31.1.14

Bora Bora: Blue Lagoon


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30.1.14

Bora Bora: Vaitape



When on vacation, you forget that some people are actually residents.
They get married, with crowns of white flows and Barbie decorated cars.

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29.1.14

Bora Bora: Lagoon Tour



Anyone who knows me can tell. I'm not a fan of arranged activities. Travel agencies, tour guides, hiking guides, packages, all inclusive. It's not for me. So at the beginning, I didn't quite like the idea of doing a lagoon tour.

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28.1.14

Bora Bora: Village Temanuata



Traveling to Bora Bora can be intimidating. Particularly price-wise. This is certainly not a budget location, but there is at least, one notable exception to the rule: Village Temanuata.

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26.1.14

Bora Bora: Pearl Farm


Un poco de Jack Nicholson, nunca viene mal.

Uno de los mayores embrujos de Polynesia son las perlas negras. Que reciben el nombre de la ostra donde se cultivan, la Pinctada margaritafera, que tiene los labios negros.

Antes de que los Japoneses Nishikawa-san & Mise-san registraran la patente que describía cómo generarlas de manera artificial, los Polinesios llevaban muchos siglos buceando a pulmón para obtener ostras de las que, con suerte, saldría alguna de estas maravillas, que les traerían fortuna a través de la ofrenda (a los dioses o a sus jefes).

En 1916, se concedió la patente a estos dos genios (que básicamente, le habían copiado la idea a un británico, el biólogo William Saville-Ken, que conocieron en Australia). Nishikawa-san se casó con la hija de Mikimoto, que como muchos sabréis, es hoy en día un gigante del negocio de la perla en Japón. Por qué no me estriará un pelo este tipo de situación, matrimonio arreglado & mujer que se queda lo mejor.

En fin. El caso es que las Perlas de Tahiti son mis favoritas. Por esas tonalidades que alcanzan, sus múltiples formas, tamaños y colores. La ostra de labio negro abunda en las aguas cálidas de los mares del sur, especialmente en los atolones. Esto, combinado con que Polynesia sea un destino de lujo, genera un gran mercado de turistas & honeymooners, que se quieren hacer con lo mejor del mercado local "como recuerdo".



Las granjas de perlas, son un lugar donde aprender - así como un mercado de joyas.





Nosotros nos quedaremos en la parte del aprendizaje: Cómo se hace una perla?

[1] Se coge una concha del río Mississippi y la gruesa capa de nácar se corta en trocitos, que se pulen hasta formar esferas (u otras formas, barroque o circlé) que sirvan de núcleo.

[2] Se sacrifica una ostra, tomando un trocito del manto y colocándola sobre el núcleo.

[3] Otra ostra viva, se abre con cuidado, se le introduce el núcleo y se espera. La ostra tratará de protegerse de ese cuerpo extraño cubriéndolo de nácar. Poco a poco, el núcleo se va cubriendo y tomando la tonalidad que le da el manto.

[4] A los 2 años,  se pone la ostra en agua templada (para que se relaje) y se abre. La perla se extrae y se le introduce otro núcleo de tamaño mayor. La ostra ha crecido y es capaz de aceptarlo. Introducir un núcleo demasiado grande podría matarla. De ahí que el tamaño se vaya incrementando gradualmente, en línea con el crecimiento de la ostra en sí misma.

[5] A los 4 años,  se pone la ostra en agua templada (para que se relaje) y se abre. La perla se extrae y se le introduce otro núcleo de tamaño mayor.

[6] A los 6 años,  meses,  se pone la ostra en agua templada (para que se relaje) y se abre. La perla se extrae y se cuelga la ostra en agua, porque es momento de que eche las larvas y se reproduzca. 





Se trata de un proceso extremadamente artesano y tedioso. De ahí el precio de las perlas de Tahití.





Por otro lado, en China, han desarrollado un método que se diferencia del Akoya (el más usado en Japón, donde se meten dos núcleos en un mejillón que genera perlas blanco-rosadas) que recibe el nombre de freshwater pearl en el que se introducen multitud de núcleos en un mejillón que genera 30 perlas en tiempo récord.

En los 80, las perlas que salían tenían formas muy irregulares, como si fueran rice krispies. Ah. Como me recuerdan al collar de vueltas de mi madre. En fin, el caso es que los grafters chinos han mejorado su técnica considerablemente. Hoy en día, resulta casi imposible distinguir (ni a simple vista, ni por un joyero a veces) entre perlas cultivadas con el método tradicional (que es muy largo, tedioso y poco productivo) y perlas obtenidas con el método freshwater. 

Resulta que hasta a las perlas ha llegado un poco el dilema de los transgénicos, los pesticidas, del alejarse de lo tradicional para sumirse en una opción más productiva, aunque evidentemente no sea lo mismo.



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24.1.14

Bora Bora: Over Water Bungalow


When in Rome...

It's not that often, one happens to drop by Bora Bora. So at least, one night in the world famous overwater bungalow, is compulsory. At least it sounded rock logic, when Enrique explained it to me, while securing a room in Maitai - not the most renown or isolated spot, indeed really close to Temanuata - which eventually turned out to be an awesome idea.

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24.1.14

Bora Bora: Matira Beach



Bora Bora is the island of the overwater bungalows for a good reason. With the exception of the motu (sand islets over the coral reef) there's only ONE real beach in the main island: Matira Beach.

Staying around there is really nice. There are various restaurants (inside and outside hotels), stores and opportunities to rent a kayak or a bike (which are not common in the quieter areas). Matira hosts luxury hotels (i.e. Sofitel, Intercontinental), that offer fancy dining, Polynesian shows and pampering SPAs. But for us not being able to pay over 500€ the night, there are other super pleasant options to explore the wonders of the dream island.

We will talk about Village Temanuata more in detail. All I can say is, hands down, the place to go in Bora Bora. Is not so expensive, the owner is EXTREMELY NICE and HELPFUL, the bungalows are perfect and the location is, right on the beach. The only downside is that it tends to be fully booked year round (we met a lady that spends months in there) so rush up.

Same goes with diving, lagoon tour and other activities. Bora Bora remains, despite the crisis, quite popular. Things tend to get crowded, specially around the key dates of Christmas and New Year. Plan in advance, to secure the experience.


Someone was happy to be there, yay!


For relaxing times, Matira Beach.




Islanders' hut.

Hinano on the road.

The famous overwater bungalows, in this case, from Maitai hotel.

This is a rather pleasant place, more on the budget side of the experience.

Blue lagoon for the boats of the diving school. That unfortunately, was full. Luckily, we got to see the Lemon Sharks from above, while snorkeling :)


Our friends in all the islands, the very shy polynesian crab.
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23.1.14

Bora Bora: On Arrival



The first sight of it, is already impressive. The Motu surrounding the bright lagoon. The lush peaks in the main island. The overwater bungalows extending like crabs in the water. Welcome to the dream. This is Bora Bora.



Here everything is paradisiac. Even the airport is located in a Motu. So the transfer happens to be a boat, instead of your usual train (bus) ride. Brilliant.

After a warm welcome by Jacques, the kind owner of Village Temanuata, we went for a nice dinner. In Spanish, my godfather always says "eres más corto que el día de Navidad" but in this case, it was far from true. Two islands, a car, a plane, the two of us, from a lost into a lively spot. Life is too short. If there's something you don't feel comfortable with, don't be afraid. Change the plan.

Nothing is written in stone and the only thing that will never come back is the time wasted.



Poisson cru and Pellegrino.



...plus some cake for the special day.



The way back was always and adventure. Chasing crabs and staying aways from dogs.
How complicated is the islander life.



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22.1.14

Raiatea: Marae Taputapuatea



Our next stop in Polynesia was the mysterious (and somewhat disappointing) Raiatea and Taha'a. While they are encircled by a common lagoon, Raiatea and Taha'a are two vey different islands, with a variety of pleasures to offer. As long as you have secured them, well in advance.

Raiatea was once the center of Polynesian culture. So that any new marae would have to start from a stone taken from the Marae Taputapuatea, which is considered by many, the spiritual center of the Polynesian triangle. I, being a sucker for Polynesian culture, could not wait for the day when I would learn more about these fascinating sailors & survivors, that loved the Pacific, its white beaches and tasty fruits as much as I do. Unfortunately, due to the lack of investment from the French Government to preserve the local culture (actually, 80% of the population is native Polynesian), learning about Polynesians is best done in Oahu (Hawaii), where the cultural center offers activities and all sorts of recreations, for in-depth understanding of how their life looked like, their values & science.

Anyway. I still had the tour around Taha'a as back-up plan. Think of a tiny Bora-Bora, which is secret to paparazzi, packed with vanilla plantations, pearl farms and snorkeling spots. Unfortunately, after calling 6 different tour operators (none of them was going there, because of lacking people) we had 2 options:
- Pay 600€ for a private day tour
- Change plane ticket (free of charge) and spend two days more than planned in the next island

Guess which one we picked?

Bottom Line: If you can afford one of the fancy resorts of Taha'a and you are after a complete "do nothing" vacation, this may be a place for you. If you plan on enjoying a variety of activities, but haven't planned so much and feel bad by paying 80€ for a hiking guide, this is maybe not a good place for you. If you have kids, go to Moorea or Bora-Bora.



The lagoon encircles both islands, which pretty much like Moorea, are covered in lush jungles. We stayed at Pension Te Maeva which is a rustic hill owned by a French family. Bungalows are gracefully laid around huge amounts of pink flowers. A Robinson-like spot with warm water (yet non drinkable) and WiFi. Hard to get uphill with the car and a bit isolated from the main village, there were other locations I enjoyed more, to be honest.





The visit to the Marae was, as explained above, rather disappointing. The Marae was the Polynesian version of the Agora in ancient Rome. A place for religious ceremonies, political discussions, offerings, canoe blessing and everyday life. It's amazing to think that Polynesians would carry one of these stones on their boats, sail through the Pacific and use it when they broke into new ground, as a way for their cultural expansion.





Today, coconuts and crabs are unfortunately more self-explanatory than these huge ruins.



All volcanic rock. Plus some old tikis, in stone. Away from the ones we saw in Hawaii, that looked more like the movies, probably because of being just recreations.





Aided by some random stone, I accomplished my first coconut opening. In a lifetime. So happy. If you're wondering, of course I tasted it! Awesome nature blessing.





We continued our road trip around the island, till we realize, there wasn't a lot left. And we would not be able to explore Taha'a the day after anyway.



So we dropped it. Packed. And left in the 17:00 PM to an island where the grass is greener and the lagoon, nearly neon turquoise. Make a guess...

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21.1.14

Moorea: Polynesian Deli



Lo mejor de Moorea, son sus junglas plagadas de fruta. Bananas, piñas, mangos, cocos. Todo está buenísimo. Al alcance de la mano. Gracias a sus fértiles valles, la isla se convirtió en un centro donde el mundo Polinesio floreció, hasta que llegaron los colonizadores. Que trajeron alcohol, enfermedades y destrucción del estilo de vida local, en comunión con la naturaleza.

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20.1.14

Moorea: Magical Mountain


Magical Mountain viewpoint.

It's a short yet rewarding hike, where you don't have to hire a guide (most of the hikes in Polynesia are quite dangerous, so you really need to pay those 8000CFP to make sure you don't run into trouble) to climb up to a lovely view. The entrance is a private property, but once you stop the car, a lady will come and charge you 200 franc per person.





Here you can clearly see how the fringe coral cracks and lets the water in/out of the lagoon. It's amazing the things that coral can create.



Lush peaks surrounding the deep bay.



Lagoon view, uneven depths. All coral.



Muddy gal.



The lonely tree.



The little church. While cute, is actually quite sad to realize that missionaries built temples on top of the local Marae. So that Polynesians had to convert to Catholicism, whether they liked it or not.
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