POLYNESIAN ADVENTURE – PART 4

Raiatea is the second-largest of the islands of La Polynésie française, Tahiti being bigger by area. Our ship docked in the harbour of the main town, Uturoa, and a short walk took us to our rental truck, a rugged Toyota Hilux, not our first choice but the only vehicle available that day. Seems we’re not the only ones on the ship who like to travel independently or who chafe at the ridiculous cost of Holland America excursions.

Raiatea's landscape is characterized by rugged peaks, a heavily indented coastline and numerous small, tiny islands, motus, that dot its surrounding lagoons. Cultivated land and settlements are found in a narrow coastal strip, the interior of Raiatea being largely uninhabited. The island economy is mainly agricultural with exports of vanilla, pineapple and coconut, though jobs in the public sector and the retail trade are also important. Pearl farming is a reliable source of income for some families who cultivate the oysters in nearshore lagoons, grade them and turn them into beautiful jewelry that they sell onsite. Tourism is important but less so than on Tahiti, Bora Bora and Moorea.

The main attraction of Raiatea is the Taputapuatea, a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising a number of worship platforms, called marae, several of which have been restored. The largest platform was built in the early 1600s with huge upright limestone slabs and is dedicated to Oro, the god of war. Its builders believed it to be the place where the world of the living intersected the world of the ancestors and gods, as well as an expression of political power and relationships.

As is the case in many civilizations, the importance of the place is linked to a succession of leaders and the gradual expansion of their power. Taputapuatea was the centre of a political alliance that brought together two widespread regions encompassing most of Polynesia. The alliance was maintained by regular gatherings of chiefs, warriors and priests who came from the other islands to meet there and conduct their rituals, including human sacrifice.

Elva and I had toured Raiatea in 2019 on a scooter on a beautiful day and remembered the vibrant colours of the roadside vegetation. Unfortunately, we were there this time on a rainy and windy day. But we made the best of it and spent an enjoyable half day visiting pearl farms, the UNESCO site, and the town of Uturoa. The photo below shows the principle marae.

Next on the agenda was Bora Bora, one of the most iconic destinations in the South Pacific. Since we’d circled the island in 2019 and the weather was less than ideal, we decided to spend time at Matira Beach and in the main town of Viatape. A taxi to the beach would have cost us at least $60 US return. We got there and back for $20, riding on the back of a truck, and it was a lot more fun!

The island's economy is driven almost entirely by tourism. Several resorts have been built on motus in the lagoons. The first resort opened in 1961 and, nine years later, the first iconic over-water bungalows were built on stilts above the lagoon. Today, over-water bungalows are a standard feature of many Bora Bora resorts, and they range from relatively inexpensive basic accommodations to the luxurious and very pricey ones.

After taking a stroll on the beach, we explored the village of Matira on foot, getting a much more accurate feel for the way things really are on Bora Bora. Life on both sides of the road couldn’t be any different. The beach side is lined with resorts and expensive houses while the other side of the road is where the locals live, the people who actually do the work. The conditions they live in are modest to say the least. To be honest, I left Bora Bora not liking it as much I’d liked Huahine.

The photo above is of the iconic over-water bungalows. The one below shows the abandoned resort next door. According to one of the locals, the failed resort was unable to recover from the COVID-caused downturn in tourism visitation.

Next on our agenda was the Big Island, Tahiti. The Zaandam eased into the dock located right in the heart of the capital of French Polynesia, Papeete. The Polynesian alphabet has only 12 letters (A, E, I, O, U, H, K, L, M, N, P, W), and each letter is pronounced individually. So, Papeete sounds like Papé’été. I find it interesting that Polynesians can say everything they need to say to one another and write down all their thoughts with 12 letters while we need 26!

Tahiti is composed of two roughly circular land masses, Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti, the two of them joined by a narrow isthmus. Both are the eroded remnants of now-extinct volcanoes, making the terrain mostly high and mountainous. About 190,000 people live on Tahiti, and this one island accounts for two-thirds of La Polynésie française’s population. Papeete and the communities that surround it are home to about 125,000, making it a good-sized city by our standards. And it certainly is big enough to have a serious traffic problem, as we were to discover on our way back to drop off our rental car.

We walked from the ship to the local Hertz office and began a clockwise tour of the island in our Kia puddle-jumper. Our first stop was Point Venus, which owes its name to the observatory that Captain James Cook established there in 1769 to observe the transit of the planet Venus as it crossed in front of the sun. The purpose of this scientific experiment was to calculate the distance between the earth and the sun, and to help navigators better estimate longitude so that they could establish a more accurate position as they sailed. The lighthouse shown in the photo was built there in 1867. Our next stop was the beautiful and impressive Faarumai waterfall which plunges 80 meters (265 feet) down the side of a cliff.

We kept driving clockwise, hoping to circumnavigate the bigger Tahiti Nui and visit the small Tahiti Iti before heading back to Papeete. Unfortunately, a landslide had closed the road, causing us to backtrack, drive through Papeete again and head in the counterclockwise direction.

The one place I really wanted to see was the Taravao Belvedere on Tahiti Iti. The countryside of the smaller island struck us as soon as we crossed the isthmus. We found ourselves in a totally foreign landscape for La Polynésie française, surrounded by prime agricultural land with rich pastures and herds of grazing cattle. We followed the single-track road to the top and were treated with stunning views of the valleys and the coastline far below. There is even an arboretum nearby, though we didn’t have enough time to explore that feature.

The drive back to Papeete was uneventful until we reached the outskirts of the capital. We soon found ourselves in a traffic jam that would make Toronto rush-hour proud. I was relieved to arrive back at the Hertz office after seven hours behind the wheel. And a half-hour stroll along Papeete’s stunning waterfront park was just the ticket! It brought us back to the ship and a well-deserved dinner.

I find it interesting to compare how tourism affects the places we visit. Hawaii and the islands of La Polynésie française have gained reputations akin to paradise, places that are both romantic and beautiful. Alas, the reality is much different, not everywhere but on most of the islands. There are exceptions, like Kauai and Huahine, both relatively unspoiled, yet stunningly beautiful. At the other end of the scale lie Oahu, Maui, Bora Bora and Tahiti, all of which I’ve found to be overcrowded and overpriced, and where local economies rely heavily on tourism. I wonder whether the fortunes of those who live there are better than those of their ancestors. But, I suppose, you can’t stay isolated from the world forever. And I like the way our island has managed things; emphasis on tourism, yes, but not all our eggs in the one basket. In a way, we’re fortunate to have a winter. It may be the only thing that keeps our island from being overrun!

And finally, I must share what I’ve been doing in my spare time. The advent of AI represents the biggest change in my lifetime since the smartphone. I have Chat GPT and Gemini apps on my phone and have been using them regularly for the past year or so. They’ve helped me plan travel itineraries and have answered questions on a variety of topics. Elva uses them too, several times a day. We’ve come a long way from the days when Encyclopedia Britannica contained more of the world’s knowledge than the average person would ever need.

On this cruise, I’ve become acquainted with my newest AI friend, Claude. I’ve been practising and have used Claude to develop model PowerPoint presentations from documents I’ve created as part of my work as an HR advisor or in my various roles on volunteer committees. I don’t see AI replacing human creativity but it sure will save time and help those in the workplace with some of the more mundane tasks. And, especially at my age, I can’t let the world pass me by…