Tahiti and Moorea 🌴🌺🐚

Ten awesome days. Wow. I had to fight back tears at the Tahiti airport as Tiaré and Kahalani put shells around our necks and gave us their last bisous 😘. Knowing how far French Polynesia 🇵🇫is from home and how much we love it makes it hard to go. 

We spent most of our time on the island of Tahiti, near the city of Papeete, in the outskirts of Papara. We also spent two beautiful nights on the island of Moorea. Polynesia is so friendly. It takes a while to get used to the heat, but the abundance of fresh fruit and fish is incredible.

On the island Moorea we stayed in a bungalow with an over-water deck, surrounded by fish. We swam and kayaked around the bay. It was amazing, and we didn’t even need to be on The Bachelorette finale to be there (hahahaha thank God). 

When we went back to Tahiti, our friends the Raveinos picked us up and took us to their house, where we stayed for the rest of the week. They are great hosts, warm and welcoming, and there are always lots of family and friends around. They fed us well, toured us around the island, and taught us loads about Polynesian hospitality and culture. We attended their church, where they welcomed a new deacon. The church was huge, and packed, and the singing was  — in French and Tahitian. After church there was a huge party to welcome the deacon and groups sang, danced, and regaled him with special gifts. We ate the Tahitian version of the church-reception potluck. Very cool. 

It was a beautiful stay in Tahiti and we hope to go visit our friends again someday, and would also love to host them in Canada.

Rapa Nui: Te Pito O Te Henua 🌴🗿🌺

Rapa Nui is unique, isolated and distinct. It’s the easternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. (Hawaii and New Zealand are the other two points.)

Clearly, Rapa Nui is known for its giant stone Moai, but there is much more to the island. The fragrant, rolling, volcanic hills are full of wild horses. There are perfect rolling surfers’ waves in the town’s small harbour, and the waterfront has parks where you can swim and watch the sun set. On another coast, Anakena beach is powder-sanded, warm, palm shaded. Fresh fruit and fish are abundant everyday in the small market. Colourful flowers are commonplace. 🐴🌺🐟

The development since our last visit (2006) is extensive: the pools built into the  town’s shoreline, a new museum, a monthly magazine, and more accommodation choices. Also, visitors have to buy tickets to the most important sites like Rano Raraku (the 🗿quarry) and Orongo (site of the birdman 🥚competition). There are signs, paths, and fences where there weren’t before, and the rules of the island are posted everywhere. I guess there have just been too many fools climbing on sites, trying to ruin or steal pieces of this place (like the historians of years passed). Twelve years ago the sites were unsupervised and when we went, we were the only ones there. Now there are larger groups of tourists, but it’s still fascinating.

Another difference for us since 2006 is that we’re traveling as a four-pack, so hitchhiking is not really an option. By fluke we were able find Tete and Tovi, the guys who picked us up when we were hitched last visit. It was surreal to meet again. They had made our last visit unforgettable. They were happy to see us and meet the girls. 

We rented a little Jeep and drove along the bumpy (but many paved) roads, often stopping for herds of cattle and horses free ranging it. There are also plenty of dogs and chickens sifting through town, and the roosters go off all night. Ah, tropical life. 

It has been a relaxing week. Next are heading to the center of the triangle, to Tahiti and Moorea. We’re looking forward to visiting some friends, and switching from Spanish to French.