Thursday 3 April 2014

Tahiti, Huahine, Bora Bora and Rangiroa

Tahiti is the largest and most urban of the French Polynesian islands. This photo was taken at our resort hotel in Papeete, the capital city. We took a bus tour around the island before boarding our cruise ship, the Paul Gauguin.


On the island of Huahine, there are several sacred sites of ancient Polynesian temples called marae. Standing stones were placed upright on the shore, looking out to sea. Historically, most marae were destroyed under the influence of Christian missionaries. The remaining few are now starting to be restored.


This photo of the Paul Gaguin was also taken in Huahine.


It rained cats and dogs in Bora Bora. But on the second day, it cleared up somewhat so we were able to do an island tour by "Le Truck," the local tourist bus line. Bora Bora is a beautiful place and features the craggy volcanic mountains common to most of French Polynesia.


Rangiroa is technically an atoll rather than an island per se. We wandered through a small village, down to the spectacular shore line. Look at the three different shades of blue in that water!


Tomorrow -- Selected photos of the other three islands we visited.

[All photos by Debra She Who Seeks, 2014]

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

That looks so beautiful! We are on our own little getaway and wishing we would have gone for longer. I'm so over winter. Rain is not snow, so even rain makes a Canadian happy!

jaz@octoberfarm said...

what a beautiful place. i can't wait to see more!

mxtodis123 said...

What a gorgeous place to spend your vacation. Awesome.
Mary

Pickleope said...

Purty. Not much else for me to add. It's just beautiful.

Anonymous said...

you must have had the time of your life.Its amazing to think the effort it took to position the standing stones,

Anonymous said...

Color me jealous - and happy for you too. Bora Bora is someplace I'd love to visit one of these days. That water, ahhh!!!

Elsie
AJ's wHooligan in the A-Z Challenge

DEZMOND said...

looks like storm in last two pics

The Happy Whisk said...

I love seeing these pictures. Thanks.

Adam said...

makes me want to visit

The Silver Bunny said...

Tahiti used to be very popular in France in more affluent times as THE place for a honeymoon. Did you ? Go there on your honeymoon, I mean ? Please admire my legendary discretion ....

Willow said...

How exotically wonderful !!

Insomniac's Attic said...

Nice ... no snow. I can't recall what greenery looks like anymore. ;)

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

loving the vacay photos.....makes the windy, cold and rainy of today almost bearable. Oma Linda

Mistress Maddie said...

My next man needs to be rich, so I can stay all winter in these lush locales! Beautiful Debs, you lucky dogs! Rain or not, who cares! Beats all that snow!

A Beer for the Shower said...

Wow, that's beautiful. As I sit here surrounded by gray skies, yellow grass, and neverending snow, I don't think I have to tell you I'm envious.

Leanna said...

Beautiful pictures. Reminded me of living on the island of Oahu in Hawaii for 4 years.

I was Hawaiian nose humming the whole time I was reading your blog. Couldn't help myself.

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

OHMY...GAWD! I love these photos. Tahiti and Bora Bora...two areas I would LOVE to visit! That last image is stunning. Tell me more MORE about this trip!

Birdie said...

Oh, it must have been hard to leave! It looks like paradise.

Wendy said...

Oh, I needed these shots this morning to remind me what a world without snow looks like! Absolutely gorgeous. I hope you had a fabulous time!

Mary said...

So magnificent! And i'm thinking that Christian missionaries took it upon themselves to destroy a lot around the world. They piss me off! Oops, better stop there...

Thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos! I look forward to more! :)

Vanessa Morgan said...

Spectacular!

CraveCute said...

Just catching up with your last couple of posts!! I am so jealous!! Seriously though, I'm glad you were able to get away from all this cold. Look forward to seeing more photos!

Cperz said...

Yes, as the others have said..It looks beautiful. What a lovely place to escape the last of the winter blahs.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

Ahhhh, my breath slowed and deepened as I relaxed into these scenes. Thank you. Looking forward to the next batch.

xoRobyn

Jim said...

Paradise! What a wonderful place Debra!
I love that pool! I can imagine myself there right now........

Guillaume said...

I miss warmer temperatures.

Unknown said...

Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. It's nice to know that such beauty exists in the world.

LL Cool Joe said...

It all looks beautiful, you took some great shots. So did you get to swim in that pool?

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Hey Joey, no I didn't swim in that pool although others did. I was content just to look at it.

Jeanne said...

Beautiful! And love the photos! Great shots! I'm sure it was even more breathtaking in person. The various shades of blue in the water are amazing. Interesting about the marae - will have to do more research on those.

Magaly Guerrero said...

Now I'm feeling an intense urge to swim... I wonder why!

Magic Love Crow said...

Breath taking!!!!

Riot Kitty said...

That looks gorgeous, even when it's overcast.

Dawna said...

Beautiful place!!

Ol'Buzzard said...

Still have two feet of snow in my front yard - temps in the low forties and winds gusting to forty.

It looks beautiful.
enjoy
the Ol'Buzzard