Our first two days in French Polynesia hadn't been impressive, but fortunately things improved significantly.

Moorea ("Mo'oh-ree-ah")

Looking for a taste of the less-commercialized South Pacific, the following day we took a local ferry from Tahiti to the island of Moorea, 12km away. This was much better – relatively undeveloped and slow-paced. Having had enough of the circle-island tours in a crowded minivan, craning our necks to see the sights as the island whizzes by at 40mph, we decided to take the local bus to the beach. The bus runs every couple hours, in conjunction with the ferry arrival/departures. We found a place with a beautiful white sand beach, turquoise waters, and excellent snorkeling “at the end of the line” of the bus route.

We hung out, snorkeled, and had a lovely time. Just before two o'clock we packed up and walked back to the road, where the driver had promised to be by about 2pm. After about 15 minutes (in 90 degree heat), we began to grow concerned since the bus hadn't arrived. Not only were we worried about missing our local ferry, but our cruise ship was due to pull out of port around 5:30pm, and the Moorea ferries run only every couple hours. The story turns very complicated at this point, but eventually a woman with ties to the bus company happened to drive by and see us standing there, called someone else with a van who took us on a madcap drive around the island to try to reach the ferry, only to be stymied by road work that had turned the only road into alternating one-way roads – and we got the red light. We finally arrived just in time to see the ferry pull away from the port.

Take the Slow Boat

Not to worry, things always have a happy ending in paradise--there was a slow “local's ferry” leaving shortly – unlike the fast boat, we could sit up-top, enjoy the breeze, and take pictures. It took an extra twenty minutes, but who cares? We ended up getting back a full hour before the ship left, and as a goodbye present, Moorea gave us one of the grandest sunsets we'd ever seen as we pulled out of port.

Rangiroa

Next day, we anchored off Rangiroa, a flat, sandy coral island that is part of a large atoll. (An atoll is a ring of small coral islands, like beads on a necklace, surrounding a calm interior lagoon). This is the largest island in the atoll, about 7 miles long and less than ½ mile wide. On the side of the island facing the ocean, there was a big surf crashing and cooling wind; a ten minute walk to the other side of the island and you're at a calm, sandy beach with turquoise water. We set out to explore the island – only one road on the island, hard to get lost. There wasn't much “there” there, and so after half a mile or so we headed for the sandy lagoon side and went swimming in the 86 degree water.

This is one of the largest atolls in the Pacific – about 16 miles by 43 miles. The lagoon is surrounded by islands/reefs – except for two narrow passes, through which the tide for the entire lagoon must enter and exit twice a day. Makes for some class-5 rapids through those passes when the tide is running – a highlight of a stay here is to ride the current through the pass while scuba-ing or snorkeling. (We didn't).

Tiputa

We took a water taxi across the pass, to the little sleepy little Rangiroa south seas village of Tiputa. For the first time since arriving in French Polynesia, we felt as if we had left the Tourist Zone. It was a tidy little place of several dozen houses, with low white coral walls lining the street, and flowers blooming everywhere.

It was easy to tell that life moves slowly here. As is true throughout Polynesia, there were at least two churches in the small village – a Mormon church and a Catholic church. Probably a Seventh Day Adventist, too, though we didn't see it. The Polynesians became ardent converts to Christianity in the 1800s, and remain so today. The houses are open and airy; most people here have beachfront property.

Raitea

Our last stop in French Polynesia was Raitea. Having done enough island sightseeing by bus, we opted this time to go by boat. We zoomed up the coast—lots of nice homes, probably French ex-pats – Raitea is the secondary capital of French Polynesia, though it has little in common with its ugly older sister Tahiti. It's uncrowded, verdant, stunning. We soon came to one of the things that Raitea is “famous” for -- the only navigable river in French Polynesia. It's all of 2 km long, but it was a lush, flower-filled ride up and back

	River Scenes

Stopping at a large Mar'e

Next stop was a bit more impressive – one of the largest and most important temples (or Mar'e) in all of Polynesian. Legend is that the discoverers of New Zealand started out from this spot.

The photos don't really tell the story well. This was a massive area with many temples; sites of human sacrifice and worship. Here're two photos:

Back along the coastline

We traveled back toward town, stopping at a Motu -- uninhabited island, along the way. This motu had a little of everything, population-wise: local families, visitors (mostly from France), and now a dozen cruise ship passengers. A tiny white sand island, a leisurely 10 minute walk. Kids frolicked in the sea. A local woman roasted breadfruit and offered up a sample. We happened upon a young pair who were opening some shellfish they'd caught. We felt like we'd stumbled upon the Blue Lagoon, or something. Quite lovely.

Departing Paradise