Day Twenty six January 31

Today, Insignia docked at Uturoa Pier in Raiatea. Raiatea is the second largest island of the Society Islands after Tahiti.

From this location we were met by our guides, Vivian (a male name in French Polynesia) and Lionel to take us to the Faaroa River for a kayak adventure through the floral and fauna of the rainforest surrounding Raiatea. During the ride to the river, Vivian commented that Raiatea was in the centre of the triangle where the Polynesia civilization migrated from. The triangle includes Hawaii to the North, Easter Island to the East and New Zealand to the South. You can find desendants of Polynesia ancestry in all these places.

The two person kayaks were open style that left the person steering the kayak in the back somewhat wet when we climbed out after our tour. Guess who was steering and yelling at me lol!!!

At the beginning of the tour, we had to paddle across the open channel before reaching the calmness of the river. We were treated over the 4km tour to beautiful faune and flora.