Carlson Honeymoon! Volume III: South Pacific Cruise, Part II: Tadine and Easo, New Caledonia

On December 8th (HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD), we arrived in Tadine (on the island of Mare), New Caledonia!

We took the tenders to shore where we got on a bus that took us along the shore to Yejele Beach.

The beach was very pretty and it was a gorgeous day! It was warm, but not hot, and a little storm rolled in which kept it cooler. 

After hanging out on the beach for a while I asked Josh if he wanted to go for a romantic walk along the water.

That didn't work very well. The sand was very rough and is full of large chunks of coral.

We scratched that idea pretty fast and instead decided to walk through the little shops that were set up along the shore. The locals were selling soda, food, hair braiding and massages. 

I loved relaxing on the beach and being in the warm South Pacific.

When we got back on the boat we went up to the deck where we got Tiki cups and only had to pay $4 for a pina colada refill! That's my kind of party!

[Scorpion]

The next morning we arrived at Easo (Lifou Island), New Caledonia. We took the tenders to the island where we headed off to explore a church which is situated on top of a hill.

[Chapelle Notre Dame des Lourdes]

[These little kids were trying to trip people with a rope]

We walked through the cute little town and reached the church. It was very humid (not too hot), but the hike was still a little steep. After exploring the beautiful old church we headed back down the hill to find a secret snorkel spot.

We arrived at the spot and I got all ready to get in the water when I was stopped by a local man. He told me that I had to pay $20 (US or Australian) to snorkel. Forget that! The spot looked cool but not worth the $20.

We then walked back to town where we looked at the shops and then watched the locals present gifts to the Captain of the ship.

They told the Captain that they are officially welcome to come back anytime. They then danced and passed out drinks and food to anyone who was around.

We found a nice place to relax on the beach and after an hour or so we headed back to the ship. 

New Caledonia is beautiful! I loved the local culture and the people and the beaches were nice. Yea, nice. The beaches were very coral-y. The sand was a little rough. Good thing we brought our water socks :-)