MartinandClara

The last days on our last island we spoiled ourselves with a stay at one of the famous overwater bungalows. We had seen them on all the islands: built directly into the water on stilts, these bungalows promise the ultimate paradises experience. From the spacious room (or rooms, depending on the budget) you see the ocean and nothing but the ocean. Same from your sofa. And from the bed. And the bathroom. And from, well, you get the concept. In front of the bungalow you have your private sun deck and your own little pier to jump into the water whenever you like. If you're lucky you even have your own little part of the reef. On Bora Bora there were so many overwater bungalows that there was nothing romantic or special over it any more ... read more

How do pineapples grow? On a tree, or? Hmmm, no, not really. Being in French Polynesia we had heard about the fantastic pineapples from Moorea right from the start. The island is Polynesia's main producer of the fruit. When we finally arrived on this last stop of our trip we started with a delicious freshly pressed pineapple juice on the terras of our hotel in Cook's Bay. Looking at the slope of the opposite mountainside we cloud then already see them: pineapple plantations. But it took us one more day to actually get there. With our car we drove up the bumpy road and there they were: pineapples wherever you looked. They actually grow on the ground. Like flowers they stick out from the plant at about half a metre and are protected by thorny leaves. ... read more

This week we are on the beautiful island of Rarotonga. Our bungalow is named Magic Reef and that is all true. Right down from our beach there is the reef, about 40 metres wide, with all its corals, shells and small crustaceans (every time you find a beautiful shell it is already claimed!). Not to forget the uncountable sea cucumbers. Beyond this the dark blue ocean contiguously smashes its energy against the reef. We can never stop getting fascinated of this act. Collecting wind energy waves get built up over large distance on the open ocean. Only a part of them is visible, the major part is actually under water, going in circles. When this energy comes close to land and the circle can't be fulfilled any more the water rises up until it breaks down ... read more

Of course we knew it theoretically - our islet is a reef. But it is still a special feeling to stand with your bear feet on a beach that obviously consist of tons of corals. The island of Bora Bora itself is an extincted volcano. Around it corals built a ring that turned into a reef and became more and more massive. Millenniums passing by the volcano sunk into the ocean creating distance to the reef. The reef on the other hand got so wide that plants and animals saddled down on it. This way the beautiful geography of Bora Bora developed into its current formation with the shallow, turquoise lagoon and the ring of islets (motus) around it. From our bungalow on the motu we are directly looking onto the main island with its amazingly ... read more

Another historical mystery of Rapa Nui is the birdman cult. After the moai had lost their meaning and warfair broke out among the clans a new cult arose. Every year a birdman was picked who would rule the island's society. Thus peace could be re-established. The sacret place for the rituals of the birdman cult can still be visited today. And what a place! At the rim of the crater Rano Kau the Rapa Nui built a small village called Orongo. On one side you look into the collapsed crater of the volcano, 200 metres deep and filled with water. Its steep walls encircle about 1,5 kilometre and open up on one side to the open ocean. On the other side of the crater rim the cliff drops right into the sea, about 300 metres deep. ... read more