Moorea

                                                         

After a well needed night's sleep, we woke up to our second day in Tahiti. We were

excited about our next destination, a mote villa on the Western side of Moorea.

There we planned to rest, read, snorkel and sea kayak. We are experienced enough travelers

that we only needed an hour to get dressed, fill out bellies and pack before heading out to the

ferry that would transport us to Moorea. We normally travel with only one carry-on luggage and

a day pack per person. It makes for smoother traveling. We stopped at the Papeete market for a

few last minute food items and then made our way to the ferry. As we boarded, I said to Amara,

"I seem to take you guys to a lot of islands and on a lot boats." Her reply was something to the

effect of, "I didn't notice." (Costa Rica, Panama, Koi Chang, Hawaii, New York,

the Keys, it seems we always end up on a boat and on an island!) I love it when they have

smart answers like that. They keep me laughing!

A quick thirty ride and we arrived. We grabbed our bags, got a rental car and headed West.

Along the way we made an impromptu stop at a small beachside craft market. There were many

pearl sellers (pearls are famous here, apparently) with similar products but also some local artists

with unique items. One gentleman, Bernard, when I informed him that the girls do a lot of art

and that Havana was an artist spenta significant amount of time explaining what he made and how he made the dyes and his art.

He asked Havana mature questions about what medium she uses, what she paints (she

said she prefers abstract) and shared some interesting tidbits about art. I loved that he spoke

to the girls in such a respectful and interested manner. It engaged them and left them both inspired.

And we left with a couple of his pieces.

From there we continued on, awestruck at the beauty and thankful for the two lane road that had very few cars. The pace was tranquil. We pulled over a few times to take in the breathtaking turquoise waters. Only once before had I ever seen water that color blue and that was in Samoa. At one point, I saw a dirt road heading towards the water. I turned around, pulled in and we had a short but very sweet pit stop along the magnificent coastline. Everyone was inspired to put their feet in the water. There were some locals playing Tahitian reggae from their car radio and there were young children playing in the water, We did some dancing. We were smiling. We were in awe of the most spectacular landscape and the mana of the island filled our hearts. Deep gratitude and peace settled in.

When we reached out 'resort' (I put that in quotes because it was nothing like the typical resorts one sees on Miami Beach, Waikiki or Cancun), we settled into our well kept, Polynesian villa with a porch that was almost directly over the water. The pier that lead out to the coral reefs (which we soon discovered were a snorkelers paradise) was at our doorsteps. This would also for frequent walks to the water to take in the glorious views or to take swim. From there we would witness sting rays, sharks and the full moon over Tahiti. We also got to take in the most picturesque sunsets we'd ever been blessed to lay our eyes on.

All in all, it was a very good day.