Tahitian Tye-Dye

After several days of mostly water time or reading by the water, I thought it would be fun to do something cultural. There was a local (and very touristy) cultural center nearby that offers a luau with a show. Not our thing but they offered some craft classes, which I thought could be fun for the gals. You could learn to cook poisson cru or iaota (raw fish), weave a hat from the palms of a tree or dye clothes like the locals do. The girls opted for the latter (although getting two sisters to agree can be a challenge. Even a place as special as this could not work any magic on sisters disagreeing from time to time!) We were a bit surprised, and disappointed that the colors used were traditional coloring. I thought we'd see natural dyes but it was okay and they still had fun.

We then had the added bonus of being able to check out the grounds with replicas of traditional Tahitian life. There was even a small art gallery with replicas of Goguen's work, traditional decorated homes and other items that were were representative of life before (and after) the imperialists came. That was interesting. It was not a long outing but it was enjoyable. The heat was a bit bothersome for our moods but we were glad to have had that experience.