Raiatea was a lovely surprise; people seemed to have mixed feelings about it because of the lack of beaches, but we didn't feel that was an issue. We got off of the shortest flight I've ever subjected myself to, 15 minutes, and met Cyrille. He made very clear to us that we'd be much happier if we rented a car for the three days that we were here, so we got right on taking care of that.

We topped up on some provisions and then headed down to the Fare which was actually 35km on winding roads away from the town (hence the need for the car). Cyrille's wife chopped down a coconut for us then gave us some bananas and passion fruit from their garden. The grounds were beautiful, and while the bungalow was still rustic, it had all the nice touches of a swankier hotel.

We drove around the whole island, taking time for pictures in the "savage" south, checking out the resorts on the richer west coast and then ending up back in the main town of Uturoa after a quick pit stop at the airport (this turned out to be a habit as the airport had some of the nicer bathrooms we'd encountered). Uturoa is actually the second biggest "city" in French Polynesia consisting of two streets and a fancier complex near where the cruises dock. We quickly discovered that "cruise people" were not our cup of tea and moved on back to our pension on the south-east coast. We finished the night with a big Heiva performance with amazing costumes and dance performances, not to mention delicious crepes!!

The next morning we went to visit the biggest and most important marae in all of Polynesia, including the Cooks and New Zealand. In many ways it still just looked like a pile of rocks, but with some of the explanations on signs, we became a little more interested. The rest of the afternoon poured with rain, so we were very happy to sit in the common area, which we had to ourselves, and play on the internet.

We spent our third day on a lagoon tour; it was FABULOUS!! We swam with sharks…well Brian swam with sharks. I got in, circled the boat and go out. I saw them around me, and that was enough. Then we snorkeled through a small coral garden off the coast of the neighbouring island of Taha'a. We visited a large vanilla plantation and ate star fruit fresh off the tree. We had a wonderful lunch then stopped at a very large pearl farm for explanations and over-priced jewelry. And finally, we snorkeled through another coral garden that was the best place I've every snorkeled. We saw florescent clams, bright coloured coral and even a moray eel that was a long as I am tall. The whole day was just magical! On the way home, after a quick pee at the airport, we saw some flashing lights and popped in to discover a heiva practice going on. They were the most incredible dancers we'd seen yet, and we spent a couple of hours mesmerized despite the lack of showiness.

We had a leisurely last morning, stopped at the patisserie in town, cruise-people be damned, and headed to the airport; this time for an actual flight!!

20 minutes later we arrived on the island I've been most excited about! So far I'd say that my excitement was justified!! But that's a story for another day.