Postcards from French Polynesia

Beach Paradise

When and Where: 01/2023 – Nuku Hiva (Marquesas Islands), and Tahiti, Moorea, and Raiatea (Society Islands)

Territory of France (not a country)

Interesting Facts:

· French Polynesia, a dependency of France, is a grouping of 121 Pacific islands and atolls; 75 of which are inhabited. Collectively, French Polynesia’s land is slightly larger than Rhode Island. With territorial waters, French Polynesia covers over 2 million square miles; an area larger than Alaska.

· The Tahitian alphabet has only 13 letters.

· The word “tattoo” is a Tahitian word.

After a full nine days at sea, the Holland America Zuiderdam reached port in Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia. Anxious to get off the boat and set foot on land, I walked around the scenic harbor area. The first thing visible is the giant tiki statue at the port entrance. The statue is the largest in the Pacific Ocean. From the tiki statue, a pristine sandy white beach lies below and the view above is a lush canopy of palm trees. The heat and extreme humidity limited the day’s activities. After walking up and down the main drag filled with local handicrafts, I sat and listened to Polynesian music being performed by a local band. This sleepy island is cute, but doesn’t have much to offer tourists.

Next up, the ship docked in Tahiti. We were greeted with colorful leis offered by the locals. I met up with a cruise friend and we walked to the local market. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The island locals were celebrating the Chinese New Year and there were fireworks, a giant ruby dragon, and colorful Chinese lanterns all over town. The energy was electric and the local Chinese community was out and about dressed up in their finest clothes. Speaking of clothing, there are a lot of fabric stores all over Tahiti and the various patterns filled with vivid colors frequently caught my eye. We then toured the Papeete City Hall, which doubles as a hotel. Papeete is the largest town on Tahiti and the capital of French Polynesia. Later in the afternoon, I toured the island by bus. I saw some dramatic waterfalls, noisy blowholes and inhabited black sand beaches. However, Tahiti could use some modernization. For the capital of a major territory of France, it was run down and the infrastructure on the island was in need of repair. There was litter on some of the beaches and the air was filled with the scent of rotting fruit. Overall, I was not impressed with Tahiti.

The next morning, the ship arrived at Tahiti’s sister island, Moorea. Moorea, on the other hand, was spectacular. The white sand beaches gave way to crystal clear waters. The sparsely populated island was a Pacific paradise. My cruise friend suggested we go snorkeling. We took a pontoon style boat over to a shallow island in the quaint harbor. Upon disembarkation, the tour guide sent us on our way with snorkeling gear. Meanwhile, the guide put out some bait in the waters closest to shore. As I’m about 60 feet off the coast in shallow water, I hear someone on the shore scream “Look at the sharks”. Alarmed, I began to quickly make my way back to the coastline knowing at some point, I would have to navigate through a pool of sharks. I became more panicked when I saw the sharks. Once I got back on land, my fear subsided. The sharks were docile. There were also docile sting rays. However, we were warned not to move aggressively toward them. Standing still, I had several sting rays brush up on my leg with their slimy fins. It was a weird sensation. As my confidence grew, I began to swim with the sharks and felt like this was somehow completely normal. Aside from the amazing beaches, Moorea has several upscale hotels featuring overwater bungalows. Moorea is one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited in my life.

The last French Polynesian stop was the island of Raiatea, a sleepy island slightly more active than Nuku Hiva. It rained off and on most of the day, but the rain felt refreshing. The center of town was small with a post office, a grocery store and a few souvenir shops. I took an island tour which included stops at a pearl farm, a vanilla plantation, a botanical garden and an ancient burial ground known as Taputapuatea, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Taputapuatea, which dates back to the tenth century, was a burial ground used for those chosen for human sacrifice. In Polynesian culture, there was an annual ritual where one young man was chosen to sacrifice his life to the gods. It was viewed as an honor to be chosen. After the “chosen one” was beaten to death with a hammer, an elaborate celebration took place in the man’s honor. The botanical garden was filled with many colorful species of plants. The local Bird of Paradise was spectacular with vivid red and orange hues. Although it wasn’t my favorite island, I enjoyed the chill vibe of the locals.