Days 33-34 Noumea, New Caledonia

Disembarked the ship about 10:15 AM. Had my picture taken with the members of the local tribal dance group. Then with my friends Tom and Toni got on  a downtown tour bus. We toured past the Coconut Tree Square, which is more of a park than square, drove to a place called Fol Lookout Point, next to an old theater that has been abandoned, for a view of the city center, the nickel plant and even a view of the ship. Then we traveled along the bay and up to La Ouen Torol hill for more panoramic views and the gun emplacements from WW II. We drove alone the scenic waterfront and beach area of Baie de Citrons( Bay of Lemons)  back to downtown and ended our tour at the port terminal.  We decided to stop at a local restaurant for a bite to eat and partake in a local draft beer. We then decided  to walk through the Coconut  Tree Square to the Cathedral of St Joseph. We then decided to walk to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, the oldest church in New Caledonia to see the stained-glass windows.  We asked for directions and were told it was a 20 minute taxi ride and that the stained-glass in St. Joseph’s was better. We decide to take a walk towards the terminal and get a taxi to the aquarium. We were passing by the “Museum de Ville” and decide to stop in and take a look around. For a $2.00 fee, we spend over an hour in this tiny place and were able to learn about early New Caledonia and the nickel industry.  After our extended tour of the museum we took a taxi to Anse Vata to the just refurbished aquarium. There we saw amazing marine life, prehistoric nautilus and florescent corals. We then caught a taxi back to the port area and took a walk through the Chinatown/Asian area of Noumea. Then it was back to the ship about 5:00 PM.

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