French Polynesia

In March 2005, Tanya and I went to French Polynesia for 10 days. Tanya had always wanted to visit Tahiti so she was extremely happy to get the opportunity to go there. We stayed with friends the entire time we were there and they showed us the famous Tahitian hospitality by taking very good care of us.

We visited four islands during our stay--Tahiti, Bora Bora, and Raiatea in the Society Islands and Takapoto in the Tuamotus. Takapoto is a coral atoll surrounding a large lagoon. The atoll is no more than several hundred yards wide ... (more)

French Polynesia--March 2005
Even though we wrote "Tahiti" in the sand, this is Raiatea.

Tahitian valley
As we drove around Tahiti, we would frequently find views looking up...

Tiki
This is one of several tikis found at the Gaugin museum on Tahiti. The museum...

Takapoto From Above
Rather than take a slow boat, we flew from Tahiti to Takapoto. This...

Takapoto Lagoon
This is the Takapoto lagoon. The water was very clear and warm. It would have...

Takapoto Lagoon
People have homes at various spots around the lagoon. We had been...

Takapoto
Another view of the lagoon.

Pearl Farm
Takapoto is famous for its black pearls. A number of black pearl farms...

Tanya on Takapoto
Enjoying the sunset over the Pacific.

Sunset
We got to see several excellent sunsets while on Takapoto.

Raiatea
An interesting rock formation on one of Raiatea's mountains.

Raiatea Flora
Some of the interesting tropical plants on the island.

Marina
Marina on the northern coast of Raiatea.

Iriru
A pair of huts on Motu Iriru, one of the islands surrounding Raiatea.

Bora Bora Bungalows
Several of the popular over-the-water bungalows on Bora-Bora.

Bungalow
A closeup of one of the bungalows.

Palm
This palm tree was just begging to be the subject of a photo.

We hope to return!
As is the custom, at the end of our trip, we threw our leis into the ocean in...

article published 4/24/2005

bookmark with del.icio.us

Comments

Add a comment

The Gauguin Museum was a disappointment, mainly because all his famous paintings are already in other museums, worldwide. they probably could not be properly guarded in such a location, anyway, if they DID have some....
— Eleanor Robb, April 9, 2007

Thanks for your good photos, I love Moorea, especially! Did you know, there are more than 2,300 kinds of palm trees? Yes!
— Eleanor Robb, January 1, 2007

Your pictures bring back lots of memories,Joe, and I'm beginning to get impatient... we have to wait until July to go back to what are without doubt our favorite islands in the Pacific. It's a bit ironic to learn that you're not a big fan of Paul Gauguin, because that's the name of the ship we'll be on for two weeks cruising around Tahiti in July.
— Bob Fairbanks, April 25, 2005

Very informative. I look forward to seeing and hearing all about it!!
— The Turk, April 24, 2005