Tahit, or French Polynesia. This was our break. Two weeks of not travelling and staying in one place. We didn’t organise very much as this was our chance to regroup and also do much of our booking and last minute planning for America.
It was lovely to be greeted by musicians and dancers at the airport. Not so good was trying to find a taxi for the long trip to our hotel and the long drive to get there around 4am where the poor guy running it had to give us our keys.
We were at the opposite end of the island to the capital Papeete near the second town Taravao. Very quite, regular buses though so we could get to town.
We had a one bed bungalow with a bathroom. Just what we needed, with a veranda to sit outside in the sun and do nothing.
We had a stretch of beach and an enclosed pool where rocks stopped the breakers. The sunsets were fantastic and we really didn’t do too much
We made it to the Super U for our groceries with a bit of help and got used to the rather primitive communal kichen. Not quite up to Ozzie and Kiwi standards.
It was a bit weird in the Super U. A lot of familiar products and brands from shopping in France but quite a few differences as well. One being the price of wine, it was all French and had to be imported.
Towards the end of the first week we booked a boat trip through our host with his friend to go to the far end of the island where the road runs out. We were given a lift by one friend who took a short cut and ended up in muddy fields! Then we met another friend Tom who took us out in his little boat.
Tom is very knowledgeable about the culture and history of French Polynesia. Everywhere we went the land rose steeply from the shore to the centre of the island, covered in green.
I had asked about hiking, however this is too dangerous without a guide. There is thick growth, hidden hazards and ever changing weather. A heavy rain can completely change the landscape as streams and rivers form or increase in size. Also lots of bugs to bite you.
As we followed the coast we found whole communities dependent on boats for travel and for their livelihood. These communities used to be much bigger, thousands of people bigger. Before roads the sea was the transport link. Now infrastructure depends on roads and schools and hospitals are by roads, so the population has moved towards those links.
Before the arrival of the Spanish there were 16 000 people km this area. Now only 2 000.
We got taken to see petroglyphs depicting the elements of the Polynesian religion or mythology. The population now are strongly Christians spread between Catholic and Protestant churches. There are also quite a lot of 7th Day Adventists.
This is where the Moari came from originally and they share the customs and religion of Polynesia.
Tom is heavily tattooed including his face. As with the Moari this depicts his family origins.
The petrogyiphs depicted the sun and creator god and a canoe. Another one the fire god, volcano. And the elements, thunder lightning, fire, wind, nature, land and water. We were just on the edge of hhe rainforest here with fascinating plants a d less fascinating small biting flies.
We were taken for lunch with Michael and Tina at their home. We sat outside and enjoyed coconut milk and local foods, fried breadfruit and a raw tuna salad.
I was fascinated with the bread fruit as this is something I have read about in stories since childhood but never tried. I got shown the tree and the fruit in the tree. You have to look very hard in my picture. It is very common here and although not in the Super U it is on many roadside stalls.
The island is surrounded by reefs. One close to shore or at the shore to be negotiated to land a boat or avoided if bathing, the other a bit out. Boats have to navigate carefully to avoid them both. We were taken out close to the further reef where we could see a boat moored and a man in the water collecting sea produce.
Like Korea and Bougainville Tahiti has an export market to Japan for sea food.
When we landed by the shore the boat had to be tied up to a mooring point bolted into the rock so we could wade in on the flat rocks avoiding the holes between.
We had a short drive out with a lovely German couple to see a bit more of the coast. I caught the bus into town to explore. Not that there was much to see. A small mall of 4 shops around the Super U and a street with two petrol stations, a pharmacy a McDonald’s and a few good stalls.
I discovered coral in our small lagoon and was pleased to discover Ashley had brought our underwater camera plastic bag so I could take photos
On the second week we decided to hire a car as we really ought to get out and see some of the rest of the island. It was booked for the Thursday. On the Wednesday night Ashley suddenly started feeling really ill. Tired, nauseous and his leg hurt. He had an early night. Meanwhile I was researching what nasty bugs he might have picked up.
Thursday Ashley’s leg was starting to get red. He decided though that the priority though was me picking up our hire car. A bus to Taravao and another to Papeete airport about 3 hours in all. Then an hour plus to get back. Speed limits are low and everyone drives as a leisurely pace.
Now the weather forecast had been thunder and rain every day, but we’d only seen a few short and very heavy showers. When I wanted to get Ashley to the hospital, we had very heavy rain all afternoon. Trying to walk from our bungalow to the car was virtually impossible for him with a painful leg and torrential rain, so our first visit wasn’t until Friday.
After the local hospital and an antibiotic prescription we decided to take the one road that went up to the centre of the island.
Here to our surprise we found areas cleared for grazing along with some wonderful views over the island and Moari type carvings. Again a common ancestry.
We also found a reservoir there and many chickens running around.
I then had a quick visit to some waterfalls nearby.
Saturday and Ashley’s leg was even worse. Very red so back we went to the hospital. They decided to increase the dose of antibiotics so we picked those up and Ashley went back to lie down.
I decided I’d better make use of the car we’d paid for so did a quick afternoon explore. The botanical garden was actually a story of the afterlife told through the places in the garden, describing the inside and outside of the body bring cleansed before departing the island.
The garden itself was a bit waterlogged from several days heavy rain but still beautiful and covered with chickens.
Next was a lava cave. Much bigger im reality than it looked in pictures. The water was very blue and popular for bathing. There were also some striking flowers.
Lastly a sacred sight ftom ancient times with the remains of a building and some statues. I had to cram it all in as the next day we had to return the car to Papeete and stay there the night before an early flight.
Sunday and Ashley’s leg was even worse. I decided we were leaving as early as possible to get him to Papeete central hospital.
Ashley got into emergency there and I stayed as long as I could then it was a mad rush to get our bags to our accommodation, and get the car returned on time and a taxi back to our accommodation.
We spent the afternoon in a state of nerves waiting for Ashley to be treated. At one stage it looked like he might be admitted and he might have to take a later flight with me picking up the RV and then meeting him.
In the end just as I’d donned his backpack ready to walk to the hospital with his bags, it was decided he wouldn’t be admitted and would be joining me later. Relief! He was being given a course of IV antibiotics and then being discharged.
I did a second trip to the supermarket to get a pizza for Ashley for dinner. I’d already got raw tuna salad which was the main prepared food they sold. Plenty of bright painted buildings on the way. However, I didn’t see anything that would have made me want to stay in Papeete.
Ashley returned and we were ready to leave the next morning for our last country before returning home. Hoping all the problems with Ashley’s leg were behind us.
Although one last bit of excitement was getting special assistance and getting the elevator into the plane ahead of the rest of the passengers. The only reason Ashley opted to accept the offer.!
