Moorea

On Moorea I took the morning “Jeep” ride in an open back truck around much of the island and then in the afternoon Dale and I both did a boat ride. From every angle the island was lovely and well cared for. It has a population of 19,000 but lacks many services which you might want. Our guide had lived many places including other nearby islands but he preferred Moorea for its laid back lifestyle and beauty.

This is a garden of vanilla plants. I was amazed at the amount of fungus on the plants as well as all over the walls and top canopy but the gardener said it didn’t hurt the plants at all. There are many types of mangos grown on the island and they told us that these small Tahitian mangos were exceptionally sweet.

We tasted 5 kinds of jam here at the garden made from their various fruits. It appears that no one goes hungry on this island where anyone with a bit of land can grow crops all year round with no trouble at all.

We stopped later at a stream where we watched 4 foot long freshwater eels and then proceeded to a pineapple farm. There are about 400 such farms on the island, all growing a variety which is small and tender and which they use almost exclusively for beverages — from juice to champagne.

I have fought lots of weeds in my gardens but this was over the top. The tough pineapple plants just went on growing despite the vines which were trying to strangle them but were so lost among the weeds that looking out over the field you couldn’t tell that there were pineapple plants there at all. The guide stopped along the way to use his machete on some poison plants encroaching on the road lest they whip us in the eye as we passed. The beautiful scenery at the farm was undoubtedly lost on the workers who braved the very sharp pineapple leaves every step of their work.

At the factory we watched the truck being unloaded and tasted several of their beverages made from local fruits.

At an ancient site for worship and community gatherings we saw the now moss-covered alter where they used to make sacrifices and were told by the guide that they were now Christians so didn’t use it anymore. Here was the second of three guides on the different islands who told us that they were Christians. It was refreshing to me to hear a guide who, unlike those in post-Christian Europe, was not afraid to own that.

Just as in WA the abundant rain makes for beautiful moss and lichen and we were not disappointed as we drove along in the open truck. I was soaked but happy to be cooler. In the afternoon, although rain was again predicted, Dale and I enjoyed the cruise around the island, and then by 8:00 we were at Tahiti, only 20 miles distant.

The reef claimed this ship in 1919 and it makes a good area for fish today but our friends who went snorkeling didn’t see a single one. Everything is not perfect in paradise.