Mare. 'Mar-ay'

Friday 25^th January 2013. Mare.

Our beautiful white lady ‘Pacific Jewels’ brings us today to the little island of Mare. We came here last year in June, but the water was cold, so we didn’t venture in. This time we were determined to go for a snorkel. Last chance this cruise. We also heard that the main part of town was on the road leading inland from the dock, so we wanted to explore that a bit. We probably shouldn’t have bothered. Unless you’re out of ciggies, and we don’t smoke, it’s not a must see.  The morning was overcast and it had rained through the night so snorkelling didn’t look promising. It soon cleared to a lovely day and got rather hot, so we bought our bus tickets to Yejele Beach, the only P&O option. $15pp return. 

Yejele Beach

Actually, it’s the only option. Anyone with a mini bus is booked to P&O for the day, so there’s no way of getting anywhere else. Humans find safety in numbers, there was a very large number of people in the water and on the beach right where the bus dropped them. We opted to walk a little way down the beach to find a less populated area. Unfortunately, the tide was still running out, so there wasn’t enough water to be able to swim over the coral and there was a noticeable current heading left. The water was also not as warm as we had on Wala or Hideaway. It was still really good to be in the water though, enough fish around to make it interesting. We decided to down a beer while we dried off and catch the shuttle back to the dock. 

We found the chicken skewers that we ate for lunch last time, or should I say, the people who cooked them. $6 for 2 with a chunk of bread each and a nice spot to sit in the shade while we ate. There didn’t seem to be as many people wandering down this way as last time, left from the dock. After we ate another swim seemed a good idea and there was an area at the dock roped off from the open waters. It was much deeper here so better for  snorkelling but the water seemed really strange. It was like you could see the salt in it. Imagine adding salt to a glass of water till there’s so much in there it can’t dissolve any more and you can see the shimmer of it. That’s what this water was like. I thought my facemask was fogging up. The only problem with this area was the slippery algae on the end of the timber jetty. 

Chef’s Table tonight, so we have a bit of a chillout in the relaxation room with our complimentary champers which becomes so relaxing that a strategic nanna nap is called for. We scurry back to 6191 and dive under the doona. How very nice! One hour passes so quickly and before we know it, it’s time to get ready to go to dinner so we can fit afternoon trivia in on the way. Jenny and Steve are already there and Maureen’s not far behind. Maureen has to leave at 6pm as well so we miss out on hearing the answers and seeing how we go. Jenny and Steve will have to tell us tomorrow.

Our appointed meeting place is the Casbah (how appropriate) where we are greeted with a glass of bubbly and canapés. The Maitre d’ explains how the evening came into being and how it’s expected to go. The chefs from the P&O fleet plan the menu, condensed from all their favourites. There will be a galley tour conducted by the Head Chef during dinner service to see how the magic happens, a degustation menu of 7 courses with matched wines, a commemorative group photo, and a surprise back in our cabins after. 

Birthday girl, seated right.

The galley tour is fascinating, they all work so hard in crappy conditions, long shifts and 7 days a week. We show our appreciation by thoroughly enjoying our amazing meal, and when it’s over we get to meet and personally thank all the chefs responsible for cooking it for us.

As an added bonus, it’s one of the guest’s birthdays, so there’s a birthday cake and a rousing birthday song followed by the traditional ‘Happy Birthday’.  About 20 minutes after we get back to our cabin there’s a knock at the door. Hmmmm, looks like our surprise has arrived………. It’s a plate of 6 petit fours. A lovely touch but it’s late and we’re very full so they go into the fridge for later. 

A quick pre-bed check of the navigation channel on the tv makes for some fascinating viewing. It’s not far from Mare to Noumea, the local ferry makes the trip in 3 hours or so and we wonder our ship will do. As we watch, the ship’s speed slows and slows until we’re doing 4 knots, then 3, 2, and 1 and our course changes so much that we’re going round in a circle. Must be letting the officers have a bit of a play. Doughies in the Pacific! A couple of times we have no speed and no heading, probably happens a lot on these short hops but we’ve never been up late enough to see it.