Previously I mentioned that I had been invited to a wedding in Tahiti. Been there, done that, and now I am recovering from jetlag and a very busy week.
A whole new meaning to being laid back
Had several moments of entertainment when I arrived in Auckland (no direct flights to Papeete, unfortunately) and I had to find my connecting gate. It wasn't up yet and it took a little while for the status of the board to sink in.
I don't think we're in Kansas any more, Toto
I arrived in Papeete almost completely incoherent from sleep deprivation and jetlag - sleep deprivation from 2 nights of waking up around 3:30am preceding my departure and jetlag Tahiti is 4 hours earlier the day before.
Arrived on the first night in Tahiti just in time to check into the hotel, have a quick dinner and fall into bed after emailing very important people (parents, friends, etc to let them know I got in safely). There was a show going on at the hotel when I arrived but it felt like the actual travelling had taken days so I chickened out and went to bed instead of back to the lobby. (View from my room.) Too bad I was only going to be there for one night but I enjoyed it for the 90 minutes before I passed out.
I had no idea when the ferries were for Moorea on Thursday but after speaking to the front desk when I checked in, I set a wake up call for 9am local time. Or was it 7am? Regardless, I remember picking up the phone and hearing it speak French before I hung up on the wake up call. The next time I jerked up in bed was sometime around...10am. Or a little after, it's a little hard to remember. This was the morning view from my little lanai. And what I initially thought was "Vahine Tahitienne" but actually "Vanille Tahitienne".
There was a mad scramble to reorganize my bags, re-pack and get to the lobby to book the ferry and taxis on both islands and then a quick peek to see what the hotel actually looked like. So - a quick peek at the lobby view. Wow. I'm not sure there are sufficient words in my tired brain to describe what this was, but the water was an unbelievably blue-y / green-y / turquoise -y (insert a variation of blue or green here) and there were bungalows over them. But I was actually on a mission: the vanilla beans.
Scents to make anyone with a sweet tooth drool (or anyone who likes patisserie)
French vanilla is, apparently, the best vanilla in the world. When I was at Le Cordon Bleu in London, I remember the chefs rhapsodizing over it (I have a feeling it was Chef Nicholas because his is the face I see in my mind when I think of French vanilla). I had 15 minutes to saunter back to just outside my former room, get a lesson in vanilla and maybe, just maybe, purchase a few beans. There was no waiting until next week because this was only on for 2 days and the next day was the last day.
You could smell the beans drying in the sun. I had a quick run through around the entire little exhibit (so sorry I missed the coffee, I heard one of the people tell someone else that it was "exceptionnel" (I have no idea how to spell that in French). I have no idea what this man on the right is doing. Nor the woman, actually. These beans have been in the drying / fermentation stage for about 2 months, with another 2 months to go before they are ready (for sale?).
After they have been in the sun for about 1 - 2 hours (on a day like this) the beans are wrapped up in the fabric and put into a cooler like this. Jean (the very nice man who was explaining to me very slowly in French because he didn't speak English and my French is no longer very good) said that this is part of the process and the insulation of the cooler keeps in the heat of the beans. They also give off some heat (I'm not sure if it's retained from being in the sun or because of the fermentation process) but if you stick your nose by the cooler, you can actually smell vanilla and fermentation. And see the condensation and some flecks of vanilla on the lid. (Of course I stuck my nose in there - wouldn't you, if you had the chance???)
Then there was the covered tent where people were grading the vanilla (left). I'm not sure if you can actually see what the writing is on the grading stick (right) - I can't see it and I no longer remember (no coffee, jet lag and different time zone - I'm allowed not to remember). But the end result is that you have piles of vanilla beans which are roughly the same length.
Yes, size does matter
So the grades of vanilla were: Extra, Grade 1 and Grade 2. Extra (bottom, closes to my hand) is premium - the longest, best quality (oily, plump, etc. etc.) and is about XPF 25,000 per kilo (approximately USD$275) give or take. Grade 1 is a bit smaller. Grade 2 is for all the broken or otherwise unacceptable pods - they get made into things like vanilla sugar or possibly paste or extract (I've forgotten some other important things). Anyway, there was very little time and I had some shopping to do. Unfortunately I left my credit card with the front desk so I had to use cash - all well and good but since access to ATMs are limited on Mo`orea, this definitely limits my shopping if I want to keep enough cash on hand for tips and taxis. (Apparently the ATM doesn't always work!)
Given Australia's strict quarantine laws, I had to ask. And they answered - hence the yellow sticker which will let me take my vanilla into Sydney and not have it confiscated. There are smaller beans on sale at the deli downstairs - AUD$7 per vanilla bean. How could I possibly pass up an opportunity like this when you can store them for several years (depending on correct storage) and I got them (almost) from the source? 500g (1 lb) of vanilla beans later, I had to run for my taxi. They smelled so good the other passengers forgave me for making them wait for half a minute.
Goodbye, Faa`a, see you next week!
Like I said, very much like home. Similar cliffs / mountains.
Similar views of people in outrigger canoes (although we don't use them as much for transportation anymore, I don't think).
Similar views of the canoes on the beach, ready to go.
Approach to Cloud and Mist Shrouded Moorea
It was very nice to arrive at the hotel and be greeted with a cool scented towel and fresh juice while they got the paperwork together for check-in.
Not all my ideas are good ones...
You know how sometimes you think that you won't bring something because you can buy it at the other end? That depends on how much it's worth to you. There aren't any shops near my hotel so I went to get some sunscreen. The most expensive sunscreen I have ever seen...this one is approximately $36 (USD or AUD, take your pick). It's also too big to take home - the whole reason I didn't pack my own was because I didn't check any bags.
Only in Tahiti (also known as playing tourist to the hilt)
I had one full day before the wedding festivities started so I had to pack in as much as I could. The choices landed on things I wouldn't do at home or couldn't do. It began with an excursion to feed the rays and see some sharks. The pictures showed shallow water and no sharks so despite my trepidation, I went. Well, the water was actually chest deep - deep enough for the sharks to cruise around. Holy crap - and yet, eventually I calmed down enough not to completely freak out every time something brushed against my leg. Like a giant ray. Or in one case, a toddler's leg (his mom was carrying him). Luckily I wasn't the only one who screamed when something unexpectedly came up to us in the water and it was cold enough that no one stayed in for very long. Tanemanu (pronounced Ta-neh-ma-nu) said that normally people stay in the water about 40 minutes but it's their winter and it was windy so we all got out relatively quickly.
Poisson cru
The next stop was a motu (small island) where we could go snorkelling. It seems each hotel seems to have a small island assigned to it or maybe they own it. In any case, they are private and you can't go on them unless you are a guest at a hotel. There were drinks and fruit set out for morning snack and for those who booked a lunch package, preparations were underway for lunch and some traditional cooking / food demonstrations. Basic ingredients: white tuna (hamachi / yellowfin?) cucumber, carrot, onion, salt and coconut milk.
Hina and Lokahi
The afternoon was spent with some dolphins. No one else had signed up for my session so I actually got to spend time with them on my own, including several rides. Initial meet 'n greet was with Hina (their Goddess of the Moon), then several rides on Lokahi. Of course the wardrobe malfunction occurred while he zipped through the water - several major adjustments later, I got to have another couple of rides. Completely exhilarating and here we are, saying "nana" which is "goodbye".
Being in the cold water and all the swimming absolutely wiped me out. I ended up ordering dinner in my room and getting ready for bed when -
In which music makes the world go around - also known as What a wonderful (small) world!
Then the highlight of my evening - I was actually all set to go to bed but I heard music from the lobby. There was that moment of indecision when the bed with its crisp sheets beckoned but the distant melodies prompted the question, "will I wish I had gone when I wake up in the morning?" So I changed out of my pyjamas and wandered back to the lobby bar where Woody and Frankie were rocking out their songs. They saw me filming them on my camera and we got to chatting - Woody is a local boy. That is, he's a local boy from Kailua.
Music truly does make the world go 'round - and as I mentioned that their music sounded a bit like home (small wonder, given Woody's Kailua roots), they then proceeded to play a couple of Hawaiian songs.
Checking out / checking in
The religious portion of the wedding was in accordance with the more traditional ceremony which apparently only became recognized as valid a few years ago. The civil ceremony was on Tahiti but I missed it as I had to check out of my hotel and check into the one where I would be staying for the next 3 nights. I got there early so had time for some breakfast while the hotel got the villa ready. And of course, it was a beautiful day with a spectacular view for the wedding.
And the main event
I did manage to get the behind-the-scenes preparation for the wedding as the flowers and decorations arrived while I was checking in. They rocked up in a pickup truck and piles of greenery was transported into the lobby area.
I also saw what looked like haku lei in someone's hand, disappearing around the corner so I snuck around to take photos. All the smells were so familiar that I could almost believe I was home. The biggest difference, of course, was the language. My French is no longer fluent so there was a lot of "um"ing on my part while I looked for words. They were very nice and patient about it though, unlike some of the Parisians who pretend they don't understand you.
There was the ceremony which was in Tahitian and French. They tied the plant bracelets on the bridal couple and after all vows had been spoken they were wrapped in a tapa (traditional patterned and dyed fabric made from pounded bark). Then a blessing and congratulations followed by dancing by Tahitian dancers during cocktails and photos.
Cocktails and canapes:
And dancers danced
The reception was at the hotel's restaurant down the hill, going on into the wee hours of the morning. I think the last of us to leave got to sleep around 3am - and then we had to wake up because there was a Maa'a Tahiti (a traditional meal) by the beach.
Maa'a Tahiti
Preparing Poisson Cru
Porc a chou Poulet fafa
Tuna heads My plate (2nds...)
Then more music and dancing...
My last day on Mo`orea was spent on a motu - across from the one I had been to with the Intercontinental. It was too cold to get in the water - yes, I'm a wuss - but it was still a beautiful day. We all continued to get to know each other better as there were people who had come from quite a few different places. Luckily almost everyone spoke really good English since my French was still very limited.
Leaving Tahiti
My last night was in Papeete as my flight back home left at 7:30am and there was no ferry back from Mo`orea in time to make the flight. There was an extremely rough crossing between the islands - only 30 minutes but enough to make me not want to eat until the day was mostly over.
I went to the big markets but unfortunately the shopping wasn't really exciting - it was too much like all the touristy things we see at various tourist shops in Honolulu. I actually liked the market part much better - the butchers, the fishmongers, the fruits, vegetables and stands which would juice / squeeze fresh coconuts. Souvenir shopping I did in stores because my ATM card didn't work in the Tahitian banks, which limited options somewhat. There was a lesson in how to tell good pearls (colors and thing) although I'm not sure if I could tell for anything other than Tahitian pearls and a visit to the Pearl History museum.
Late lunch at the hotel's restaurant (the not-fancy one) - good drink, good bread, BAD food - bad enough that they took it off my bill after the chef and the restaurant manager checked. (Chicken fafa was cold, then still not hot when rewarmed in the microwave - I saw the chef - the chicken was so gristly that I had a pile of cartilage at the side of my plate and the taro / plantains / something whose name I don't know were hard enough to injure someone if you hit them with them - and yes, I was speaking French.)
Eventually recovered from being seasick so I met a friend I made on the plane for a drink and dinner. We went to the hotel's Lotus Restaurant which was absolutely stunning - it was over the water and lit so you could see how clear it was. And of course the food was amazing - I was sorry I didn't have my phone to take photos and unfortunately I don't think I can recreate it without a lot of work.
The light in Tahiti was amazing - hence so many landscape shots but it seemed that the view would change within a matter of 5 minutes or so. This is the view from the hotel lobby as I was checking out and waiting for the taxi to the airport. I got to try the coffee which was indeed "exceptionnel".
No troubles through Australian customs - the man laughed at me when I told him I bought Tahitian vanilla and waved me through. Much faster than having nothing to declare!
Until next time, may you share memorable and happy moments with your friends and loved ones.
Starters (aka Round 1 when I eventually got around to eating): cheeses, prosciutto, a few other things and sashimi (which we sliced at home). 
My plates: there isn't a whole lot of difference between the first and second platefuls of food but I was slowing down by the second plate of meat and veggies. There's no way to escape the day with eating only a little bit when there's so much good food and I have a bad habit of choosing "both" when presented with a choice. We also decided that food made with TLC doesn't have calories (for those who know about that sort of thing).
Dessert (aka Round 4): pumpkin pie, sweet potato and haupia pie, dried fruits, cookies and ice cream.
