Moorea

---

Well, after a week of alcohol fueled farewell dinners my body was screaming out for some respite. Alas, I had a buck's day to attend the afternoon before my 4am check-in, so I thought I'd be sensible and drop in for an hour or two. With no arm twisting whatsoever the hour turned into a fun-filled drunken evening and early morning, thus it was with bleary bloodshot eyes that I checked in and with great difficulty managed to stay awake until boarding. Next thing I knew, the plane was landing in Auckland. At this point I decided to take the term 'lay over' quite literally and found a cosy looking row of seats to stretch out along and get some more shut-eye.

Four hours later I was feeling a little closer to normal with my brain activity starting to fire up again, so I headed to the departure gate for my flight to Tahiti. It was here that I finally had the sensation that I was on holiday, as a group of Tahitians in their native regalia were also on my flight and they took to passing the time by playing and singing traditional Tahitian songs. It was the perfect introduction to what will be fondly remembered as a most relaxing destination.

Upon arriving in Papeete we were greeted with more musicians as we entered customs (certainly something many other countries could adopt in order to help diminish the austere setting). After retrieving my backpack and making sure the lovely person who I conversed with during the five hour flight retrieved theirs (it was virtually the last bag that appeared and there was more than a little anxiety present), I exited the building and located my hostel pick-up. Now, I was on the look out for a Tahitian, so it was with great surprise that I was met by a Swiss native who appeared to be seeing the world for the first time, such were his eyes seemingly agog at his surroundings. He assured me he would return and after 20 or so minutes he did. I'm not sure where he went and I'm not sure he knew either. Such an erratic fellow I had never met; however, it was very entertaining! He checked me in and showed me to my dorm, in which I had an entire double bed. I was glad of this, as my other option was sharing a bed with the other sight that greeted me: an obviously sweltering man spread-eagled across his bed in his barely there briefs. Welcome to Tahiti indeed!

My actual destination was the island of Moorea, which is about a 40 minute ferry ride from Papeete. The scenery found at this island is breathtaking. As with all of the archipelago islands of French Polynesia, they were formed by volcanic activity due to a hot spot under the northward moving tectonic plates. As a result, an island like Moorea is typified by its surging peaks, lush vegetation and turquoise lagoons. With the reef being about a kilometre out to sea, the shallow lagoons are warm and abundant in sea life, from brightly coloured fish to rays to four foot long sharks (harmless - I think. They didn't seem to be enticed by me, at any rate). From the perspective of my kayak about 500m from the shore, I had a sweeping view of this captivating setting. Staring back at the land mass it was easy to identify the rim of the crater and associated vents, one side of which had blown itself to smithereens, creating the lagoons. Amongst the coral, I was able to identify many volcanic rocks resting upon the sand. This was easy to do, as the clarity of the water here is something to behold. Snorkling appeared to me to be unnecessary, as goggles are totally superfluous when you can see every fish and grain of sand from atop your kayak. Croatia is the only other place I can recall seeing such clear water. As for the colour, well, I now know what turquoise looks like in liquid form. The land formation is akin to looking at violence in stasis, resulting in dramatic beauty that holds your gaze. The highest peaks often have clouds pressing upon them, resulting in orographic rainfall on each night I was here. The days, however, were warm and the sky was blue.

I arrived on a Sunday, which, I was told by my friendly taxi driver, is a day for the families to be together and share in Polynesian food. So, I decided to try the local food as well. With some trepidation I ordered a raw fish dish (I had never eaten raw fish before this) which came out looking nothing like I had expected. The fish was indeed raw, but it was cut up and mixed into a sort of salad, consisting of carrot, onion, spring onion and tomato and placed in a bowl that was half filled with coconut milk. I'm sure you can appreciate my uncertaintly upon my first mouthful. Whilst it definitely had a unique flavour and consistency, I ended up enjoying it. Well, it's hard not to enjoy eating with the view I had as the water lapped at my feet.

One day I decided to take a stroll in search of an ATM. This turned into a three and a half hour trek which provided me with a few insights. I strolled into the Hilton and remarked at its opulance, whilst staring out along the line of bungalows which are perched above the water of the natural lagoon. After this, my stroll took me through a few townships and I noticed how dilapidated many of the houses and buildings were. This made me question how much of the money from people staying at places like the Hilton (cheapest bungalow was $400 U.S. a night) was being fed back into the local community. I concluded that it was probably going towards Paris Hilton's next drug and alcohol binge and ensuing bail fee, which made me churn in disgust. I was happy that I was staying in a place run by a local family. I also discovered a campus of Berkeley University where the students come and study for six months - imagine that!

So, I now head back to Papeete with it's faded French Colonial buildings and depart for the destination that necessitated me coming to Tahiti in the first place - Easter Island. It is a place that intrigues me greatly and I am immensely looking forward to seeing a few things with my own eyes and hopefully arriving at a better understanding of what has taken place there over the centuries.

---

Comments

[Meleah Zanos]

Bronson, you have painted the most amazing picture of Tahiti; sounds heavenly. Look forward to your next entry. Meleah