Raiatea
Anastasia
Phil May and Andrea Twigg
Thu 10 May 2012 05:07
|
16:43.4S 151:26.7W
Raitaea is notable for having the only navigable
river in French Polynesia. Yesterday we teamed up with the crew of
Serendipity and went up the river in our tenders. It was a bit punishing
on our outboard motors, occasionally hitting submerged logs and river banks, but
it was a very pretty trip being surrounded by the jungle. In some
parts there were masses of flowers that had fallen off the trees and were just
floating down the river. The river is lined with breadfruit trees and
everywhere you looked there were breadfruits that had fallen in the water and
drifted down until caught up in branches.
We picked a fresh breadfruit from a tree
overhanging the river, to take back and cook for dinner.
A scary guy with a big machete, who was out
tending his plantation, called us over and gave us big bunches of bananas,
cucumbers and papayas, even though none of us had any money or anything else we
could give him in trade. The Polynesians are such friendly and generous
people.
|
