Excursions

As noted in an earlier post, Jon and I have become friends with the owners of Zephyrus, Andy and Rhian. Last weekend, we shared a rental car for a self-guided tour of Tahiti. It was a great way to pack a lot in, in a rather short time. And, it enabled us to do so much more than if we relied only on buses. Rental cars are expensive here, but it was great to share their company and to break out of our little Phaeton Bay and town of Taravao.

We headed up the eastern and windward side of the island first. There are not many towns because it is the side of the island that bears the brunt of storms, but the coastal views and beaches were lovely. As we hit the northern side of the island, we made a detour inland at the Papenoo River. We were looking for a waterfall, but could not take the car beyond a certain point and it would have been too far of a hike. So we pulled over to check out the river.

Fresh water!!!! It was so wonderful to step into fresh (not salty) water. It was cool, clear and delicious. I was in heaven as its cool temperature was to my liking. It may seem odd, but apart from cold, brief showers on the boat, I have not been in fresh water in recent memory. Andy actually swam and rock climbed. Jon, who cannot get his bandage wet on his finger soaked up the ambiance and Rhian and I waded in to our shins and splashed our selves. It was lovely.

As we continued up the coast, we saw a man learning to surf with a paddle. The waves were average and he was making a great go of it. I decided if I ever try to learn to surf, beginning with a paddle is the way to go.

Just short of Venus Point (where Captain Cook unsuccessfully tried to track the course of Venus to aid navigators), there is a kite surfing beach. Of course we had to stop and watch this curious sport. The surfers use a board (it can either have a bow or not) that has footholds similar to snow boards. They then use a kite to pull them through the surf. They could go fast, but the turns looked really tricky. It looked like a lot of fun; some sort of combination of high end skateboarding or snowboarding and surfing. It is definitely not a sport for the timid or the weak of body and bone.

At Venus Point, we spotted the usual sight of young boys playing a pick up game of soccer. The easiest sport to play anywhere in the world.

We then made our way into the town of Pirae where there was an exhibition of Marquesean artists. We went to see our friend Mark whom we met on the island of Fatu Hiva. He is a stone carver of some renown and we had known he was going to be there. We had some “change” (bartering) to do. Mark had really liked Jon’s travel guitar, but Jon wasn’t prepared to part with it. Jon and Mark agreed to make a trade of a travel guitar for a lava stone carving of a manta ray. Later, when we had access to internet, Jon found one on Amazon, but they did not ship to the Marquesas….After Jon injured his finger, he decided to give his guitar to Mark and to get a new one once we’re back home (or have a visitor from home bring him one). Thus, instead of doing the exchange through the mail, we were able to seem him again and do it in person. The manta ray is beautiful and its tail is made from a sliver of goat horn.

We made our way through the heavy traffic of Papeete to the northwest coast of the island and to Marina Taina for lunch. Beaucoup beautiful yachts in Taina. Both times Jon and I were there, we ran into sailors we’ve met on the other islands. There’s an Italian restaurant at the Marina and it was a perfect place for lunch. Jon had a calzone the size of which could have fed all four of us…..but he managed it all on his own. Life was good. He was happy.

The next morning we drove as far as the road would go along the western side of the smaller island (Iti). We thought we then would have an 8-kilometer hike along the roadless coast to some caves. The hike was rocky and often we crossed through other people’s front yards, but no one seemed to mind. One family was cleaning fish, and assured us that the caves were just another 6 kilometers away. After stopping for lunch, we decided to turn back. It’d been a nice hike, but to continue would probably have cut short our afternoon plans.

On the way back, we stopped at a pension (a bed and breakfast), so that Andy could check it out as a possible vacation spot for his parents. The owner gave us a tour of the bungalows and his wonderful garden. He shared with us some of his Rambutan. A cousin of the Chinese Lychee, the fruit grows on a tree and once you crack open the bright red and furry hull, there is a lovely milky white fruit with a pit in the middle that is about the size of an almond. It was delicious---and a pleasant surprise.

Returning across the lawn of the fishermen, they insisted we stop so they could give us some fish. The people are simply very generous and wanted nothing in return. They gave us dinner for the evening. (Later, when Jon and I were returning to our dinghy from town, a father and his young daughter were fishing off the small dock. The father had his daughter give us a bag of bananas from his home. I made banana bread that night.) The kindness and the sharing with nothing expected in return certainly makes life pleasant. Could you imagine sharing your food with strangers on the street (or path) even if they weren’t in need?

In the afternoon, we returned north for some short easy hikes to three waterfalls. Waterfalls in paradise. To get to them, we hiked trails that were completely shaded by tall tropical forests of hardwood trees and giant bamboo. I am not sure how tall the waterfalls were, but they were significant. Beautiful long-tailed tropicbirds flew overhead and nested along the cliff walls. The water was cool, and this time, we brought our swimming suits.

On Sunday, Jon and I went to the Botanical Gardens near the Paul Gauguin museum. A botanist from M.I.T. first established the gardens in the 1930s. After his death, they became a public garden. It was lovely. So many exotic trees and plants nestled between the beach and the highway. This Banyan tree was planted in 1936. Its branches became roots and its span was (our guess) 20-25 feet across.

By the end of the weekend, we were all tired. But the excursions and diversions were worth it. Now, if I can only find more Rambutan trees.