French Polynesia Day 4

Day 4: Raitea

Raitea was probably the first island in the Society Islands that was settled most likely by Samoans. It also became the spiritual center for Polynesia.  Today, we had the chance to visit Marae Taputapuatea, the temple dedicated to Oro, the god have war, along our morning ride, and in addition, we were treated to some oral tradition with this woman telling us tales of the gods.

the Marae or temple

It seemed that every stop that Bill had planned for us included feasts of fresh tropical fruits and other island treats (Poe, a type of gluttonous  sweet bread).  Many stops also had coconuts for us with fresh coconut juice.  A great way to hydrate!

Before reaching Marae Taputapuatea we passed a school where the kids were outside for gym class that consisted of learning Polynesian dancing.  Some of our group really got into it and joined along.  The kids thought this was a hoot.

 

Again the ride was nearly flat except when it wasn’t.

After lunch, and significant hydration, Erik and I took off to dive, and Jeri and Beth went kayaking. Jeri now has a much better appreciation of my ability to keep the kayak straight!  In her defense, they were kayaking in a river with a strong current.

Our dive boat left from a marina not far from our ship, and upon arrival, I had a bit of déjà vu.  Turns out, this is Sunsail’s base where Jeri and I chartered a boat 15 years ago.  Due to an injured rib, on that trip I brought all my dive gear and did not dive, so I was really looking forward to getting under the water today. The diving was beautiful.  The corals here seem to be faring better than elsewhere (probably due to the lack of humancontact) and there was an abundance of sea life.  Black tipped reef sharks seemed particularly interested in us.  

I did learn a good lesson today, best not to ride hard in heat and humidity, then dive.  I got some terrible leg cramps at the end of the 1^stdive, making getting back into the boat nearly impossible.  On the second dive, I had more leg cramps at depth, but was able to stretch them out before it became emergent.  Now we can add “Don’t Ride and Dive” with “Don’t Drink and Drive”.  Even with the cramps, it was well worth it.

Tomorrow, we are off to the adjacent island of Taha’a that shares the same lagoon with Raitea.