return to the ship before 11am and, with breakfast still being served, we get some hot coffee and fruit, viewing the blustery day from the comfort of the Lido deck. Karen and I go up to the pool, she resting in a lounger reading a book and I finish yesterday's blog and clean up some others not yet published. Tomorrow is a sea day and I hope to download pictures from the cameras and into the IPad for uploading through the Internet soon. The last entry I submitted was of October 26 and it's now November 7. I had tried a few days ago to send two days off but the Internet was running too slow. Our schedule over the last few days has precluded me from completing the photo part of each day, although I try to write the narratives daily in order to preserve the accuracy of my accounts. I hope to reconcile all of the missing days as soon as the pictures are assembled.

We dine at La Fountaine Dining Room tonight. We are the first seated at an 8 person table. Next comes the same couple from the other night, the snooty women and her husband. One look at us and she requests a different table, scurrying off. We end up with a single lady living on the ship and sailing around the world 9 times, the Russian couple who don't speak much English and another older couple who leave early to get to the show, an hour & 15 minutes early. It's tough but we make it through. Karen asks the gal at the front desk who seats us not to put those people at a table with us as it seems they don't like us. She says that it's not us but that they don't like larger tables and every night that they come here, they have a problem with something. Who knows.

The 8pm show is Frank King, a comedian, and he's pretty good. The people that left over an hour early from our dinner table are seated only three rows in front of us. What a joke! After that, we return to our room and watch "Mutiny on the Bounty" with Anthony Hopkins. Tomorrow is a most welcome sea day.