Two Restless Wanderers

Last night, the rain was incredible and the wind was so loud, that we wondered if there would be flooding (Teps told us that sometimes when it rains really hard, the ground can flood around Huahine).

April’s cold worsened in the night and she felt miserable in the morning. Bill is still coughing up a storm. What a pleasant pair we are in paradise.

We were supposed to get up at 5:30 a.m. to go and see the Sunday market in Fare. Marc from Hauhine Nautique told us it went from 6-7:00 a.m.. We are not sure why the market is that early, however, we think it might be because freshly caught fish and other produce is for sale.

It was pouring with rain, dark, and gloomy in the morning at market time, so we stayed in bed until 7:30 a.m.. We showered and then went across to the common area to eat our breakfast. As it was Sunday, breakfast was different (this happened last time we were at the Pension Meherio, as well). We were served the usual tea, baguette with butter and jam, fruit (cantaloupe today), but we were also served coconut milk doughnuts, po’e (taro and pumpkin prepared in the traditional way of cooking, pounding, adding tapioca, cooking more, and then mixing with coconut milk), plus some Chinese style pork.

Since April doesn’t eat pork, the cats were the lucky recipients, and even after eating her entire dish of pork, and half of Bill’s, they wanted more. We ate and chatted with Teps, the owner of the pension, and an American staying at the pension.

We relaxed for a bit, as Bill felt really full after breakfast. April did laundry at the pension. It is nice to have the option of having laundry machines to use and this has definitely extended our holiday wardrobe (which is good as we packed much less this trip to French Polynesia than last time and sink laundry is more of a drag and doesn't work as well for larger items).

We walked to town to get lunch. April had developed a blister between her toes from wearing thongs (from one foot related annoyance, swelling to another, blister).

In town we were not expecting to find anything open other than the Super Fare Nui market. We knew that we had missed the Sunday market and Teps told us that they don’t have it later in bad weather…if people even show up. However, we actually found a few stands that were open. There appeared to be a cruise ship in town and there were a few stands by the dock with touristy items for sale such as shells, knickknacks, and terrible quality black pearl “jewellery.”

At the Super Fare Nui market we bought lunch. We bought a baguette, the same President Raclette cheese, and some drinks. Outside, at a fruit stand, we bought a Polynesian grapefruit (pamplemouse)—more similar to a pomelo in taste, sweeter and less acidic, than a North American grapefruit which is more harsh and bitter tasting. Then Bill spotted a jar with bundles of fragrant vanilla beans for sale. We bought the three remaining bundles and the prices weren’t that much more than they would have been at the vanilla farm on Huahine (we know this because we spoke with a French Canadian fellow that we met on the tour and met later on the island and he paid only about 1000 XFP per bundle and we paid 1200 XFP per bundle, but he also had to rent a car to get to the farm).

We walked back along the beach to the pension.

April finished the laundry. We made our cheese sandwiches for lunch and then we had a grapefruit after. The cats were around to share the cheese sandwiches with us.

We spoke with the American guest for a while and then returned to our room to post another blog entry (so we were only one week behind in posting at this point, however slow internet makes it difficult to upload photos, and we really have better things to do).

We changed into our bathing suits and went to the beach. Again, we walked up to where the lagoon narrows. As we were about to get in, Bill’s snorkel mask came apart at one side. So we sat down in the hot sun in the shallows, figuring out how to fix it. We managed to fix things up and we highly recommend these Aqua Lung snorkels and masks as they have held up really well over the past 9 years since we bought them for our honeymoon.

We snorkelled through the maze of coral with our GoPro Hero 5. Then we swam into the more open lagoon. There was a strong current and waves, however. The visibility became very poor, so we swam for shore. We bobbed around in the shallows for another 20 minutes or so, enjoying the late afternoon light (it was just after 4:00 p.m. and the sun sets around 5:30 p.m.).

Snorkeling Near Fare. One can see the hills resembling the pregnant woman reclining as they were telling us on the tour.

April snorkeling with our seven month old fetus.

Fish hiding in coral.

Fire coral.

A giant clam.

Bright yellow fire coral. Look, but don't touch.

A giant shell camouflaging with the bottom of the sea.

Beautiful Giant Clam.

Videos:

We walked back to the pension, discussing how much we would miss the Pension Meherio and Huahine, as it was our last night before we flew to Bora Bora the next day. We showered, dressed, and April then wrote in her travel journal and cuddled the cats while Bill uploaded photos to the blog.

We are so glad that we chose the Pension Meherio to stay at again. It is peaceful, yet has everything that one needs while on vacation. Teps, is gracious, funny, and very knowledgeable (and helpfully he speaks perfect English for those that don't speak French). We would definitely choose this pension to return to if we are so lucky to return to Huahine. Hauhine would be a top choice to return to in French Polynesia for us too. It is laid back and small enough to unwind, but with the comforts that tourists may have grown accustomed to and a medical clinic and pharmacy in case anything bad should occur.

We had another grapefruit while we waited for dinner. Teps made pasta and we ate at the pension with him, his son, and the American guest (and the cats). Teps has such a wonderful palate. His cooking is delicious. For dessert we had the chocolate and coconut ice cream that we had picked up the day before.