Comprising the iconic names of Tahiti and Bora Bora and the
islands between them, French Polynesia's Society Islands
are the most famous and most visited by tourists. Because our route back to the
Pacific Northwest will take us through the
Societies again, we intentionally allotted less of our 90-day visas to this
chain than to the Marquesas and Tuamotus. Our sampling of what these islands
have to offer brought experiences both delightful and meaningful, and we look forward
to a more thorough exploration on our return voyage.
TAHITI
Tahiti! The word alone conjures images of
exotic adventures. It felt awesome to sail there on our own boat...
Contrary to what we'd been led to expect, Papeete--a
bustling city that is the capital of Tahiti and also of all French
Polynesia--was very enjoyable. We didn't get to see the rest of
the island, but we did get to take advantage of the famous market (full of flowers,
fish, produce and crafts) and roulottes (food trucks parked along the
waterfront at night). The downtown park was beautiful and well-used by locals.
Best of all, we'd timed our stop in Papeete to coincide with the Heiva
Festival, a 130-year-old celebration of traditional Polynesian dancing,
singing, and sporting events (like stone lifting, fruit carrying and outrigger
canoe racing). We snagged tickets to the first night, with an opening ceremony
followed by four truly spectacular singing and dancing events. Costumes,
choreography, percussive music, rubber-legged men and swaying-hipped women: we
were fascinated, enthralled, and at times even deeply moved. This was the
Olympics of Polynesian dancing--many teams from many islands compete over two
weeks--and we were thrilled to be there!
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| Even just going to the market, many Tahitian women wear flower-print dresses and fresh flower headdresses |
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| These brightly colored fish are from the lagoons (ocean fish like tuna were also available) |
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| Market flowers were showy, and reasonably priced |
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| A string band (mixed ukuleles and guitars) busking outside the market |
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| Local kids playing soccer in the waterfront park; nearby many families were having picnics |
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| Outrigger canoes stored in the park; with lots of people in Papeete, there were lots of canoes! |
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| The roulottes (food trucks) offer a wide variety of food--French, Tahitian, Chinese--and are very popular |
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No photographs were allowed during the performance, but I snapped this before it started.
Tahiti's skyline and twilight clouds are visible in the background, and the first group's musicians are already on stage.
In front of the stage area--later cleared to just sand for the dancers--are representatives from all the competing clans.
During the opening ceremony, they bring palm fronds to the center and agree to accept the judges' decisions;
some of their orations were highly dramatic. |
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| This year's poster and program cover. Imagine 100 dancers like this! |
MOOREA
There's plenty to do and see on Moorea,
Tahiti's
little sister on the Windward Isles side of the Societies, but this time we
only had one night to spend there. We sure enjoyed the scenery around our
anchorage, though...
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| Cook's Bay, Moorea |
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| It's easy to see the volcanic crater that became this island |
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