2005-12-15 - 3:58 p.m.

First we flew into Papeete and spent one night there in a resort that was right on the water and was totally decked out in Tiki decor - it felt like a 50s Hawaiin movie. The next day we spent in Papeete before travelling on to Le'Tahaa, a resort on a motu off the coast of the the island of Tahaa. Papeete the city was kind of run-down but fascinating, with a flea market of local crafts and souveniers that reminded me of the trip I once took to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. We met a local taxi driver named Carlos who spoke perfect Tahitian, French, and English and he showed us around and gave us shell necklaces, and ate tuna sashimi with us for lunch.

To get to Le Tahaa we had to take a plane from Papeete to Reiatea (sp?) and from there a boat to Le Tahaa. When we arrived at Le Tahaa the hosts at the resort greeted us with coconuts filled with a virgin tropical drink and an orchid flower. Then we were shown around the tiny island and to our rooms, which were overwater bungalows constructed out of wood and bamboo. Le Tahaa is, without a doubt, the most luxurious and relaxing place on the planet.

The water around Le Tahaa was shallow - between 3 and 4 feet under the bungalows and 6 feet or so a little further out and the most lovely blue color, like the sky. The sky was completely clear, and at night you could see every star in the world. On several nights that I was there I even saw shooting stars!

Dean and my favorite occupation during our 10-day stay was snorkelling, and we would jump right off the deck of our bungalows and into the water, snorkelling under the poles of the bungalows where fish gathered among the seaweed attached to the poles. We saw the most amazing fish! Big puffer fish, tiny stripey fish, red fish blue fish one fish two fish!! It was incredible! But my favorite sea creature was the legendary 'snorklepus' - My name for Dean! And his name for me -- Awwwwww :)

One day the family went on an excursion by boat to the island of Tahaa, where we were taken by jeep all over the bumpy roads of the island. Tahaa was small, and there really was only a couple of roads on the island. Our tourguide was an Australian woman who had married a Tahitian and adopted the Tahitian way of life - and so she told us in English all about the Tahitian way of life.

The people of Tahaa did not have electricity until 4 years ago, and even now they own few possessions which use electricity, most have only light and a refrigerator. So until some got radios and tvs 4 years ago, the people of Tahaa did not have much contact with the world - Their culture is pretty much the same as it has been for ages.

They make a living by growing vanilla, and almost every family on the island has a small vanilla farm. Raising vanilla takes alot of patience and carefulness - the Vanilla plant is actually an orchid, and it grows like a vine, and it must be kept in the shade. On that Vanilla vine buds produce flowers which open exactly one day the whole year, and for only a few hours in the morning. The people check their vanilla plants each morning for flowers, and when the flowers bloom they pollinate the flowers carefully by hand with a little stick, because there are no native bees to do the pollinating. After pollinating the flower, the vine will produce a vanilla bean, which the people harvest and sell once a year for their income for the whole year.

But even though the people are very monetarily poor and have almost no income, the land provides them with plenty of food to eat - They catch wild boar, or fish for meat, and they eat fruit and coconuts which grow wild on trees all over the island. They also grow and eat pineapple, which I found out grows in bushes!

The people of Tahaa were also very happy people, very close to their family, who still wore their native attire of sarongs (I forget the name they call them) and all have lovely tatoos. Everyone I met was also very kind and friendly with a good sense of humor and outlook on life.

We had the good fortune another day to take an excursion to Bora Bora. We took a helicopter from Le Tahaa to Bora Bora, where we were met by a Tahitian who took us out on an outrigger canoe to the coral reefs off the coast of Bora Bora. As he steered the boat with his feet, he sang to us on his Ukelele!

First on the agenda that day, we swam with sharks!! He took us to some deep water, near coral reefs, and threw bits of fish into the water which attracted some beautiful schools of fish, and as we were snorkelling and observing these beautiful fish, we saw some sharks in the deeper water!! Then another boat with a few tourists pulled up not too far from ours, and the guide on the boat started throwing huge bloody chunks of fish into the water, and many many many sharks came near the surface feeding in a frenzy!! When I saw the numerous sharks around me, I decided to watch their lovelyness from the boat, and got back on the boat. But Dean, ever fearless, kept snorkelling, even as fish chunks were being thrown very near his head and he was completely surrounded by feeding sharks, who (did I mention?) were in a frenzy!! Dean survived and was thrilled by the whole experience, as were we all.

Next, we went to shallow water and got to swim with stingrays. Our guide took us by outrigger canoe out to shallow water which was so clear that you could see right down to the sand. He anchored the boat and then knocked on the side of it for a minute or two, and then seemingly out of nowhere came many many stingrays, perhaps 20 of them or so, and we all got in the water and snorkled with them. Our guide brought fish chunks and let us feed the stingrays by hand - what an amazing experience! Stingrays, as it turns out, have the personalities of cockerspaniels! They were all over us, very curious, and very good natured. We even got to pet a pregnant Stingray - you could tell because of the huge bulge on her back! Stingrays are now one of my all-time favorite animals.

The 3rd excitement of the day was swimming in a Coral reef, where we saw a very dangerous eel, I forget the name of it, the kind that have been known to eat people. Boy did it look scary! It had lots of sharp teeth and it was just hiding in the rocks with its head poking out. Needless to say, we didn't swim too close, but it was exciting just to see it!

We ended the trip with a late lunch provided for us in a traditional Tahitian manner - A Tahitian family had slow-roasted a pig in Tahitian style and also made poi, a sweet desert made from bananas and a tahititian fruit, and we also got a demonstration in how coconuts are cracked open and the milk is used in dressing a raw fish salad - YUM. The family was very poor and so kind to have prepared a feast for us, what a treat to get to eat in a traditional manner. I would have liked to have eaten with the family, but they preferred that we eat by ourselves. I noticed Dean's dad give them a big tip, although tips are not custom in Tahitian culture, but it was the right thing to do and Dean's father is one of the most generous and considerate people on the planet. He tipped everyone very generously that week, without drawing attention to himself or making a show of it.

Speaking of kindness and generousity, how kind of Dean's parents to take me on this incredible trip with them!Dean's family are such wonderful people, it was a joy to be on a tiny island with them for 2 weeks, and I feel so lucky and grateful to have had the opportunity.

And Tahiti was like a honeymoon for me and Dean, we had such a romantic and beautiful time, I will always treasure the memories of spending time with him there, snorkling in the twilight . . .