Sunday 18 March 2012 - Lifou, New Caledonia

Sunday – 18 March 2012 – Lifou, New Caledonia

Sunrise at 5:53 am –  got up at 6:00 am – read for awhile before breakfast.  We tender to Lifou, New Caledonia – which looks lush and green from the ship.  

The tender drops us at a long wooden dock – at the end we see a path to an area of tents up a set of stairs built into the hill.   On the right is a tent with native women and a sign  advertising massages for $20 US.   A second tent has tables with native arts and crafts and a third has natives offering driving tours around the island at various prices.  Even though this is a French island -- as is all of New Caledonia – Lifou seems to be more native than French.

Walking to the Church where Patte and Dave have gone ahead to attend Mass – we  admire the lush foliage and note the various types of housing materials from stone to metal to straw huts.  About 15 minutes into our walk -- who should appear coming towards us but Patte and Dave – we wonder why the Mass was so short.   There is no Mass – incorrect information was given by the Concierge on the ship as to the time of the service.   

Dave and Patte report there is nothing to see but the Church  which is primitive and empty – so we walk back to the tent area realizing that we need to hire a car and driver.  We opt for the 45 minute tour – it’s a small island --  for $15 pp.  

Isabella is our driver – she takes us to see a Chief’s Hut in a village – apparently there are several villages on the island each with a Chief and a hut.  Next stop is a picturesque  site   which Isabella tells us was the very first wharf on Lifou. –  she is not sure of the year.  When we arrive there is a man and a small child about to go swimming – then a small group of   young girls arrive – towels and in hand.  As I look closer I notice one of the girls sitting on the bridge with and ipod or iphone.

After taking photos we  move on to Our Lady of Lourdes Church built by missionaries in 1898.   Isabella parks at the bottom of a hill – we climb up half a mile through an area  resembling a rain forest.   Once at the top – the view is spectacular -- well worth the climb.  The small church is under renovation but  wide open for us to see.  The climb down is harder than the climb up --- very slippery.

Isabella brings us back to the dock area where the tents are.  We notice a group of natives dressed in their garb and also some officers from the Regatta.  Then we realize that a ceremony is about to begin. 

On the occasion of Regatta’s inaugural visit to Lifou a commemorative plaque is presented to the  Head Chief for the island.   Several natives   perform a number of tribal dances --  speeches by the Chief and one of the Ship’s Officers take place with translators.   This ritual takes about 30 minutes –  it was fun to watch  -- we are glad we caught it.   

Phil goes to the ship – Patte, Dave, Beth and Lynn go to a beach by the dock and after a turn through the arts & crafts tent – I get on the tender – riding back to the ship with Gordon and Liddell –  part of the Beginners Bridge Group.  The temperature and the humidity are very high  – the cool air on the ship feels good.

Back on board – while eating lunch in the Terrace Café --  Shane, the Ocean Club Ambassador parades  a large group of natives led by the Chief on a tour of the ship.   Amazingly nobody from Oceania said word one about this ceremony taking place – or the inaugural visit by Regatta to Lifou.

That afternoon --  I answer a knock at the door of our cabin .  Porfirio, our Cabin Steward, stands holding a white seat that one might see in a handicapped bathroom.   He says, “Good Afternoon, Madam.  I am here to bring you this bench because of your comment on the mid-cruise evaluation.”  I just have to laugh as does he  and his assistant who is standing behind him in the hall.     I had put on my evaluation a suggestion that perhaps the next time the ship is renovated – a  small ledge could be installed in the back of the shower to facilitate shaving one’s legs since these showers are so small.   I suggested that  Porfirio to bring in the bench and I  would  try it out .  The bench takes up more than half the shower  with no room for me.

About 15 minutes later – another knock at the door.  This time it is the young woman who is Head of Housekeeping.  She says, “Good Afternoon, Madam.  I am here to address your concern about the shower.”  Again – I smile --  invite her in and we have a nice chat about showers, bathtubs and the difficulty of shaving one’s legs on a ship.   I thank her for her concern and agree to try the bench.

I must say  -- on Regatta  attention is paid to all comments made by passengers – sometimes there is nothing that can be done but they address each and every comment.

Moving on to Trivia at 4:45 pm – we are terrible with a score of  5 out 15 points – clearly not our finest hour.  However, the first place team only made nine points.  

After a marvelous dinner on the back deck of the Terrace Café  -- we are feeling a bit blue from Trivia  so we go  to the movies – “My Week With Marilyn” – which none of us have seen.  Lynn convinces  Vincent (our favorite cocktail waiter) to get us some popcorn for the viewing.

A fitting end to a much fuller day than expected.  

Thanks for Reading.

Pat