Bonjour! sunrise from the boatDolphins on Tuesday!Even more rare and exciting were the humpback whales on Thursday. We visited with them for an hour.My swim to motu Ceran and back on Wednesday. I’ve never done so much open water swimming before, and I will miss doing so in “the aquarium.”motu Ceran in Taha’a lagoon (Motu means “low island.”)I wanted to try this because the local noni fruit is a superfood. However, the noni by itself is pungent, like stinky cheese wrapped in dirty socks. Luckily the contents of this little pouch tasted good. If I see any noni products at home, I will add them to my diet.
Scenes from Huahine island
young spearfishmermenMany baby whales are born here August – October.Our wonderful guide Joe told us about his amazing diving experiences with the baby whales. He was great with our crazy Swiss and American crew. We enjoyed a lot of fabulous live music. Check out that bass!
Scenes from a pearl farm
pearl farm on Taha’aThe hues and overtones in the shell’s black lip determines the color, and the oyster can produce up to four pearls over its lifetime, one at a time. It can take two to five years to culture a pearl. A seed pearl from the Mississippi river is inserted, along with DNA. After pearls are harvested, they are sent to Tahiti for x-ray to make sure they have at least 8mm of nacre. They may also be graded for size, shape, and color. I was surprised that the colors could vary this widely; most of the pearls I saw were shades of gray (more than 50, ahem). This strand costs several thousand dollars, and a strand of matching pearls can be twice as expensive. The most sought after individual pearls tend to be iridescent peacock. I was drawn to the darkest pearls – so dramatic.
Papeete
street vendors outside the municipal marketinside the marketbounty of the sea Oh, hey there Mr. Red Breakfast fish!Hotel Intercontinental grounds with Moorea island in the backgroundI’m not normally a resort person, but this was all about proximity to the airport. It worked out great: early check in and late check out made it convenient for our flights, the gym helped me prepare for said flying, and the free laundry room was a blessing. I couldn’t resist temporarily decorating one of the tikis. I hope he enjoyed the heady scent of those tiare flowers as much as I did.It was fun to ogle the fancy yachts along the impressive harbor walk and a nice way to end our stay in the South Pacific.Au revoir, French Polynesia, and mauruuru!
Honestly, this is such a beautiful place and yes–that water with the dolphins! Sooooo blue and clear. You look like you’re having a fabulous time. I love being on boats. What was it Water Rat said? Something like “there is nothing so enjoyable as messing about in boats.” But now you’ll be messing about on a bike, right?
The Journey in Between 
I can’t believe the color of the water – so gorgeous!
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Truly splendiferous!
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Ummmmm… moldy cheese wrapped in dirty socks. Be still my heart.
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Ah, Nathan, you made me laugh out loud!
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Honestly, this is such a beautiful place and yes–that water with the dolphins! Sooooo blue and clear. You look like you’re having a fabulous time. I love being on boats. What was it Water Rat said? Something like “there is nothing so enjoyable as messing about in boats.” But now you’ll be messing about on a bike, right?
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