Travels with Craig and Jeri: French Polynesia Day 5

Day 5: Taha’a

Taha’a is known as the Vanilla Island, producing 80% of the vanilla of all of French Polynesia. 100 years ago, production levels were at about 200 tons per annum, but it is now down to only about 1/8 of that. The vanilla is considered some of the finest in the world, and much of the island’s economy is based around this product.

Taha’a and Raitea were at one time a single island encircled by a reef, but as the islands sink and water levels rise, there is now a channel between the two.

We tendered over from the ship in the morning, and as the customs of the islands dictate, we were entertained by locals singing and dancing for us, after being garland with leis. They have way too many flowers here!

Riding here in the morning was a bit more challenging. We started off with 2 significant hills that were underestimated by Bill (big surprise), but then the rest of the trip around the island was flat, flat, flat.

We had several planned stops along the way including a rum distillery (good bathroom break, not so good spot to try the wares),

A community garden where we were served a beautiful Polynesian fruit spread, had coconut processing demos, and were entertained by a local band playing uke, guitar, and a strange single-stringed percussion instrument.

Our last stop before returning to the boat, was a vanilla farm where we learned about vanilla farming and production. Erik was going to pick up some vanilla powder until he saw the price tag of about $60 for an ounce. I kind of like our McCormick’s vanilla extract.

The 4 of us signed up for a novel type of snorkeling trip. We were ferried to a spot in the lagoon where 2 motus (small islands) sat close together forming a narrow channel.

Due to the Bernoulli Effect, the current passing through the channel is very strong and it is shallow enough for an abundance of coral growth. We were dropped off at one of the motus, hiked to the far end, then got in the water and road the current through the coral garden. The corals and fish were spectacular and the current gave it a Disneyesque feel.

Our first trip down was problematic, in that Jeri’s mask did not fit well and it leaked like a sieve. One of the guides gave her a mask that was probably 50 years old (check out the design), and though not as stylish, fit much better allowing her to enjoy the next 2 trips down the channel.