Tahiti & Moorea
29 April 2018 | Tahiti
Mike
There seems to be as many French nationalist as there are Polynesian on these two islands. Either they are on holiday (vacation) or relocated here years ago. Both islands have their share of mosquitoes as all the previous islands have had. Weather wise, it is still part of the rainy seasons so there are showers that can last all day or just an hour or two. A few days ago, it rained the better part of the day and winds reached 40 knots (said Dan on Smoke and Roses). A couple of boats in the marina I heard were damaged when the winds pushed the stern up against the concrete docks.
I've enjoyed 11 days off the boat and traveling Airbnb around Moorea and Tahiti. On Moorea, I stayed 3 nights in a furnished 1 bedroom bungalow, rented a scooter for a couple days and hiked to the top of Le Belvedere (240 m) with a few new found friends from New Caledonia, Iceland and France. I believe I drove around the island 3 times on the scooter, stopping at various spots for snorkeling, swimming or just to have a beer. The seafood is outstanding, been eating it raw or seared. They "put the lime in the coconut" remember the song? Well the dish has chunks of raw tuna, slices of cucumber and onions, chunks of tomatoes (green or red firm) and a bit of shredded carrot for color I suppose. Add lime and coconut to taste.
On Tahiti, I've stayed in 3 Airbnb's and one hotel in different parts of the island. I love the area around Mahina, where the green hills make it down to the sea. With a rental car, I've driven the islands of Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti. Teahupoo, the surf city, not much to it. To surf, which I didn't cause to waves were too large, you take a water taxi to the outside of the coral reef. The wave/break is caused by the underneath coral, to iffy for me.
Oh, Yes - size matters...I got a ride on a Hylas 54 leaving Tahiti on Monday the 30th. I now have my third ARC boat all the way to Fiji, where we will arrive there around June 24th. Before Fiji we have stops in Bora Bora, Suwarrow, Niue, Tonga and a few scattered islands along the way. I did post 3 groups of pictures from Ecuador.