French Polynesia day 15

     Our last day here was, appropriately you might suppose, an overcast one.  And while the beauty of Moorea in the distance, as seen from our hotel room balcony, was still a wonder to behold, we had no intention of staying inside.  We decided to take in the sights by driving the 65 miles or so around the perimeter of this mountainous island, and will share those briefly with you.  We first stopped by the Musée de Tahiti et das Îles, where we saw numerous archaeological artifacts and photos from the 1860’s, but almost nothing of how the original inhabitants conducted their daily lives.  That will have to be a subject for future study.

Clouds and mountains on Tahiti

     The highest mountain here rises over 6,000 feet, and after the mountain climbing adventure on Maupiti, no one suggested a hike to the top of Tahiti.

Surfers at Ahonu

     First stop was to watch the crowd of surfers at Ahonu surf break, along one of the island’s black sand beaches, from a lookout above the waves.  Surfing is said to originate here, and everywhere we went along the coastal road, there seemed to be a crowd of young people honing their skills.  Most of them were using a paddle while standing upright to help them catch the waves, and it was interesting to watch the watchers as well—most of them had boards as they evaluated the competition and the waves.

Lighthouse at Point Vénus

     We stopped by a lighthouse built in 1867, said by our guide book to be impressive.  We weren’t much impressed, but were overjoyed to find there was a gift shop next door.

Haamarere Iti and Haamarere Rahi Falls

     After lunch, we hiked up to three waterfalls and enjoyed their beauty.  Two of the falls deserved a movie, but the water was too cold for a dip.

Last meal at Le Coco’s

     After a beautiful sunset from our balcony, it was time for our last meal here.  It a gastronomic delight at a nearby oceanfront restaurant, with the huge waves crashing 50 feet or so from our table.  Before we say goodbye for now, a few random observations from this trip:

•If a woman becomes pregnant in the islands, thirty days before the due date she is flown free of charge to the hospital in Tahiti, where she is given free room and board until the delivery and for days afterward.  All expenses of childbirth are taken care of by the government, no questions asked.  The people who explained this to us seemed to believe it was all free.  They had no comprehension of the relationship between taxes and government services.  This is both a blessing and a curse for a people who may someday demand independence.

•Whatever you do on Bora Bora, do not rent a car from the Avis people for more than two hours unless you want to be charged $45.00 for less than a gallon of gas.

•The little terminal at Ra’iatea airport is simply a roof supported by columns, with no need for doors because it is completely open.  On a wall there is obscurely posted a government evacuation drawing, professionally prepared, with green arrows pointing outward in all four directions all around the perimeter.  One wonders (a) what possible benefit this sign can deliver, (b) what is being spent on similar signs in open buildings throughout the country, and (c) whether anyone other than the poster has ever noticed this sign.

•On the subject of signs, in all the airports are the obligatory ones pictorially describing items that cannot be taken aboard aircraft:  fireworks, batteries, knives, liquids, etc.  But except for the international airport on Tahiti, there are no security lines, no one checking your carry-ons, and apparently no one really caring what you bring onto the plane.  This is my kind of country.

•Never put a significant amount of foreign currency in a place you might forget it—like your pants pocket—or you might be stuck with no way to convert it to dollars on an early morning flight out of a country.

•Going away all day and leaving all your cash, cameras, computers, and clothing in a bungalow without locks, with doors wide open to allow the cooling breezes, gives to some a feeling of insecurity and to others a feeling of hope and optimism.  This writer chooses hope and optimism.  There is a reason there are no wall safes and few locks on the out islands.

 •If you are in Tahiti during the Halloween season, don't spend your money on the pumpkin ice cream.  It is almost tasteless, like someone put a bit of orange flavoring into a container of chemical glop.  Yuck!

     We’re completing this report aboard Air France, en route to Los Angeles, where we’ll spend a couple of nights with a math genius named Josie and her parents.  Be sure and tell Tricia what you think of all her photos when you see her.  We hope you’ll join us on another trip soon.

Sunset from room 659 at Le Meridien Tahiti

Charlie and Tricia

©2012

French Polynesia day 14

            We had to say goodbye to Maupiti this morning, as we left on our last inter-island flight on the way to Tahiti.  Camille ferried us and two of the French couples to the airport for an 8 a.m. flight, which was over an hour late.  As we spotted our plane on its approaching downwind leg, the airport fire truck suddenly cranked and the driver pulled out of the fire station and onto the taxiway.  This is not the kind of scene that gives a person good feelings about this particular Air Tahiti aircraft.  But it turns out that it is standard operating procedure for the fire truck to be at the ready for incoming flights.  Come to think of it, this SOP doesn’t give good feelings about any Air Tahiti aircraft.

            Anyway, we did finally make it back to Tahiti, an hour and a half late after a scheduled stop in Ra’iatea.  We arrived in the rain, picked up our rental car, and finally located Le Meridien Hotel, where we checked in early and were upgraded to the top floor in our nearly free room—OOPS!  I forgot--I promised not to talk about special deals with credit card points.

            Because of the overcast and the opportunities that awaited us in the town market, we decided (OK, one of us decided) to do a little last minute shopping.  There is a famous two-story market not far from the cruise ship docks, and we headed there for lunch.  The 250-year-old Marché de Pape’ete covers an entire city block, and contains every product imaginable.  We had been told that the first floor had the cheaper merchandise, and that the high quality stuff was upstairs.  Guess which floor we headed for.

Marché de Pape’ete—photo by Tricia from the second floor

            While Tricia is upstairs perusing the shops, we need to complete our description of the human side of present day French Polynesia.

            The CIA's web site, while pointing out that there are no “regular military forces” in French Polynesia, the agency estimated that in 2010 there were:  82,722 males and 66,053 females age 16-49 available for military service.  It also tells us that each year, 2,498 males and 2,390 females are reaching “militarily significant age” annually.  You might wonder why the agency takes an interest in the military capabilities of French Polynesia—are there plans for a secret attack that are being hidden from the public?  You might also wonder why the agency would actually publish these important numbers for the world to see.  You might also wonder how these facts have any relevance to the present trip report.  And so it must be confessed that this paragraph was thrown in just to impress you with the breadth and depth of my Internet research in preparing these all-night missives.

            To get back to present day French Polynesia, there are occasional rumblings about independence, and the person elected president in 2007 (for the third time in three years) was very much pro-independence.  But politics here are even more confused and divided than they are back home, and this guy quickly lost his office in this multiparty democracy.  The opinions and positions of the president don't seem to make much difference to the casual observer, since the government has no authority in justice, education, security, or defense, all of which are provided and administered by France .  You see, France is still pouring money into the place, although much less than during the years they were kissing up the local leaders with assistance to atone for the nuclear testing. 

            Polynesia is a real melting pot, with marriages between descendants of the original inhabitants and people of every race, color, and creed.  While more than 60% claim to be “pure” Polynesian, this claim is likely greatly exaggerated, perhaps by a factor of three or four.  There seem to be no open racial or national prejudices here, and most have the laid back island attitude about many practices.

Exports amount to about $200 million a year, while imports cost about $2.2 billion.  And you thought we had a trade deficit in the U.S.?  The population is about 270,000, more than 65% of whom are crowded onto the coast of the worst of the islands, Tahiti.  More than 150,000 tourists per year provide the principal private sector economic benefit to this semi-nation of islands, and absent the unexpected discovery of some underground natural resource, that will be true for the foreseeable future.  To split from France, at least 600,000 will need to come each year and spend their money—and then there will be no more Maupitis, at least in the Society Islands portion of Polynesia.

  Here in Tahiti the runoff and pollution, combined with the black volcanic sand, give the water a greenish tinge from ground level, and it is doubtful we will do any snorkeling.  While the overall standard of living is high, on Tahiti it has come at a terrible price.  The roads are good, goods and services are readily available.  But its capital, Papeete, is just another cruise port and industrial city, with traffic congestion, crime, and graffiti-covered walls and signs. 

So come here as soon as you can.  Skip Tahiti and head for Bora Bora or Moorea, or one of the outer islands while they are still nearly pristine.  This is one of the top trips of a lifetime of traveling, and we hope you can make it.

Tricia’s back from shopping, now, and it’s time to head for dinner.  Last report will come tomorrow, our last day in the islands.

Charlie and Tricia

©2012

French Polynesia day 13

View from the breakfast table

We snorkeled in the morning, walked the deserted beaches, boated over to the next motu south to watch a cloudy sunset, and . . .

Charlie and Tricia

           ©2012