Island Vacation

Hawaii – Road Tripping Around the Big Island or Black Sand, Sea Turtles and Snowbirds in Paradise

| 2suitcasesfor2years

There’s a saying in the low country, that “summer in Georgia is like living on Hell’s front porch.” Our winters here are usually very mild, and our neighbors tell us a dusting of snow falls about once every 13 years, and it melts away in hours. But this year 3 inches of snow fell and stayed frozen on the ground for 4 days. The counties along the coast and in southern Georgia can’t cope with this type of “unusual weather phenomenon,” and declared a state of emergency. Schools were closed, and folks were advised to stay off the roads. Traffic came to a standstill on Interstate 95 due to the icy roadway and was shut down for 2 days. State Police rescued stranded truckers by using ATVs. Our neighbors shared, “When it snows like this in Georgia, you know Hell has frozen over!”

Fortuitously, months earlier four of us from our lake community had booked a flight to Hawaii that departed the same day the runways at the Savanna Airport were cleared of ice and ready for business again.  

The balmy air was a welcome reprieve as we descended the stairs from the plane onto the runway in Kailua-Kona, on Hawaii Island or as the local folks like to say, The Big Island. But we were overdressed and overheated by the time we reached the baggage claim area and headed to the restrooms to strip off layers of now unseasonably warm clothing.

When we arrived at the Budget Car Rental office the queue was already out the door, and we watched our first Hawaiian sunset from the waiting line as the sun’s dying rays silhouetted the palm trees. This was not the romantic drinks-on-the-beach sunset we had envisioned for our first night on the island. The problem was a severely understaffed rental counter which gave priority to members of the company’s Fastbreak Program. We finally figured this out after waiting two hours, with more than one hundred other folks in a queue that now wrapped around the building. Donna realized we could download their app and take advantage of the expedited checkout program, and signed us up on the spot. As we switched lines, we shared our tip with folks around us, and we were headed out to our car within minutes. Donna acknowledges a twinge of guilt as we sashayed past all the other poor folks still stuck in that dreadful line. We’ve used Budget Car Rental flawlessly many times, but this was a horrendous experience. Fortunately, our lodging for the week at a Hilton property in Waikoloa was only a 30-minute drive north on Rt19.

Beyond the reception desk, the dancing patterns of light off the ripples of the hotel’s dramatically lit pool looked enticing. But after a long day of flying we needed a good night’s sleep.

The next morning we were up with the sunrise and out for a walk after a quick cup of coffee. The day was beautiful and there were many other like-minded couples out and about following the sidewalk that looped between the buildings of the sprawling resort.

Budha Point, a tranquil scenic spot on Waiulua Bay, that overlooked the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, was our destination. We visited here several times over the week and spotted whales breaching offshore a number of times.

It was less than a mile walk from our room through the beautifully manicured landscaping which coursed through the jagged lava fields that surrounded the Hilton Waikoloa Village, a sprawling complex with a tramway and footpaths connecting several towered hotels and pools along the seafront and the site’s lagoon.

Hawaiians have a great reverence for the ocean, and one of the wonderful things about the state are its laws that guarantee folks have a right of access along the beaches and shorelines, and that private property owners cannot obstruct access to it.

A little segway here: Hawaii is costly – think San Franciso or NYC expensive! The cost of parking is outrageous across the island, with residents parking for free and rental car drivers paying a high hourly rate at parking kiosks. Hilton guests staying in their premiere hotels around the resort’s lagoon or visitors wanting to attend the Legends of Hawaii Luau are charged $48 per day or $8 hourly for self-parking, and $55 per day for valet parking. Fortunately, the hotel we were staying in was farther away from the action and included free parking.

There was also a free shuttle bus that connected the hotels, shopping and restaurant courtyard within the complex. Several small free Beach Access Parking lots, which are closed to overnight parking, are across from excessively expensive Waikoloa Village parking lot.

Continuing our loop around the resort we came upon the Kings Highway Foot Trail, part of the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, a 175-mile narrow footpath that follows an ancient trading and communications route, through rough lava beds. Starting at the farthest spot north on the island, Upolu Point, the trail which dates from the 1500s, connected the ancient Polynesian fishing villages and religious sites along the western and southern coast of Hawaii island to the farming villages in the highlands. In places like the Waikōloa Petroglyph Reserve, ancient messages were carved into the lava stones.

Dinner and watching the sunset from the Lava Lava Beach Club on ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay is a pleasant nightly ritual for many who visit the area.

We could have spent the entire week lounging by the pool, but that’s not really us, so we planned several road trips around the island. We had driven to the hotel in the dark two days earlier, and the area around the resort was a mix of verdant greenery and sporadic patches of lava. Exiting the hotel complex onto Rt19 revealed an immense Martian-like terrain of arid inhospitable lava fields that stretch for dozen of miles down from the 4205m (13,786 ft) tall snowcapped summit of the dormant volcano Mauna Kea, and Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano that sits 4170m (13,680ft) above sea level. They represent just one of the 11 climate zones found on the island. Which means when you circumnavigate the diverse landscapes of the island, you can experience everything from lush rainforests to arid deserts.

A short part of our drive that morning was through a landscape that reminded us of the American Southwest as we headed toward Hapuna Beach, the longest and widest stretch of white sand on the island. It consistently gets ranked as “one of world’s best beaches.”

The boulders of ancient lava, from the now extinct Mt Kohala, carpeted the shoreline at Kapa’a Beach Park. An estimated one million years old, it’s the oldest of the Big Islands’ six volcanoes, and last erupted 120,000 years ago.

Rain clouds threaten us as we stopped for coffee at the Kohala Coffee Mill, in the small town of Hawi, to indulge in our “drive a little then café,” philosophy. Rain poured for a few minutes as we sipped our coffees at tables under a covered sidewalk, and waited for the shower to pass. It’s a quiet one street town with a few small shops, galleries and artwork along the street. Away from the large resorts on the Kona coast a little bit of “old Hawaii,” shined through here.

A few minutes farther up the road we stopped in Kapaau at the Statue of King Kamehameha that commands the slope in front of the Old Kohala Courthouse. Ancient Hawaiian legends had foretold, “a light in the sky with feathers like a bird would signal the birth of a great chief.” Halley’s comet passed over the isalnds in 1758, the year Hawaiians believe Kamehameha was born. For centuries warfare between clans and inter-island raids were widespread throughout the Hawaiian archipelago. Kamehameha with an army of warriors on hundreds of peleleu, double-hulled 70ft long war canoes, sailed between the islands. In a series of battles he defeated the opposing chiefs on Hawaii, Oahu, Maui, and Molokai and united the islands into the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in 1795. By 1810 the islands of Lanai, Kauai, and Niihau voluntarily joined the kingdom.

Leaving Kapaau we followed Rt 250 up into the Waimea highlands beneath Mt Kohala, a vast grasslands atop a long ridge, and home to the 135,000-acre Parker Ranch, one of the oldest and largest cattle ranches in the United States. From the road distant views of the west coast of the island were abundant. As we descended into Waimea the summit of the dormant volcano Mauna Kea poked through the clouds.

Waimea is the center of the Big Islands’ paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) country. It’s a large pretty town, with several old historic churches, colorful street murals and a tall cowboy boot marking the entrance to a shopping center. The first cattle on the island, 11 cows and 1 bull, were given to King Kamehameha by the British Naval Officer, Captain George Vancouver, in 1793. The king prohibited the islanders from slaughtering them and the small herd was left to freely roam the highlands.

In 1803 King Kamehameha received, from an American trader, the first horses to arrive on the island. The king invited vaqueros from Spanish California to the Big Island to teach some islanders cattle herding and roping skills. Eventually, the taboo against killing the cattle was lifted in 1830 by King Kamehameha III, when an estimated 25,000 wild cattle became troublesome as they destroyed farmer’s crops. Some of the cattle would be herded into the sea where they were swum out and then lifted onto waiting freighters and transported to the other islands. Hawaiian paniolos grew to be accomplished riders and over the years, have competed in numerous rodeos and world steer-roping championships. In 1999, Parker Ranch paniolo Ikua Purdy was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. We had hoped to attend a Paniolo BBQ at Kahua Ranch for a night of good food and cowboy stories, but the weather the week we were on the island was just too iffy for us to commit to it.

Oustide of Waimea on the Mamalahoa Hwy, the ring road, we headed to the eastern, or windward side of the island and traveled through verdant landscapes of thick forests and jungles, the beneficiaries of the 130 inches of rain that this side of the island annually receives from the tradewinds that bring moisture in from the Pacific Ocean.  It’s a sharp contrast to the arid western, or leeward side of the island that receives only 18 inches of rain.

The overcast sky persisted as we drove down a twisting road through a rainforest to Laupāhoehoe Point. It’s a small, beautiful peninsula, with a rough lava rock coastline. The ocean swelled and crashed against the coast with a ferocity that the beaches on the west side of the island don’t experience, unless there’s a storm.

Saffron finches scooted around the undergrowth near the water’s edge. Over the horizon Baja, Mexico was 2,000 miles away. Things are not always wonderful in paradise and a memorial commemorates the tragic deaths of 20 schoolchildren and 4 teachers who drowned as their school was swept away in the giant waves of a tsunami that pounded the northeastern shores of the Big Island on April 1, 1946. Farther south in Hilo 159 people drowned and 1,300 homes were swept away.

The Big Island has over 100 waterfalls with the tallest, Waihilau Falls at a lofty 792m (2,600ft) tall, hidden away in the remote Waimanu Valley. Some serious trekking through the rainforest is required to reach them, while there are others that are way easier to view. As much as I liked the idea of an expedition through the tropical forest with my crew to see this spectacular waterfall, they can be a mutinous car full towards happy hour. So, we opted to seek out some of the more readily accessible ones during our week on the island.

Continuing south on the Mamalahoa Hwy we stopped to view the cascading Triple-Tier Umauma Falls, thundering loudly from all the rain that had fallen lately. It’s on private property, so there was an admission fee, but they did have really tasty coconut, pineapple and mango ice-cream.

We ended our day with drinks and dinner at Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill in Hilo. It’s interestingly set in an old bank building across from some street murals. Our dinners from the happy hour menu were delicious and quite filling. In our opinion it was one of the best values on the island, and we did in fact eat there twice. Occasionally, a feral goat or donkey would be illuminated by the car’s headlights as we followed Saddle Road across the center of the island. At one point we reached an elevation of 2,021m (6,632ft) as we passed between the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. On the downhill side we could have coasted all the way back to the hotel.

Two days later we headed to Kona for their Farmer’s Market. We very much enjoy wandering about the stands at a good street market. Sadly, the Kona market was a huge disappointment, with only a handful of vendors selling tourist souvenirs and clothing. Only one stand sold local fruit and vegetables, which we did purchase to enjoy back at the hotel. Across the street we had breakfast at Papa Kona Restaurant & Bar, which had a spectacular second-story balcony perched right above the rocky oceanfront, where fishermen were casting into the surf.

Our ambitious plan for the day was to follow the Hawaiʻi Belt Road, Rt11, to the Hikiau Heiau temple on the opposite side of Kealakekua Bay from which Captain Cook landed in 1779, then hit a number of other interesting spots as we continued south to Ka Lae, or South Point as it is also known, before swinging around to the eastern side of the island, and ending our day on the volcanic black sand of Punaluʻu Beach.

Cook happened to sail into Kealakekua Bay during a Makahiki festival, a religious festival to appease the Hawaiian deity Lono, who in legend returns to the islands on a large ship. Timing is everything! Cook lucked out, his skull could have hung with other victims who had been sacrificed to appease the wrath of their deity, amidst the towering fierce tikis which portrayed Lono. The High Chief of the island ceremoniously welcomed the captain and lavished him with gifts of feathered capes, helmets, lei, and tapa cloth along with hogs, taro, sweet potatoes, and bananas. The bay is a tranquil spot now, but during Cook’s visit it would have been filled with hundreds of islanders on wa’a, outrigger canoes, and surfboards.

Continuing south we reached the Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, site of an ancient religious sanctuary. Few spots on the Big Island resemble paradise more than Pu’uhonua O Honaunau, with its brilliant white sandy beach lined with swaying palm trees, along a cove with clear blue water. For centuries before the Christianization of the island started with the first arrival of protestant missionaries in the 1820s, it was also known as the City of Refuge, where islanders who broke a kapu, an ancient law, could flee to safety to escape the death penalty their action incurred. Here an offender of the ancient ways would seek absolution from a high priest and be free to return to their village. Villagers and defeated warriors could also seek sanctuary here during periods of inter-chiefdom wars.

The most important structure on the site is Hale o Keawe, a stone and thatch royal mausoleum that contained the remains of 23 deified high chiefs. Around it, fierce looking tiki statues serve as guardians of the dead, and embody the spiritual power of the kapu.

The site also has two Hawaiian hale houses, open sided bamboo and palm frond or pili grass covered structures. Multiple hale houses were built in a village for specific uses: men’s meeting house, cooking house, separate eating houses for men and women, workshop and canoe house, and a menstruation house.

Uphill from Pu’uhonua O Honaunau we visited the Painted Church, aka St Benedict Catholic Church. It’s a simple wooden church that dates from the 1880’s, and easy enough to just drive by unless you know it has a spectacularly painted interior.

While it’s not Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, the message is the same with every surface of the interior illustrated with stories from the bible. It was all the work of one creative Belgian priest, Father Jean Berchmans Velghe. He painted these religious murals between 1899 – 1902 for his, largely illiterate congregation.

The Coffee Shack,  a laidback breakfast and lunch restaurant on Rt11 in Honaunau-Napoopoo, was recommended to us as a nice place to eat. Parking was a little difficult in their small lot, and the place doesn’t look like much from the outside, but inside they have a lanai, an open sided porch, with panoramic views over the hills leading down to the Kona coast and Kealakekua Bay. We had just gotten seated when the power went out, something that we were told happens quite frequently across the island, and the server informed us “the cook doesn’t open the refrigerator when this happens, so we only have pastries, and the coffee is still hot.” It wasn’t much of a sacrifice to content ourselves with coffee and luscious pastry.

After a snack we optimistically continued south in search of an open restaurant, and we were not having much luck. Talk of mutiny was fomenting in the back seat. This whole southern coast lies in the shadow of the Mauna Loa volcano. Past the town of Ocean View the road crossed scars of ancient lava flows that stretched from the volcano’s summit to the sea. Fortunately, we came upon the El Encanto Food Truck, which had its own generator, and was busily serving a long line of hungry patrons at its window. Our lunches were delicious! The mutiny was postponed.

The power outage also affected gas stations along our route. With the afternoon sky darkening we decided to forego visiting South Point and continue on to Punaluʻu Beach. It’s a graceful crescent shape, and we are sure on a sunny day its volcanic black sand beach lined with coconut palms would be stunning, but this afternoon it looked foreboding with a gray sea sweeping its shore, more apropos for the scene of a novel’s fictional shipwreck, than a place to sunbath.

Rain was threatening now, but as we walked back to the car, Donna was waving excitedly to us. On the beach were three large green sea turtles in a roped off nesting area. Native to the Hawaiian archipelago, they are the largest sea turtle that nests on the islands and are symbols of good luck, wisdom, and protection. It was such a pleasure to see them.

The Hawaiian legend of Kauila, tells of a mystical turtle born on the black sands of Punalu’u, who had the ability to shapeshift into a human to play with the islander’s children that came to the beach, and to protect them from the dangers of the ocean. Heavier rain sent us hurrying back to the car. It was a long but rewarding day; we agreed that the spotting of the turtles was a real highlight of the trip.

Our pursuit of waterfalls continued the next day. Recrossing the mountains during the day cast a new light on the arid windswept heights as we ascended the road under snowcapped Mauna Kea then descended towards Hilo and into verdant greenery of the eastern side of the Big Island. It was a contrast equivalent to night and day, like our two drives across the island.

Roaring from all the recent rain, Wai’ale Falls was easily seen from the bridge over the Wailuku River. There’s not any official parking, so folks just park along the side of the road and walk out onto the bridge. There is also a rough trail, through thick undergrowth, up and over the road embankment that leads to the upper falls. We followed the footpath for a while until it narrowed along the edge of a fall-off, and we decided to turn back. Though some younger, more adventurous folks had reached the top of the 17m (55ft) high falls and were fearlessly jumping into the pool below.

Downriver, Rainbow Falls, in Wailuku River State Park, was a short drive away. It’s known for, you guessed it, rainbows that frequently appear when the light is just right. The riverside park is quite pretty and has paved trails that overlook the falls where the river’s cascading water veils a shallow cave as it drops 24m (80ft) into a large stone basin created over the ages by erosion. “Legends say that the cave beneath the waterfall was the home of Hina, mother of the Hawaiian demigod, Maui.”

Our next “drive a little then café,” moment was satisfied at Coffee Girl, a cute café in a Hilo strip mall, on the way to Makuʻu Point.

Turbulent seas churned from storms blowing across the Pacific along with volcanic activity have prevented the creation of beaches on eastern coast of the Big Island. Dramatic volcanic cliffs and lava outcroppings line the windward coastline instead.

The next morning, we set out to find more ancient stone inscriptions at the Puakō Petroglyph Park, in nearby Waimea. The trail started in Holoholokai Beach Park, where there is a unique beach of black lava rocks mixed with white coral, and soon led to a gathering of petroglyphs.

The symbols were quite interesting, but it was obvious that the carvings were reproductions of ones that the trail led to. We followed what started out as a well-worn trail through a primeval forest full of twisted trees, until the trail seemed to vanish. It was a hot day, and we were concerned about getting lost, so we backtracked and turned our attention to discovering some of the smaller beaches near the resort.

Puako Bay is a few minutes south of Hapuna Beach, the island’s largest stretch of sand, which we had visited earlier in the week. It’s a tranquil bay with many public access trails from the road to small sandy beaches, and rocky coves, that folks like to snorkel in.

There was a small beach next the Hokuloa Church that offered a nice view of the bay with Mauna Kea in the distance. The church was built with lava rock and then whitewashed in the late 1850s.

Kikaua Point Park was south of our resort and access to it was, surprisingly, through a gated community. Where folks are allowed access to the beach after getting a parking permit from the security guard. A long concrete walkway led from the parking lot through a boulder strewn lava field to a lovely palm treed beach. Folks were enjoying the breeze in the shade of the trees and swimming in the warm water of an almost completely circular and shallow sandy bottom cove. It was the perfect spot to spread our towels out and go for a swim.

We only scratched the surface of this big, beautiful island. And if we ever return we would definitely go to see the array of telescopes at the observatory atop Mauna Kea. The cost of living is very high on the island, with even locally caught fish, fruit and vegetables being expenses. Folks always say eat at the food trucks; while less expensive, their prices are steep too. So, if we ever return to the island – Donna furrows her eyebrows when I say this – we are packing snacks, several bottles of wine, a jar of spaghetti sauce and pasta, along with a couple of frozen steaks that should be perfectly thawed by the time our flight lands.

Till next time,

Craig & Donna

An Estonian Road Trip: Part 3 – Hiiumaa Island: Ghost Ships, Churches and Fog

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Only the red hull of a fishing trawler tied against the breakwater was visible through the fog that cloaked the coast in its grey mist. We had just set sail from the port of Rohuküla, on the Estonian Mainland. Our destination, the village of Heltermaa on Hiiumaa Island, a short one hour crossing on the Praamid Car Ferry. We had spent the previous day exploring the charming town of Haapsalu. Fortunately, it was only a 15-minute drive to the ferry terminal, which left us with plenty of time to watch the fog-veiled activities of the port before our 8:30am sailing. Our ultimate destination at the end of the day would be a hotel in Kuressaare on the island of Saaremaa. We had debated going directly there, but thought three full days on Saarema would be too long, so we opted instead to spend a day investigating the southern part of its smaller neighbor, the island of Hiiumaa, before catching a late ferry from there to Saarema.

The fog seemed thicker as we disembarked and headed to the Pühalepa kirik, the oldest stone church on the island. We used to be fair weather photographers but have come to embrace the moody light that inclement days offer. The fog that morning provided us with numerous opportunities to hone our skills. Some fall colors were just beginning to show.

Archeological evidence found on the island’s Kõpu Peninsula date the first traces of habitation on Hiiumaa to nomadic seal hunters over 7000 years ago. Its early history is vastly unknown, but it is believed folks lived on the island seasonally, but there might have been small hamlets, as the island was near a Viking trading route. But curiously enough, the first written mention of Hiiumaa in a 1228 document by the Archbishop of Riga, creating the island as a Bishopric to Bishop Gottfried, refers to it as ‘Some empty island named Dageida.”

This might help explain why the island’s new Germanic settlers felt the need to build Pühalepa kirik, surprisingly without a steeple, as a safe haven fortress church in the early 1200s, since the indigenous pagan tribes across ancient Estonia were resisting foreign rule and the imposition of Christianity upon them. The early German influence on Hiiumaa faded after the island was conquered by the Swedish Empire in the late 1500s.

The small red roofed building next to the church is the 16th century crypt of the von Stenbocks, a noble Swedish family that had extensive land holdings on the island and played a significant role in the island’s economy at the time. The current shape of the church dates from an extensive 18th century renovation which added the steeple.

Suuremõisa Manor on the von Stenbock’s largest estate was nearby. The imposing Baroque-Rococo style country home featured a large central building with a wing on either side of a formal courtyard, where guests would arrive by carriage. Years later the property was acquired by Baron Otto Reinhold Ludwig von Ungern-Sternberg, a shipping magnate. Things didn’t go well for the Baron, and in 1803 he was accused of murdering one of his ship’s captains, racketeering, piracy, and multiple kidnappings. He was convicted of murder and sent to prison in Siberia.

Miraculously the building survived both world wars and the Soviet occupation of Estonia. Today the preserved manor house is used by two schools, one a technical college, the other a local primary school. The site maintains a very low-key approach toward visitors. After a receptionist signed us in we were able to visit several rooms where there were some amazing pieces of antique furniture featuring finely carved religious motifs. Even though the building has a contemporary use, we thought it still retained a grand understated elegance.

It was still foggy as we drove to our next destination: Kassari Chapel, nine miles away, along the island’s southern coast. After driving through a lushly forested landscape, we chuckled when turning onto a side road we saw a barn painted with palm trees. We speculated about how harsh the winters on the island might be and what tropical islands the painter dreamed of.

Much smaller than the Pühalepa kirik, the Kassari Chapel sits on the edge of a forest that backs to the waters of Õunaku Bay. A wooden church built in the 16th century stood on this site until it was replaced with this unique stone church, still covered with a thatch roof, in the early 1800s. All the worship services in the church take place by candlelight as the sanctuary has never had electricity. The quaint graveyard is almost lost in the woods, with headstones covered in moss and leaves. Many of the island’s notable poets, artists, teachers, and other island characters (a manor’s swineherd), along with several wealthy landholders are buried in the graveyard. Noticeably the wealthier folks had headstones made from imported marble, while the less well-off had iron crosses crafted by the local blacksmith.

At the crossroads nearby in the hamlet of Kassari stood a tall statue of the giant Leiger, carrying a large boulder on his shoulder, with two small islanders atop it. Leiger is an Estonian folk hero, and relative of Suur Tõll, with incredible strength, who lived on Hiiumaa. The sculpture captures the essence of one of the giant’s legendary feats when he built a bridge for the islanders across the waters of the Soela Strait that separate Hiiumaa from the island of Saaremaa, which lies to the south. According to legend, Säare Tirp, a long narrow, tail-like strip of land that protrudes from the mainland into the strait, is all that remains from his endeavor.

A place to break for coffee was difficult to find mid-week during the September shoulder season. While many eateries were noted on the map, they unfortunately were only open on the weekend. But luckily, Rannu Pubi in the village of Käina was open mid-week for lunch. Miraculously it seemed by the time we parked the car, the clouds parted, and we were able to eat outside in bright sunshine on the restaurant’s terrace. The food was delicious, and the coffee was welcomed.

The town of Käina was also an interesting stop with the ultra-modern Tuuletorn Experience Center, “a bit of a museum, a bit of a science center and a bit of a play world,” was a main attraction, along with the ruins of Martin’s Church. When it was built in the 16th century it was the largest church on the island, and could hold 600 people. Unfortunately, the church began to settle into the soil unevenly and in 1850 the corners were buttressed to prevent its collapse. During WWII the building was hit by an incendiary bomb, the resulting fire burned through the roof, and destroyed the interior.

Our stops earlier in the day were only minutes apart, so with the sun gloriously shining we returned to Pühalepa kirik and Suuremõisa Manor to take a few more outside shots on a now beautiful day before heading to catch the 4PM ferry from Sõru to Triigi, on Saaremaa.

The Rudolf Tobias House Museum, a centuries old farmstead, and the 1873 birthplace of the famous Estonian composer and organist, was on our route. The museum was closed, though we were able to walk around the grounds. Across the road we plucked some fruit from some wild apple trees.

First noted in 1254, Sõru was for centuries an important fishing harbor and its waterfront was lined with fish processing sheds. A ferry has run from the inlet since the time of Swedish rule, when two energetic young men first offered the service. The village’s ship builders used the plentiful pine and oak timber from Hiiumaa’s forests to construct vessels up until 1939, when Estonia’s last large, ocean-going wooden boat, the three-masted motor merchant ship Alar was launched, with the crack of a champaign bottle across its bow. Efforts are underway to fully restore the historic vessel after it was found in Denmark, after sailing the seas under several different flags. Today, Sõru is a small quiet harbor with a limited number of berths, a campground, and nautical heritage museum.

The ferry boat from Sõru to Triigi was much smaller than the morning ferry from the mainland, and only sails twice a day, so if you are traveling via car a reservation is highly recommended.

We boarded the 4PM ferry and struck up a conversation with a young woman who had spent several months bicycling camping her way from Paris through the Nordic countries and was now returning to Europe through the Baltic states. “It’s been a tremendous journey, but now that the weather is changing, it’s time to head south.” It was only mid-September, but there was a definite chill in the air, and we also wondered how many fair-weather days lay ahead.

Over the course of seven hours, and driving about 55 miles, we had a thoroughly delightful, leisurely day exploring the southern part of Hiiumaa Island. It was confirmation that our decision to detour through Hiiumaa, instead of heading directly to Saaremaa Island, was a good choice for us.

Till next time, Craig & Donna

Sailing to Bora Bora: Magic Mountains, Sacred Eels & the Turquoise Waters of Tahiti

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I teeter-tottered to the bow and gently landed on my back into a lounge chair, like a turtle out of water, my hands and feet waving in the air. My unbalanced ballet was appreciated with oohs, aahs and the friendly chuckles of our congenial shipmates from Poland, Germany, France, Spain, England, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. We’d just left Papeete’s Nanuu Bay and had entered the gentle swells of the Pacific Ocean, and my sea legs were not accustomed to the ocean’s rhythms yet. The captain had just unfurled the sails of Variety Cruises’ MS Panorama II, a beautiful, 24 cabin, 160ft motorsailer, for a sailing adventure through the Society Islands of French Polynesia to Bora Bora. Our first stop was Moorea.

The shoreline of ‘Ōpūnohu Bay hasn’t changed much since the cry “land ho!” came down from the crow’s nest of the HMS Resolution during Captain Cook’s third and final voyage around the Pacific, in 1777. Remarkably, there are not any multi-story massive hotels disrupting the serene beauty of the bay, only the verdant flora rising steeply into the jagged mountains which surround the bay. The only hint of modernization, a few small cottages, barely visible through the palm trees, were sporadically placed along the shore, and an inflatable Zodiac which raced by.

Cook wasn’t the first European to arrive in the Islands. In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan sailed through, and was probably advised by the Inquisition Officer aboard not to land, fearing that witnessing a hip-shaking Ote’a dance would condemn the sailors to years of purgatory, and so they sailed on. Two hundred forty-seven years later the French Captain, Louis Antoine de Bougainville arrived and viewed the islands as “a paradise found on earth.” Wanting to name the islands after the legendary birthplace of the mythical Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, he called it ‘La Nouvelle Cythere.’ So began the myth of paradise found on earth.

Anchored in the calm waters of the bay, the swimming ladder was lowered for a short while before dinner, and we enjoyed the warm water. So blue and clear, the polar opposite of the murky grey waters of the North Atlantic off New England, which we were used to. Before dinner the captain introduced us to the crew, assembled from Greece, Bali, the Philippines, and Tahiti. After a week together we appreciated their cohesive professionalism and amiable nature. Dinner was always a sumptuous affair, under the canvas canopy of the upper stern deck, that was usually timed to coincide with the sunset. We especially enjoyed the locally caught Mahi Mahi and various tropical fruits that were delicious. Ubiquitous on Tahiti, French baguettes were even served daily and in a nod to the Greek crew, an excellent feta cheese, imported from Athens, was available for the salads.

The next morning, we packed our dry sacks in preparation for a wet landing, using the ship’s small Zodiac to beach us at Ta’ahiamanu Beach. The clarity of the water was amazing, and the white sandy beach sparkled, as gentle ripples washed ashore. The bay is a natural harbor, with a passage through the island’s encircling reef wide enough for large cruise ships to sail through. Yet the reef is substantial enough to absorb the energy of the Pacific Ocean’s relentless pounding against it, leaving the small waves that reached the beach barely noticeable. We had time to amble along the beach until the groups separated into various tours.

Six of us climbed into the bed of a Toyota 4×4 pickup truck, outfitted with bench seats and a canvas awning, in case of rain, for a tour of the island. The cool rush of air felt good in the day’s already building humidity, as we drove along the coast. It was a little unusual considering it was well before noon, but our first stop was at Manutea TahitiRotui Juice Factory & Manutea Distillery for a tasting. We are not big fruit juice fans, but the Rotui juices – Papaya Passion, Mango, Banana Vanilla, Pineapple, and their various blends, all organic, were delicious. The aged rums are created from distilled O’Tahiti sugar cane, a flavor heirloom variety that thrives in the volcanic soil of the Polynesia islands. Captains Cook and Bligh brought this variety to the sugar plantations of the English colonies in the Caribbean. For nearly a century afterwards the O’Tahiti sugar cane variety was the most widely cultivated in the world. Saluting the old adage, “the sun is over the yardarm somewhere,” we enjoyed our daily ration of rum, and  even purchased a bottle of Coconut flavored rum to take home. Cheers!

Our tour continued into the center of the island where the fertile ‘Ōpūnohu Valley is surrounded by a crown of four rugged peaks, created from the collapsed cone of an ancient volcanic eruption. Mount Tohiea, at 3959 ft, is the highest peak on Moorea. It’s followed by Mt Rotui, at 2,949 ft, and Mounts Mouaputa & Maturaorao, at 2724 and 2700 feet. Of the four, only Mount Rotui is hikeable.

Driving along a dirt track through rolling acres of pineapples and sugar cane, our guide stopped and with a small machete cut a fresh pineapple from the field and deftly sliced it, without getting any juice on himself. He explained that Queen Tahiti pineapples thrive in the volcanic soil here, though smaller than the famous Dole pineapples grown on Hawaii, which are good for canning. Queen Tahiti pineapples are sweeter, have a smaller tender core, and are better eaten fresh.

Tahitian myths and gods are associated with mountains throughout Polynesia. Though Mouaputa is not the island’s tallest mountain, its shear pinnacle shape with a hole through its summit, like the eye of a needle, spectacularly sets it apart from the others. Passed down through generations for more than a millennium, Tahitian’s oral lore tells a story about Hiro, the god of thieves, and his cohorts, who rowed a large war canoe across the ocean from Raiatea one night and tried to steal sacred Mount Rotui, where it was believed the souls of the dead begin their journey to heaven. Seeing this thievery from Tataa hill on Tahiti, the famous warrior, Pai, a demi-god, threw a magic spear crafted from hibiscus wood across the 11 miles of ocean separating the islands, in order to stop them. Missing its target, the spear punched a hole straight through Mount Mouaputa with such an enormous bang it woke all the roosters on the island. Fearing the whole island would awaken from the rooster’s cacophony of crowing, and discover their treachery, the thieves fled emptyhanded.

Later we pulled down a shady lane and stopped at a narrow, fresh-water stream, where we followed our guide into the shallow, barely ankle deep water. We had stopped to see the sacred blue-eyed eels of Moorea. The surface of the water was very still, with barely a ripple, until our guide ceremoniously reached into his rucksack and withdrew a magic can of mackerel to chum the water. Suddenly the water around our group erupted with a dozen or more 4-6 feet long eels racing toward us from all directions!  They squirmed and splashed in a frenzy around us, fighting for pieces of mackerel. Tahitian legend believes the eels are the reincarnation of the God Hiro, who after his death assumed the shape of an eel and took on the responsibility of keeping the island’s freshwater streams and springs clean. The eels are a protected species across Tahiti, and are also believed to possess healing powers that can cure disease and bring good fortune to anyone who touches them.

Reaching the Belvedere Lookout, we were rewarded with a pristine panoramic view, without any hint of mankind in the landscape, centered by Mount Rotui, and flanked by ‘Ōpūnohu Bay on the left and Cook’s Bay on the right. Afterwards we stopped a short distance away at Marae Ti’i-rua and Marae-o-Mahine, where tiered open-air platforms had been constructed with rounded lava stones, and used for religious ceremonies and sacrifices. During Captain Cook’s third and final visit to Tahiti in 1777, he along with several other officers from the HMS Resolution witnessed a human sacrifice held on Moorea to ensure the success of a war party against a neighboring island.

Tahitians are practical and for centuries the lava outcropping behind the village of Papetō’ai, near the reef on the edge of ‘Ōpūnohu Bay, was simply called the “hill behind Papetō’ai.” Its name change probably happened in the 1960s after the opening of the Tahiti International Airport and a marketing executive was tasked with drawing tourists to islands. I can just imagine the conversation, “Listen folks, who wants to fly across the Pacific, or sail around the islands to visit a hill? Now Magic Mountain, that creates an impact!” Signed, sealed, and delivered. The rutted road up was very steep and the six of us bounced and swayed quite a bit in the back of the 4×4 and when we stopped, we still had to walk up a rough zig-zag trail to the summit. But it was well worth the effort for tremendous views of the mountains, reef, and bay, with the Panorama II tranquilly anchored below us. Our guide pointed out an octagonally shaped red roof at the water’s edge in Papetō’ai. “That’s a church, the Église protestante de Saint Michel, the first western structure built in the South Pacific. It was built by Protestant missionaries from the London Mission Society in 1827 atop the ancient Marae Taputapuatea, which was dedicated to Oro, the Tahitian god of war.”

After dinner, we pulled anchor and sailed through the night to Huahine, and tied to the quay in Tahateao just as the sun was breaking the horizon, We shared the dock with an inter-island ferry readying to get underway. The quiet unpretentious street harkened back to a different bygone era. Huahhine is actually two islands, Huahine Nui and Huahine Iti, connected by a short bridge. Legend believes that the Tahitian troublemaker Hiro sliced the island in half when he paddled his canoe through it.

Women are revered on the island, and islanders attribute the land’s fertility to the mountain silhouette that looks like a pregnant woman lying on her back. Huahine meaning, “woman’s womb.” There is a long history of Queens ruling Huahine, and they are credited with a sacred power and wisdom, often counseling their warrior chiefs to make love not war, especially as the British Navy began to explore the islands of Tahiti.

We joined a tour heading to see the marae that line the shore of Lake Fa’una Nui, a shallow saltwater bay. Our guide explained to us that there are over 200 ancient stone ceremonial sites, of various sizes, around the lake, which were central to the community’s religious life. There are more hidden on the forested and jungled hillsides of the island’s mountains, some dating to the arrival of the first Polynesians around 700 AD. After the marae are discovered and if the sites are not maintained, the jungle grows quickly over them again. This is the reason the island is commonly called, ‘the Garden or Secret Island.”

Farther along we stopped at the bridge over the saltwater estuary that feeds Lake Fa’una Nui to view the ancient V shaped stone fish traps that are still used communally. A sandy road led us to the Marae Manunu, a very substantial stone platform that stood taller than us. It was quite different from the earlier ones we viewed, which were low to the ground, like patios. It was along the road here that we noticed gravestones in front of houses; it is a Polynesian custom to bury your deceased family members close to home, often in the front yard. There is usually more than one grave. It’s a custom that stems from the ancient belief that the spirits of your dead relatives will protect the family home from evil spirits. The mountains of Huahine aren’t as dramatic as on Moorea, but the vista from the Maroe Bay Viewpoint out over a verdant jungle, and the azure waters of the bay with Mont Pohu Rahi, on Huahine Iti behind it, was sublime.

We’re all familiar with those epic aerial photographs of Bora Bora, a volcanic atoll, with Mount Otemanu rising from its center, like a spear thrust up through the crust of the earth, ringed with white surf, and  surrounded by an artist’s inviting palette of blues. It’s an expensive perspective you’ll only get if you fly into the island, but sailing through the reef is truer to the Polynesian way of life – smelling the air, tasting the salt spray blown up from the bow of ship lunging forward through the waves, feeling the wind on your face, and listening to the surf crash against the reef. For us it was a rewarding tactile journey. We had crossed the waves and arrived.

Bora Bora has been a romantic destination since the publication of James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific, a collection of related anecdotes garnered from his time in the South Pacific during WWII, and which was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Later the book was brought to the stage as a Broadway musical by the playwrights Rodgers and Hammerstein. South Pacific the movie premiered in 1958. Resorts with thatched roofed overwater bungalows, a new concept in the 1960s, followed. Tahiti was suddenly an exotic honeymoon destination with bragging rights, and the island still retains its allure.

With two days scheduled in Bora Bora, it was time to get our feet wet again and we signed up for a snorkeling excursion. The tour group boarded a motorized catamaran which made 4 stops as we circumnavigated the lagoon, known for its concentration of marine life. Our first stop was to see sting rays and black tip reef sharks.

The 80°F/27°C water was perfect for snorkeling without a wetsuit, and the clarity of the water was amazing, making it easy to attempt some underwater photography. I have a new respect for the photographers that document marine life – it’s not easy. Pulling anchor, we motored along the shoreline, the captain calling out the name of the resorts and any celebrities that might have vacationed there. The underwater coral garden just off the beautiful palmed lined shore of Pitiuu Uta, a small islet or motu, had us imagining a Robinson Crusoe adventure and Tom Hank’s character in Castaway, though we didn’t spot any wayward volleyballs floating along.

The water was deeper here and the naturalist who accompanied us warned us not to stand on the endangered coral. Even as our party tried hard to avoid contact with the reefs, the currents made it difficult, and Donna and another person discovered the hard way that coral is sharp! It was a great spot for a variety of fish, and we enjoyed finding giant clams embedded into the reef. The colorful lips of their shells were the only clue to their presence. It was easy to appreciate the beauty of Bora Bora as we motored along.

Off the Tā’ihi Point we stopped to snorkel with large manta rays which swam close to shore, and appreciated the joy and enthusiasm of four black dogs that frolicked through the surf to join us. They swam safely back to shore as we departed.

Beaching at a motu, we enjoyed refreshments and snacks. Some of us joined an impromptu game of volleyball, as others relaxed in the water or walked along the beach to savor the view of Mount Otemanu.

The next day we continued with an outrigger taxi ride along the lagoon’s waterfront before wandering around the small village of Vaitape. Remarkably, Bora Bora is not overrun with a intensely developed tourist infrastructure. The resorts with overwater bungalows are barely visible from the mainland. And a walk along the main road through Vaitape revealed a town that has kept its laid-back identity, hosting stores geared for the islanders. There are not any international fast-food joints or coffee shops, though there are several art galleries and a pearl shop. Fishermen still display their daily catch along the roadside along with farmers selling fruits and vegetables. There are several small grocery stores in town as well.

Walking back to our ship along the quay, we noticed a memorial to the U.S. Navy Seabees who arrived on the island in February 1942 after sailing from Charleston, South Carolina. The 150 men were tasked to build a fuel depot and airfield. It was the first of many naval air patrol bases built on various islands across the South Pacific to keep communication channels open with our allies during WWII. Later they built roads around the island to strategic points for the placement of naval artillery batteries to defend the island. And they brought electricty to the island for the first time. After the war the airfield they built was passed to civil authorities and it became Bora Bora’s Motu Mute Airport which accepted international flights from Los Angles through Hawaii, before Papeete’s airport was constructed. The Seabee memorial resonated with Donna, remembering her dad’s stories from WWII, when he was a young, 18 year old sailor on a fuel-tanker making frequent stops to this enchanting paradise.

By the end of the day the weather had turned and our overnight passage to Taha’a across a tempestuous sea was the roughest of our cruise. If you expect verdant jungle in paradise, you need to accept some rainy days. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t break, and we stayed onboard all-day watching movies, playing board games, and reading.

Overcast skies followed us to Raiatea, but we kept our plans with several other passengers and toured along the coast in an outrigger canoe to the Faaroa River, which flows from the mountainous interior of the island. Our hope for the day brightened as the sky cleared and brilliant colors returned to the landscape. It lasted only a brief time until we were deluged with rain. The Faaroa is referred to as the only navigable river in Polynesia, but during our visit the river narrowed as it travelled through the jungle and was blocked by a fallen tree. It would be perfect for exploring with a kayak.

Afterwards our guide explained as our outrigger headed towards the Marae Taputapuatea archeological site that Raiatea, meaning “faraway heaven,” is believed to be the homeland, Hawaiki, in Polynesian legend, and the island from which the colonization of the South Pacific began around 500AD. Polynesians wayfarers sailed across the great expanse of ocean, using their seafaring knowledge of the stars, wind and waves to reach Hawaii, 2500 miles away to the North, and eventually reaching New Zealand 2400 miles to the south, and Easter Island 2800 miles east – the area referred to as the Polynesian triangle. These were amazing weeks-long voyages in double-hulled, sailing canoes, with folks aboard exposed to the weather.

The Marae Taputapuatea was not only a religious ceremonial site, but also a place where the knowledge of the sea was passed down from generation to generation. The bravery of these wayfarers was immense, but they followed a belief that “under a chosen star there is a land that that will provide us with a new home.”

The last evening of the cruise, the sky cleared, and our cruise director, a vivacious Tahitian woman, arranged for a local ukulele trio to come aboard and entertain us on the top deck, as she and a crew member demonstrated the three different styles of ‘Ori Tahiti, the Polynesian dances, once banned by the first missionaries that arrived to the islands, from which Hawaiian hula evolved. Between songs she explained the characteristics of the types of dance: the slow, graceful motions of Aparima, which mixes hand and body movement to tell a story in a kind of elaborate pantomime; the lively Ote’a, similar to Hula, and danced to drumming; and Hivinau, a group dance performed as a  communal celebration in a group circle with singing and clapping.

It was a wonderful evening of shared camaraderie. Our adventure complete, and the night darkened; the stars we’d follow back to Papeete, and eventually home, sparkled above us.

Till next time,  Craig & Donna

Road Trip Tahiti: Black Sand, Waterfalls and Sunsets or Enjoying a Week in Paradise

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“What do you think about Tahiti?” Donna asked.  “I haven’t, honestly – it’s not on my radar.” “There’s this very good airline points sale to Papeete. I think we should go!” And so, we made it happen.  It’s one of our great pleasures in retirement, the ability to indulge our desire to see the world. Though the statement that Tahiti was not on my radar might not be exactly true.  James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific might have been the first book I freely chose to read as a teenager, fifty-plus years ago; the catalyst was my dad’s dream of building a sailboat to sail around the world. Frustratingly, our sailing never extended beyond Long Island Sound, but the lifelong desire to explore had been instilled in me.

It was a long sixteen-hour flight from the east coast of the United States to San Francisco with a final connection to Papeete on Tahiti in French Polynesia. Arriving just before 9:00pm, we opted to taxi to our three-night apartment rental, Little Home Tahiti, a small studio apartment chosen for price, onsite parking, and short walking distance to the car rental agent – Tahiti Rent.

Checking into Little Home Tahiti was a bit unusual: instructions to access the key to the apartment building and garage door fob from a key box were hanging from a traffic signpost in front of the building (our payment, Tahiti has the prettiest currency, was to be placed there too.) The next morning, after excellent coffees at Kaūa’a Tahiti, just around the corner (they roast the coffee beans in the café), we walked a few short blocks to the Marché de Papeete, the town’s old central market.

The 2-story building still has several fruit and vegetable vendors, fish mongers and exotic flower stalls. Most of the space is now, though, is filled with folks selling handicrafts, souvenirs, and Tahitian black pearls, for the tourist trade. Afterwards we picked up our rental car – an easy procedure, with the caveat that we would need to vacuum out the beach sand, before returning the car. We thought this was an unusual request, as most car rental companies that we’ve used have provided this service. Not being local, I asked where I would accomplish this and was informed most gas stations have vacuums available. Easy enough in theory, but nine days later after stopping at five different gas stations, I was not able to find a vacuum pump. Upon returning the car the rental agent was ready to charge us an additional fee for a small amount of sand, difficult to avoid on Tahiti, on the car’s front floor, until I pointed out that we interrupted him from vacuuming a car when we pulled into the lot.

While the airfare to Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia, was relatively low, restaurants and hotels in this isolated paradise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean are expensive. This is the direct result of having to import nearly everything from France, China, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. So, to keep within a reasonable budget for nine nights, we chose to stay in three different self-catering apartments across the island. We’ve always enjoyed checking out the local grocery stores and markets during our travels, and enjoy cooking in. Food trucks were mentioned as a budget friendly alternative to restaurants; although good, we found these to be not nearly as inexpensive as you would think. Surprisingly, freshly caught tuna and mahi-mahi were reasonably affordable in restaurants and stores. We enjoyed preparing it several times during our stay.

Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, is a small city with a population of roughly 27,000. Its popularity as a booming destination was never envisioned and the traffic in paradise is just as bad as NYC’s at rush hour, since most of the island seems to drive to work here. To help alleviate the morning and evening congestion they use a road zipper, moveable barrier systems, to reconfigure the incoming and outgoing lanes of traffic at rush-hour. The city’s antiquated footprint was inherited from the days when the town was viewed as only ever being colonial backwater.  Fortunately, the town is thoroughly walkable.

Surprisingly wonderful street murals grace the side of many otherwise dull city walls. Many of these beautiful pieces of art were sponsored by the Ono’u Festival, a street art event that has been held in Papeete since 2014. We used this street art map to help plot our walks around the different areas of the city. There are murals spread all across the city, but several of our favorites were located along the Rue Mgr Tepano Jaussen near the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Papeete, a French colonial era church from 1875.

Closer to our temporary home, the Résidence Paraita, an apartment building, was totally immersed in an abstract design by the Spanish street artist Okuda, which we could see from the balcony of our apartment.

We also enjoyed the walk along the waterfront promenade to Pā’ōfa’i Gardens and the Papeete Marina, where it was interesting to see the different home ports painted on the stern of wandering sailors’ boats. San Francisco, Sydney, Barcelona, Paris, Rio. The boat crews enjoying a safe anchorage before continuing their journey.

Further along we had drinks at the over-water tiki bar of the Restaurant Le Moana and watched with amazement as the bay in front of us filled with just off from work Tahitians who took to the water in Polynesian outrigger canoes, called “va’a,“ and larger longboats, practicing in preparation for a number of races around the islands that take place each year.

The longest and largest, with over 100 teams participating, is the Hawaiki Nui Va’a Race, in which six-person crews paddle across 79 miles of ocean in three days. Starting in Huahine they visit Raiatea, and Tahaa before beaching their canoes on Bora Bora.

This is one of many races around Tahiti keeping alive the nautical heritage of their Mā’ohi, ancient ancestors’ incredible ocean-going feats in search of new horizons. Folks stayed on the water until sunset, one of the most colorful we experienced while on the island. The last of the day’s inter-island ferries sailed toward the sunset.

Also on the waterfront in Place Jacques Chirac is a full-size replica of an ancient Polynesian wa’a kaulua, a double-hulled, long distance, sailing canoe. Just looking at it made us realize what an amazing accomplishment it was for the early Polynesians to cross vast stretches of unforgiving ocean.

Walking back through town we stopped at Vini Vini Fish N’Chill for dinner. It’s a small casual place, with inside and outside tables, that grew as an off-shoot from the families long-line fishing fleet and serves poke bowls, tartines – a French open face sandwich with various toppings, sushi and of course burgers. Occasionally they’ll host a ukulele band outside on the sidewalk.

Outside Papeete the traffic eases tremendously and we took several short day-trips out into the surrounding area, traveling along the north coast to the Pointe Vénus lighthouse in Māhina. Built in 1867, on a black sand peninsular that juts into Matavai Bay, it was the first lighthouse built in the South Pacific and equipped with a powerful beam that could be seen by ships 215 miles out to sea. It takes its name from an event on Captain James Cook’s first voyage around the world, when on June 3rd, 1769, Cook and his accompanying astronomer Charles Green set up equipment to observe the transit of Venus, a small black dot, travelling across the Sun. From the shore here looking north the blues of the sea gradated seamlessly into the sky, a vast endless emptiness that Polynesians explored and found Hawaii, 2600 miles away, 1200 years ago. The brightly painted Église Getesemane de Mahina along the road to the lighthouse was definitely a worthy photo stop that epitomized the Tahitian celebration of color.

Later we headed to the O Belvédère, a remote French restaurant, located in the foothills of 7,352 ft Mount ‘Orohena, the island’s tallest peak and the highest mountain in French Polynesia. The restaurant is only open for lunch and dinner Friday – Sunday. Unfortunately, we visited earlier in the week, but the staff kindly let us take in the breathtaking views, over the rugged foothills which extend to the coast, from its balconies.

It’s definitely a destination restaurant and part of its allure is the harrowing 3.5 mile drive, not for the faint of heart, up a single-track, heavily potholed road through dense jungle-like forest that dead ends at the restaurant. There was barely room for the rare oncoming car to pass. It’s not a drive we would undertake in the dark. Guided hikes to Mount ‘Orohena and 4×4 safaris into the mountains can be arranged through local tour operators, as there are not any roads that cross Tahiti’s mountainous interior. One the way back to Papeete we passed and then circled back to photograph the Mairie de Pirae, the local town hall, a beautiful example of French colonial architecture that seemed out of place on the tropical island.

The morning of our checkout from Little Home Tahiti, just as we had finished our coffee and zippered the suitcases, the power to our building went out. Not usually a big deal, but we were staying on the 5th floor and the car was in the underground parking. The heat and humidity builds quickly in the tropics without A/C. We called our host for a situation update, only to be informed that it was an island wide power outage, something that, it turns out, happens rather frequently. The big question for us, was the electric gate to the underground garage functioning? We were reluctant to walk down seven flights with only the emergency stairwell lights and the weak flashlights on our cell phones. After an hour of indecisiveness, I slowly carried our suitcases downstairs to the car and was very relieved to find the gate wide open. I parked the car on the street, called Donna and relayed, “We’re free – let’s go!”

The intersections required caution as the traffic lights were also down, but once we followed Route 1 away from Papeete the prevalence of traffic circles was a blessing. From the air, the island of Tahiti is shaped like a flounder or beaver with a larger upper body and smaller tail. Similar to the way Tahiti Nui, the larger main island, connects to the smaller Tahiti Iti, at the narrow Taravao isthmus. It’s difficult to get lost on Tahiti considering the ring road, Route 1, is only 72 miles long and transverses a narrow coastal plain that encircles the island and separates the ocean from the abruptly steep mountainous interior. The road starts and ends in Papeete, with short spurs down the east and west coasts of Tahiti Iti. It’s a modest distance that we gave ourselves seven days to cover, split between exploration of the island and R&R. Our target at the end of the day, after multiple stops, Soul Rise in Nutae on Tahiti Iti, a rustic attached bungalow, with a private cabana and shared pool, for three nights.

Following the ring road east we stopped at the Arahoho Blowhole. It’s a geological curiosity, as it’s not the usual type of blowhole that exists right at the ocean’s edge and water is pushed up through a crack in the rock. Here water is vented quite a distance inland from the sea as a fine mist after being pushed back forcefully by the waves through an ancient, long and narrow lava tube. The park here has picnic tables and a black sand beach that surrounds a small cove that’s popular with surfers.

Located at the end of the road, almost directly across the street from the blowhole, the Fa’aruma’i Waterfalls were beautiful. This first was an easy walk from the parking area, but the second two are reached by an eroded and rocky trail that took some effort for us to negotiate before crossing a rickety suspension bridge and climbing farther into the hills. There were numerous photo stops along this drive, especially at the bridges over the rivers, that give a glimpse into Tahiti’s rugged, verdant interior.

Closer to Tahiti Iti, La Cascade de Pape’ana’ana was a hidden gem barely visible from the road. It’s a mysterious site with figures of a tribal chief and a woman carved into the stone face of a small waterfall. No one knows when or who created it. There were numerous waterfalls and beaches along the east coast of Tahiti Nui just waiting to be explored.

We reached Taravao late in the afternoon, at the time when most restaurants are closed until dinner. We opted to eat at the local McDonalds, something we rarely do, especially when traveling abroad. But we were pleasantly surprised with tasty McWraps, and the coffee was good. But one of the memorable things about this stop was the appearance of a young father and his daughter dressed in matching pinks tutus, enjoying each other’s company and lunch together. It’s not something every dad would do, and I would have loved to know the backstory, but I admired him for his self-confidence, and that he didn’t perceive this playfulness as eroding his masculinity, just a desire to please his little girl. Something I can relate to.

Afterwards we stopped at the local Carrefour, which was as fully stocked as any supermarket in France, though the prices were through the roof, as high as if we were living in Paris. We purchased tuna, mahi-mahi, some vegetables, salad, and a fresh baguette for dinner. Croissants and French style pâtisseries were gathered for breakfast. A bottle of French rose’ and a 6 pack of locally brewed Hinano beer rounded out our purchases. Curiously, the beer’s distinctive and elegant “vahine” logo of a Tahitian woman wearing a red pareo was painted by a fellow from Sweden in 1953.

With the groceries put away and the beer in the fridge, we cooled off in the pool. Tahiti was one of our warmest vacations with daily temperature in the mid-80Fs, with high humidity. Usually we target locales with spring-like weather. Fortunately, along the coast there was always a cooling breeze blowing in from the ocean.

The next morning, we walked a short distance and crossed the road to a black sand beach, created eons ago from volcanic eruptions. Following the local folks’ example lead we rinsed off after our swim under a pipe, driven into the hillside like a spout into a barrel, gushing spring fed water from the highlands.

Later we headed to Tautira for lunch at Le Bout du Monde, which sounds so elegant in French, but translates as “The End of the World,” and aptly describes the locale, with the coast of South America nearly 5,000 miles east. The road literally stops here, as there is not a coastal plain around the southern tip of Tahiti Iti that is suitable for a road. The mountains descend into the sea here. Folks live along this isolated eastern coast but need to use boats to get to their homes. Rustic simplicity best describes Le Bout du Monde, with its walk-up ordering window, and wallboard menu. There were several dishes listed, but I think they only serve the catch-of-the-day. Picnic tables were around the back under shade trees at the edge of the ocean. Only us and another couple were there. The fish was delicious!

Afterwards we took our time walking along Tautira’s beautiful black sand beach set against the mountains. On the way home we noticed people standing by the roadside in front of their homes. Some were holding umbrellas to shield themselves from the intense sun. Soon a van stopped and handed the people waiting a paper bag, with tan colored oblong shapes protruding from the top. Aha! We realized folks had been waiting for their rural baguette delivery, fresh from the bakery. It’s so wonderfully French.

We have never surfed, though we were intrigued by the spectacular photos captured of the surfers riding the famous Teahupo’o Barrel Wave, located off the west coast of Tahiti Iti. The next morning, we drove to the village of Teahupo’o on the opposite side of Iti, where there are a number of boat operators, and booked a tour with Michael, the owner of Teahupoo Excursion Taxi Boat.

Though the conditions were not right to form the famous curl that day, we still enjoyed our time on the water and the dramatic perspective it provided looking back at the mountainous coastline. The 2024 Summer Olympic Surfing event will be held at Teahupo’o.

Afterwards we enjoyed a scenic drive to the Belvédère de Taravao in Iti’s highlands. The inaccessible Mount Ronui, standing at 4370 feet, is the highest point on Tahiti Iti. The Belvédère de Taravao, at 1800 feet, offers an expansive view of the Taravao isthmus that includes the east and west coasts of Tahiti Nui.

For the last four days we headed back to Tahiti Nui and drove along the west coast towards Papeete, stopping to take pictures numerous times. Gardneners ourselves, we especially enjoyed the Water Gardens Vaipahi and the Grottes De Mara’a, where we followed the paths through colorful specimen plantings and noticed, not for the first time, the ubiquitous free range roosters, hens, and chicks that seem to roam everywhere in Tahiti.

At Taharuu Beach we practiced our sports photography skills, capturing surfers riding the waves, an activity we could spend hours engrossed in, but the weather just wouldn’t cooperate fully.

Later that afternoon we arrived at Bungalow Poerava in Punaauia and were blown away by its dramatic location. It’s a small apartment next to the owner’s home that’s cantilevered out over a steep hillside.

This construction gave it a splendid Robin Crusoe treehouse feel. It had a fully equipped outdoor kitchen, and porch and seating area boasted a view of Moorea in the distance. It was one of the nicest apartments we’ve every stayed in during our years of travel. Oh, and it had an avocado tree laden with fruit hanging over the entry stairs. We didn’t want to leave!

Normally we never just stay still and chill while traveling, but the setting here was perfect for kicking back, reading and enjoying a glass of wine on the shaded deck. We explored the surrounding area in the mornings but made sure we were back to enjoy the sunset.

We divided our mornings between exploring cultural sites and swimming at beaches sheltered by the island’s surrounding reefs before returning for the day. The Museum of Tahiti and The Islands is a Polynesian ethnographic museum and has a fascinating collection of ancient artifacts collected from across the Tahitian islands. Later we enjoyed the food trucks at Parc Vaipoopoo, before enjoying the soothing bath-like waters of the Plage publique de Toaroto’s white sand beach.

The next day at ‘Ārahurahu Marae, an ancient Polynesian place of worship, a striking stone moai guarded the entrance to the religious site. Though smaller than its famous cousins on Easter Island, there was a definite resemblance. A large marae, an ancient ceremonial altar, constructed from lava stones and coral was at the rear of the site, where human sacrifices were once held centuries ago.

Afterwards we savored our last swim on Tahiti in the gentle waves of Plage Vaiava. Tomorrow we would head to the Port of Papeete to board Variety Cruises’ Panorama II for a sailing adventure to Bora Bora.

Till next time, Craig & Donna

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