Our Favorite Island in French Polynesia

 Boarding our Air Tahiti plane for what turned out to be an amazing week on our favorite island in French Polynesia.

On March 10th we departed from Papeete Tahiti, boarded a small plane and 45 minutes later we touched down on a small Island – 10 miles by 9 miles.  The airport was the size of a small post office and in fact looked more like one than an airport. Tsing Tsing, the owner of our rental home, was there to greet us (unlike Joey).  He had a truck for all of our luggage and boards, a rental car, and a key to the gait to enter our driveway (unlike Joey).  Within minutes we were at our new house.

It was situated on a beautiful white sand beach with amazing snorkeling just a few steps from our back door.   Crystal clear water, a few large catamarans moored in front, and one of the best surf breaks in French Polynesia a paddle away awaited us.

 

The view from our bedroom window.

Wylie swimming with the fishies.

Hanging out on our beach.

The house was immaculate and relatively bug free with the exception of the cockroach that crawled into bed with me – for the second time!  This time I took action.  My nightly routine was to cover myself in bug spray and then “secure the perimeter”  by spraying a line of roach killer on the floor around my bed.  The exposure to toxic bug spray far outweighed having another roach to sleep with me.

“Say hello to my little friend.”

The “big” city center was a 3-minute walk along the waterfront.  There was a super market, bank, and a couple of stores that carried odds and ends and a few food trucks.  Locals  set up street side tables to sell bananas, cucumbers, root vegetables and fish.   The kids gathered at the pier to swim and wait for the occasional big ship to dock with deliveries.  After a few days on the island, we found ourselves getting excited as we spotted a big ship heading into shore.

Our days on the island consisted of snorkeling in front of our house with the colorful fish, eels, sea urchins and sea anemones, hanging out at the beach, walking into town for groceries or a fish burger at our favorite local food truck, sitting on the lanai watching the motor boats zip by and viewing outriggers being paddled by crews of locals.

The walkway to town.

The “big” city center.

Shopping day – Haricots verts long and baguettes. In the evenings we would paddle along the shore in our kayaks as the sun set over the horizon.

The sunsets provided great light for family photos.

 

 

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