Moorea
Back in 1985, Kathie and I took a trip around the world, cashing in some of our TWA frequent flier points and setting off for Tahiti, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Greece and back to Frankfurt, where we lived at the time. This week, my friend Don's daughter left for a trip to Tahiti, which brought back lots of memories.
The island of Tahiti was beautiful in its own right, but nothing to compare to Moorea, its neighbor island. Tahiti was the commercial capital of French Polynesia, with the small city of Papeete, some measure of industry and commerce, and a beautiful black sand beach. One day during our visit, we boarded a motor vessel for a short trip to Moorea, where we rented a Moke (think dune buggy) and spent the day circumnavigating the perimeter of the island.
Moorea reminded me of Bali Hai in James Michener's South Pacific. Tall, narrow red stone peaks, oddly-shaped volcanic rock cones and lush green palm trees blanketing the island. Surrounding it were the whitest sand beaches I've ever seen, leading to crystal clear waters inside the lagoon.
When Kathie and I went swimming at one beach, I attempted to dive to the bottom, which appeared to be about eight feet deep, judging by the clarity of the water. When I dove down, though, I swam and swam and swam, but never reached the bottom. It must have been at least 18-20 feet deep and I didn't have the lung capacity to reach bottom. Imagine water so clear.
Today as I thought back on Kathie's and my visit to Moorea, I wondered how much it's been commercialized and developed in the ensuing 22 years. Such a beautiful, pristine island then. I just hope it has stayed that way for Sarah's visit this week.
The island of Tahiti was beautiful in its own right, but nothing to compare to Moorea, its neighbor island. Tahiti was the commercial capital of French Polynesia, with the small city of Papeete, some measure of industry and commerce, and a beautiful black sand beach. One day during our visit, we boarded a motor vessel for a short trip to Moorea, where we rented a Moke (think dune buggy) and spent the day circumnavigating the perimeter of the island.
Moorea reminded me of Bali Hai in James Michener's South Pacific. Tall, narrow red stone peaks, oddly-shaped volcanic rock cones and lush green palm trees blanketing the island. Surrounding it were the whitest sand beaches I've ever seen, leading to crystal clear waters inside the lagoon.
When Kathie and I went swimming at one beach, I attempted to dive to the bottom, which appeared to be about eight feet deep, judging by the clarity of the water. When I dove down, though, I swam and swam and swam, but never reached the bottom. It must have been at least 18-20 feet deep and I didn't have the lung capacity to reach bottom. Imagine water so clear.
Today as I thought back on Kathie's and my visit to Moorea, I wondered how much it's been commercialized and developed in the ensuing 22 years. Such a beautiful, pristine island then. I just hope it has stayed that way for Sarah's visit this week.
posted by Joe Wollet at 3:06 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home