Tahiti and Moorea Day 4 (2 April 2018)

Let’s start with the important stuff. ‘Hello’  in Tahitian is Ia Orana (pronounced yo- rah-nah). They roll their ‘r’s here, not like the French ‘r.’  Goodbye is Nana (nah-nah, like the song, ....hey, hey, hey, goodbye). They all address you first in Tahitian, then in French. They pronounce a lot of their vowels like the French, but if there is a double vowel, like two ‘O’s, you pronounce both letters. Also, ‘Moana’ means ‘Ocean’ in Tahitian!  It’s an interesting language!

We started out the day with our favorite rooster friends waking us up two hours before the alarm clock went off. 🤨. However, it did give us time to pack and have a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. Everything was delicious. I even tried the banana juice (yes, it’s a thing here) and didn’t hate it.

I thought we were an hour behind schedule as we were checking out of the hotel. The hotel staff was really helpful and helped get the details arranged for the next few Air B&B rooms. These people really are kind and generous. 

We pulled into a gas station on the correct side of the road. All roads near the main town have barriers dividing the sides of the road. In order for you to turn around, you have to drive to the next round about. So, we found the right one, and someone pumped our gas for us. After filling up the car, Dad asked how to ask for a receipt, and went up to pay for it and ask for a receipt, in French, by himself!

When we pulled into the ferry terminal, I was told we were an hour earlier than we had planned. (I was in the shower when everything was discussed).  I rolled down my window to ask the worker where we needed to pull in.  He asked us if we had a reservation, which we didn’t. So, he asked which ferry we would like to take. When I asked him what the difference was, he said in French (no joke) that one was big and one was small. If I asked him if there were any other differences, he said that the colors were different. 😂 The people here are fantastic!  When we pulled up to park the car, the worker’s buddy pulled out a ukelele and started singing. This is the life!

Since we had an hour and a half to wait, we walked over to the guy playing the ukelele and Alex gave him a tip. He really didn’t want to take it, but when we told him he was really talented, he took it and played another song for us in Tahitian. I asked what the song was about, and he said it was about the great big sea (La Grande Mer) and taking boats to the different islands. However, he spoke French with a Tahitian accent. So, after we thanked him and walked away, Alex said it was so sweet of him to write a song about his family. (La grand-mère, pronounced the same, but means grandmother). We are having a delightful time, even waiting for the ferry with a decent breeze and ukelele music floating in the air. 

So, just an FYI, the Friday before Easter AND the Monday after are both holidays. We waited for the ticket window to open. However, it was closed until 15h30. We saw some people rushing over to another area of the ferry terminal. Turns out the catamaran section (the big boat) opened its ticket window at 6h00. From the time we stood in line, until we were sitting on the ship was less than 30 crazy minutes. We were able to buy (way more expensive) tickets and got on!

We ventured to the top to watch for a few minutes. There’s not a bad view in sight!  I turned out to the ocean for a minute and got to see where the blues meet from the sky and the ocean.  The water was gloriously navy blue.  

It took about 45 minutes on the Catamaran to get over to Mo’orea. What a beautiful island!  It feels a little more like a jungle, but with nicely paved roads and a whole lot less traffic than Tahiti.  

We made our way to Mark’s Place. It. Is. Darling. Seriously. Mark build these cute bungalows for his children to eventually inherit. In the meanwhile, they are used as air B&B’s. 

The bathroom stalls and two showers are out the back door, and are covered. However, they are outside. There are six beds (can you see the one high up on the wall)?  It is such a cute place. 

There are a few fans in the room, since there was no A/C. Holy smokes, the humidity almost made it unbearable. We took a break for about an hour. By the time we were ready to go exploring, the heavens opened up and it poured for a few minutes.  We were hoping it would cool down the bungalow. 

Mom and dad went to talk to the owner about some suggestions on different activities, while Alex and I were finishing getting on our suits. I had to have Alex help me, because I was so sweaty that I couldn’t pull it on myself.🙃

We stepped out to a crab at the bottom of our stairs.  Alex and I were trying how to jump over the crab, when we could hear mom and dad laughing. Evidently, the dog found it after it was dead, and dragged it over to our bungalow.   Not cool dog, not cool. 

Since it was a holiday weekend, the small market down the road was almost sold out of goods. We bought what we could, and then headed out for pizza, after dropping off the groceries. 

Evidently, when you get hungry in Mo’orea, the best thing for you to eat appears to be pizza. There are several small eating establishments off to the side of the road. Some just have bar stools and a counter, others are restaurant-style buildings. We found one that dad approved of, that had picnic benches just sitting out in front of it. It was next to a better grocery store option!  We found some good cheeses, French cookies, fruit, and juice there. 

Alex and I split a pizza with a crème fraiche white sauce base, potatoes, raclette cheese, bacon, French pickles, and onions (on half of it). It was a surprisingly good pizza!  (We may have been pretty hungry, but in my head, it was great)!

I asked one of the ladies who brought us our pizza why the French flag is being flown everywhere. She explained that in order to be a country, you need 1 million people. In all of French Polynesia, there are only 380,000 people. They used to be punished for speaking Tahitian (just like in Bretagne), and have only recently started teaching Tahitian in schools. It’s crazy to me how quickly you can lose your culture when you lose your language!

We finished the day by chasing down the sunset, though our timing was a little off, since we couldn’t find access to a beach. There’s always tomorrow!

We came back and played some fun games before getting ready for bed. I’m excited to take a shower! 😊 It was another great day!