Our port of call today was the island of Moorea, part of the Windward Islands of Polynesia. Our ship dropped anchor in Opunohu Bay, and we tendered to the small town of Papeto’ai. There was a lovely group playing traditional music along with dancers, and some stalls with crafts, jewelry and native fabric art. We had booked an ATV tour of the island for today and we met the representative from Moorea Activities Center on the pier. We piled into jeeps for a short ride to the camp, where we were outfitted with ATVs and helmets.

Moorea is 52 square miles and hosts about 17,000 inhabitants. The main source of income is tourism, though there is also fishing and agriculture. The island is connected to Tahiti and Bora Bora by regularly scheduled ferry service, and by air service to Tahiti. Arthur Frommer declared in Frommer’s Travel Guide that he considered it “the most beautiful island in the world”.

We would probably agree. Our ATV excursion took us all over this beautiful island. We enjoyed several vantage points from atop two mountains, providing views of the two main bays, Opunohu and Cook’s. We went into a valley that was full of pineapple plants, and papaya and breadfruit trees. We crossed rivers and climbed into the crater from the volcano that created the island 2 million years ago. The day was challenging, physical and exhilarating.

At the conclusion of the tour, we headed back to sea level and the activities center. We were wet, covered in mud and sweat, and wondered aloud whether the ship would even let us back on. Our guide Marco poured us a rum punch drink and we enjoyed the view of the bay. The Moorea Activities Center, which is very organized and professional, also provides water ski tours. They provided a ride back to the pier, where after a fairly long wait in line, we boarded the tender shuttle back to the ship. Exhausted, we enjoyed the late afternoon shadows of the mountains from our balcony.

Tomorrow: Tahiti, French Polynesia

Recommended: Moorea Activities Center, mooreaactivitiescenter.com