The ‘village’ is a reproduction of what a traditional village looked like. It is on the west coast, we had peddled past it, a long way from most of the accommodation. We boarded the shuttle bus at a lodge on the shores of Cook’s Bay.

The buffet meal was excellent. The starter included salads, raw fish, seared tuna and plenty of the ubiquitous coconut milk (pressed coconut flesh). 

The starter buffet

The main meal was cooked in a Tahitian oven, a large pit dug in the floor. A fire is lit and allowed to burn for two hours. The fire goes out and the food is placed in the hole and covered with banana leaves, hessian sacking and sand. It is steamed/smoked for seven hours. The dishes are mostly variations on pork and breadfruit, though there was some cabbage and plenty of coconut milk. 

Opening up the Tahitian oven

The deserts were delicious and included tropical fruit salads, chocolate fondant, tropical fruit mousses, apple tart and crème caramel, most with a topping of grated coconut.

It was a fun evening and the dancing was brilliant. As is customary in French Polynesia, audience participation was required. The Polynesians are great jokers and love to see poor Europeans fail to wiggle their bums the way they can. This time though, they were given a run for their money, one of their ‘victims’ was a Brazilian samba dancer! 

Franco was recruited but managed to escape before anything happened 

The band 

A dancer with double jointed hips

Kath and others trying out the hip moves

Lots of grass skirts

A Maori style haka 

A fine pair of tattooed buttocks

A dance from Samoa

In the story, the prince marries a beautiful princess

The fire dance

Kath’s hip wiggle is undeniable

North coast of Moorea as we sail away