Black pearls, you may know, are
never really black, although the nearly priceless ones approach that
description. But they are significantly
different from the more widely available white pearls; these jewels come in an
array of dark iridescent hues: blues,
greens, reds, purples, and grays. Some
even seem to have multiple casts of colors, although they all appear nearly
black at first glance. They are cultured
in this part of the world in black-lipped oysters, which are far removed in
shape and size from the oysters we know and love back home. These oysters have a form something like
scallops, only much larger and smoother; the shells were used by the original
Polynesians to make fish hooks and jewelry, and later for buttons highly prized
in Europe.
The culturing process takes at least
four years, and is often unsuccessful. Oyster farms are found in several island groups here, primarily
in the Tuamotus. One oyster can be used
two or three times for this meticulous process, after which the quality of the
pearls diminishes and thereafter, one would assume, the meat of the oyster appears on the
dining table of the oyster farmers.
On Moorea there are dozens and
dozens of shops conveniently making available these beautiful pearls to the traveling public. The shops range from
simple roadside stands to plush, air conditioned buildings with immaculately
dressed, multilingual clerks ready to help make dreams come true. Not to appear sexist, but these dreams seem to
occur mostly among the females of the species, and based on some of the prices
we were quoted, the other sex might experience these nocturnal visions as nightmares. In any event, after determining that low
overhead generally meant lower prices and better value, my fellow traveler
struck up a friendship over a couple of days with the proprietor of one of the
roadside stands. This native Polynesian
has represented three black pearl farms in the Tuamotus going back nearly 30
years, and she has an extensive stock of pearls, necklaces, pendants, and
earrings, all in a wide range of quality and size.
We had checked out of our B&B
early to take one last look at the black pearls, and Tricia found a strand with
just the right size, just the right variety of hues, just the right look around
her beautiful neck, and just the right to send me to the nearest ATM to see how
much was left in our bank account back home.
Fortunately, all the ATM’s here limit the amount one can withdraw in one
24-hour period. Unfortunately, Tricia
had obtained a second ATM card with a different account number, so I was able
to withdraw the maximum amount twice; adding this to all the cash we had brought to
pay our way in Maupiti later in the trip, enabled us to make Tricia
proud. Enough said.
Tourist proudly
displaying her new black pearl necklace
Tourist parting with
cash for new black pearl necklace
To give credit where it is due, the
lady with the new necklace took me over to the local ice cream shop and treated
me to a cone of any flavor of my choosing.
I took a chance on the orange and chocolate. Now, would it ever occur to you to try to
sell orange and chocolate ice cream? Or
would it ever occur to you to buy
orange and chocolate ice cream? Well,
with all due modesty, I must say that I have had the good fortune to sample
more than two dozen different flavors of ice cream, and this was the first
experience with this particular flavor.
Ok, maybe more than two dozen.
Maybe more than a hundred. But
who’s counting? Anyway, it was a
fantastic blend, with the deep orange color complementing the little flecks of
chocolate scattered throughout the miraculously creamy ice cream. It must have contained at least 22% butterfat
to have such a deep, meaningful flavor.
You should have been there to have a taste. I
completely forgot the earlier unpleasant event as we drove to the airport to
take the flight to Bora Bora.
Approaching Bora Bora
from the air
Taking photos from a passenger plane
is an exercise in futility, but we couldn’t resist as we approached one of the
best known and beautiful places on the planet.
This was to be the site of our only planned splurge of the trip: three nights in an overwater bungalow at the
Intercontinental Bora
Bora le Moana Resort.
First view of Bora Bora
from the ground at the airport
We will
share more photos with you tomorrow. Now
it’s time to go exploring after checking in to our room at the edge of the
lagoon, complete with glass opening in the floor and what appears to be a local
pet spotted eagle ray swimming around under the walkway. Tricia has just stated her sincere belief
that this is what heaven will be like. If she is correct, I am ready to go.
Charlie and Tricia
©2012
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