BROTHER LEO EXPLORES THE ISLAND OF TAHITI

Anyone who has even glanced at a world map is generally amazed at the immensity of the Pacific Ocean. Those of us on the Ocean Explorer 1 were experiencing the enormous distances between ports of call in our journey to the islands of the South Pacific.
As I mentioned in an earlier article, Easter Island, an island possession of Chile, was 2,350 miles from Chile itself. After Easter Island we sailed to Pitcairn Island, the lone British territory in the Pacific, another 1,500 miles. Our destination after Pitcairn was Papeete, the capital of Tahiti, French Polynesia, and another 3,500 miles from Pitcairn. The East Coast of Australia was still another 2,000 miles from Tahiti. These distances meant that we had numerous days at sea. The time at sea was five days from Easter to Pitcairn Islands; and four days from Pitcairn to Tahiti. The time at sea gave us blocks of time for the numerous lectures scheduled every day in preparation for our port of call.
Mid-day out of Pitcairn we passed the Gambler Islands. These islands are the easternmost islands of French Polynesia. French Polynesia forms an area of one million square miles, the size of Europe without Russia. Tahiti, itself, however, is only the size of Rhode Island, one of our smallest states.
Everybody has heard of Tahiti called “the tropical paradise” or “the island of love.” Paul Gauguin made Tahiti famous by his paintings. He earned little fame in his lifetime, but today his works earn millions and are much sought after by art museums and private collectors.
Tahiti had three discoverers: two English and one French. Each was claiming Tahiti for their respective countries. Wallis (1767) and Cook (1769) claimed the islands for England. Bouganville (1768) claimed Tahiti for France. Actually, Louis Antoine de Bougainville stayed on the island for only a short time. However, upon his return to France he published a journal of his adventures. He was the first to refer to Tahiti as the “island of love.” The other explorers only later made references to their discoveries. While on Tahiti, Bougainville discovered the beautiful flower, which today bears the name bougainvillea. He is said to have remarked “when I am dead and gone they won't remember me or my discovery, only the flower.”
Tahiti became a French protectorate in 1842. The British chose to ignore the French claim and decided not to challenge their claim, since they were preoccupied with incorporating Australia and New Zealand into the British empire.
Tahiti is beautiful. Tahiti has mountain peaks, rainforests, dense vegetation and an enormous profusion of tropical flowers. Flowers are growing everywhere and people immerse themselves in flowers at home and for every occasion. The result is that Tahiti imports over one million flowers annually. Many of us chose a shore excursion called “Around Tahiti.” It proved to be a 7 1/2-hour visitation of the island using the circular road that follows the perimeter of the island. We passed many of the exclusive resorts that appeal to tourists worldwide. These "honeymoon" destinations are generally self-contained resorts for those seeking sun rather than an educational experience. About 200,000 tourists come to Tahiti each year.
Our island tour included a stop and presentation at the National Museum of History and Culture of the French Polynesian Peoples and the story of the discovery and colonization of Tahiti. Pepeete has always been an important center of trade and shipping and is especially noted for the presence, sale and export of black pearls. Our visit was on a Saturday and shops closed early (2:00 p.m.). Our tour lasted all but 30 minutes of the time allotted for our visit. It was disappointing to many of the lady shoppers on our excursion.
We visited two botanical gardens, had lunch at the garden bar of the Musee de Gauguin, followed by an extended visit to the Gauguin Museum. It is a museum of his life without any of his original art. One gallery consists of photographs arranged by country and art centers to show the wide distribution of his South Pacific and Tahitian paintings. Another wall shows photos of his works in private collections. The total quantity of his outputs is impressive. The museum is attractively constructed, but the reproductions in the collection are not a highlight of Tahiti. Our final stop on the circle tour of the island was Manava, a point on the island on which the major lighthouse served to guide ships. Robert Louis Stevenson's father constructed the lighthouse, which served as a beacon to guide ships, suppliers and the first missionaries. Today the area contains a popular black sand beach, park and picnic grounds. There were several monuments and an especially interesting circular tribute to early missionaries.
Tahiti is French and one might assume Catholic. In fact the predominant religion is Evangelical Protestant. The London Bible Society arrived in Tahiti 40 years before the Catholic missionaries. Only 34% of the population are Catholic. Sunday is strictly observed, businesses are closed and people attend church and take the day of rest seriously.
Our tour gave us a wonderful overview of the flora and fauna of Tahiti. We saw where and how people lived and the natural beauty of the island. We did not, however, see the city of Papeete. For myself, I am always anxious to see life beyond the city, yet at the same time I like to walk the city streets, stop in stores and visit churches and public buildings. This tour consumed the entire time available in port, a lesson to be learned for the future. One feature of our visits was a policy of the ship staff to engage a local song and dance group to present a program shortly before the ship sailed. We were well entertained in Papeete.
One next stop was Bora Bora. Again, people know this idyllic, minute, volcanic island surrounded by coral reef with its lagoon as famous because of the magnificent variation in colors due to the coral. The island is only 15 miles square. Much of the island is dedicated to rather exclusive tourist resorts, several of which are owned by Hollywood stars that discovered the islands while making films in this part of the world. Actually during World War 11, the United States used Bora Bora as a supply depot. Over 5,000 American troops at one time or another served on the island or on ships moored here for refueling. Several gun emplacements are still visible around the island.
It was Sunday. Everyone on the island, except the tour guides, was at church. There is not town, but a cluster of small businesses “for necessities” and an occasional tourist shop, located along the shore near the landing pier. Most of us took the circle tour on the 18 miles of two-lane road around the island. The road hugged the sea and the thick foliage that ascended to high volcanic ridges. Flowers and green shrubs were in profusion. The surrounding sea reflected the beauty of the submerged coral. Every synonym for blue that you can conceive applies to the waters and lagoon that is characteristic of Bora Bora.
James Mitchner and his “Tales of the South Pacific” also made Bora Bora famous. That book became the musical and movie South Pacific. One of the characters in the drama was Bloody Mary. One of two tourist stops was at Bloody Mary's Restaurant-Saloon. We stopped and many ordered a bloody mary. Most people thought a nine-dollar bloody mary was a bit excessive, but business was brisk. Club Med is on Bora Bora but most resorts are at the high end of the scale up to and including the renown Bora Bora Inn.
Tahiti and Bora Bora proved a welcome interlude from our days at sea, even if the stops were more abbreviated that most of us would have preferred. Many people resolved to return and several “skipped ship” and decided to join OE1 later in Fiji, saving the five days of sailing and indulging themselves in the luxury of Bora Bora.
In my next article I will report on our visit to the 300-island archipelago of Fiji and our visit to Suva, capital of Fiji.

(To be continued)