Let me say this about that.

If you have read the previous two postings, you know we have counted down the most beautiful places in the world from number ten through number two.  To review, the nine locations honored so far are listed in descending order:

10)  Avenue of the Giants, Humboldt, California

 9)  Puerto de Soller, Majorca, Spain

 8)  Glacier Bay, Alaska

 7)  Phuket, Thailand

 6)  Coki Bay, U.S. Virgin Island

 5)  Norwegian Fjords

 4)  Bora Bora, French Polynesia

 3)  Agincourt Reef, Queensland, Australia 

2)  Bernese Oberland, Swiss Alps

So now, it is time to name…    “The Most Beautiful Place in the World.”

Cooks Bay, Moorea, French Polynesia

As the plane circled the island, it was clear that my wife and I were about to enter another world.  Moorea Island is only one of many islands that populate French Polynesia, but in a part of the world where beauty is commonplace, Moorea stands above the rest.  Moorea is made up of dramatic vertical cliffs, covered by lush tropical foliage.  The sheer cliffs are terminated by the ocean so clear that one can see to depths of nearly 100 feet.  Every where you look you are mesmerized by scenes that are just too magnificent to be real.  Awesome is too weak a word.

The north end of the island is punctured by two deep bays, Opunohu Bay and Cooks Bay, named for the famous British explorer, Capt. James Cook.  Both bays are incredibly beautiful, but Cooks Bay will literally take your breath away.

I have dined in some of the finest restaurants in the world – in Paris, in New York, in St Moritz.  But the most magnificent lunch I ever had in my life was sitting outdoors on a wooden picnic table at waters edge on Cooks Bay.  The restaurant was little more than a shack, fashioned out of spare scraps of wood and corrugated tin panels.  The place was small, with only a couple of overturned cable spools for tables and the aforementioned picnic table outside.  The restaurant was owned by a French woman and her Aussie husband.  They told us that we were their only customers that day so they went out of their way to prepare special dishes of local fish and vegetables.  My wife and I sat at that wooden picnic table all afternoon eating grilled snapper, drinking Chardonnay, and soaking in the most beautiful place in the world. 

And, that’s all I have to say about that.

Shambo