TAHITI- PARADISE IN TROUBLE?

 

Everyone has a vision of Tahiti, the South Pacific, "Queen of the Pacific", this was all set in motion by the colorful descriptive romanticised writings of Bougainville's back in 1768. He recalled the sheer beauty of the islands and azure water, where voluptuous scantily clad women and muscle bound men rowing outriggers greeted the foreigners with open arms (and of course coconuts).  Unfortunately, things are changing, although there is lots of paradise to be found, the first thing I noticed is the Tahitians are big, Samoan like with huge bellies, and barefooted. No wonder, they eat big... the food trucks and local restaurants (great by the way--- Possion Crois, pizza and french fries galore) are huge portions! they can easily feed 2 foreign travelers with one serving. I kept thinking Ozempic  (GLP) would make a killing here, diabetes must be rampant... and it is between 12% to 22% depending on the diagnosis. But the funny thing, the average lifespan for a Tahitian is still into the 80s go figure-- maybe no stress, lots of fish who knows. Maybe it's because the Tahitians are happy, friendly, and have big family units which are full of love-evident everywhere you go.     

jay, judith, Loraine, & moi

We were joined by our eternal Kiwi friends, Jay and Judith. June is winter for them, so they were ready to get out of town. We met in the buzzling town of Papeete where we rented a car and took off to the White Beach on the coast of Paea, @20 miles southwest 

White Palm apts on beach

We had rented an Airbnb right on the water looking over the so called white beach, sorry I live in Encinitas, so this beach is narrow lots of coral remnants but you can still dig your toes in. That's ok, the main Island of Tahiti isn't really know for their beaches. Tahiti Nui and it's attached little brother Tahiti Nui gave us a glimpse of what Bougainville must have seen, a  towering volcanic island jutting out of the ocean with a blended tropical feel surrounded by mesmerizing blue water surf pounding the encircling coral reef.  We were quickly introduce to the wild drivers and motorcycles of the island. There is only one 2 lane road which circles the island (highly recommended to drive), and the closer to Papeete it is like driving in the Daytona 500. We had a blindside pull out from our residence... if you saw blinking lights, floor it, and cross your fingers - that means they are slowing down for you. All in all the driving is too bad. 

Teahupo'o:  ( tay-ah-hoo-poh-oh or chop-oo- I like this one, everyone pronounces it differently). The world famous killer wave is on the connected shoulder island of Tahiti Nui. The best part is you can rent a water taxi right on the beach for $30 bucks each and an experienced guide takes you out right next to wave break. Quite the experience, the wave forms a "U" shape--in and out if you are surfing. Jay hypothesized that the fresh water river next to break might have killed the coral to the left of it, suddenly stopping the break. As we water taxied up along the wave you instantly get the feel for it's treachery, and even though it wasn't breaking very big--4-6' faces turns, it out this is just as dangerous probably because the coral is so shallow if you take a head dive. As a matter of fact my friend Matt, told me the day after we were there a surfer from La Jolla died there --

This is where the French held the Olympic surfing competition in 2024 the waves were small then too. But I can just imagine what it would be like if the waves were breaking at its historic heights of 45 to 50+ feet ((15-18 meters). 

The days were full of action in the morning, but soon gave way to the heat. When we would all settle in for our naps, or a good book or sitting and watching the waves break. Around 5 things perked up and game time began and some fun times began. Throw in some beer, gin, and martini... play the game Five Crowns..  and the next thing you know the competitveness comes in an the laughter starts. Jay, our resounding champion, and after being hammered the first game, caught on unfortunately, to become the overall champion with Judith have a lock on second place. 

pic of game and view out White beach