Our Beautiful Tattoos

Long-time readers may remember my sad, cautionary tale about the disastrous temporary tattoo which I got in Mexico a few years ago. Chemicals in the black henna caused the tat to morph into a raised, angry red welt that took several long months to subside.

So did I learn my lesson from that whole ugly episode? No, I did not. I got another temporary tattoo in French Polynesia! Plus I talked My Rare One into getting one too! But not to worry -- this time there was no black henna involved, only safe non-toxic body paint.

Here's My Rare One showing off her alter ego as Honu Wahine -- Turtle Woman:

And here I am with my very erect hibiscus flower, LOL:

We sported these for about an hour before having a shower which caused their immediate demise.

[First photo by Debra She Who Seeks, 2014; Second photo by My Rare One, 2014]

Polynesian Tattoos

Tattooing was an integral part of Tahitian and Polynesian culture until Christian missionaries halted the practice in the 1800s. Thankfully, tattooing was re-introduced into French Polynesia about 30 years ago and is now a central part of the Polynesian cultural renaissance.

Here are some fabulous tattoos we saw on our trip. Their bearers agreed to let My Rare One photograph them.

The above tattoos belong to a guide on Huahine who originally came from California. His knowledge of Polynesian culture is truly encyclopedic. "Toa Nui" means "great warrior."

This handsome young Polynesian host on the Paul Gauguin ship has a fabulous tribal tattoo. And a beautiful smile.

These eye-catching tats belong to a catamaran captain who originally came from France.

Next post -- Did we or didn't we get our own tattoos?

[All photos by My Rare One, 2014]

Fakarava, Taha'a and Mo'orea

Fakarava is another atoll where we spent a lovely day at the beach. Fakarava is classified as an UNESCO biosphere reserve. My Rare One went snorkeling and saw a shark. Luckily, it was not in the mood for trouble.

The island of Taha'a is called "the vanilla island" and produces 80% of French Polynesia's vanilla crop. So of course we visited a vanilla farm to learn how it is grown. The woman in the red tank top is the very entrepreneurial farmer who gave us a funny and informative tour. Those are vanilla beans on the drying rack. Growing vanilla is incredibly labour intensive. The vanilla flowers must all be fertilized by hand with a Q-tip in the early morning hours. While drying, the vanilla beans require repeated individual massaging by hand to release the full flavour within.

The final island we visited was Mo'orea, possibly the most spectacularly beautiful of all. It is also more urban than the others and in that regard is similar to Tahiti which is only a few miles away. Look at that gorgeous water and reef!

Another harbour and valley on the island of Mo'orea:

You can see Mo'orea's typical volcanic mountains in this photo taken from a catamaran as we sailed out to a reef to snorkel.

French Polynesia is an ideal place for a quiet vacation of sun, sand, snorkeling, swimming and relaxing. I suspect Hawai'i was very much like this in the 1950s before it became more touristy and commercialized.

[Photos by Debra She Who Seeks, 2014]

Tahiti, Huahine, Bora Bora and Rangiroa

Tahiti is the largest and most urban of the French Polynesian islands. This photo was taken at our resort hotel in Papeete, the capital city. We took a bus tour around the island before boarding our cruise ship, the Paul Gauguin.

On the island of Huahine, there are several sacred sites of ancient Polynesian temples called marae. Standing stones were placed upright on the shore, looking out to sea. Historically, most marae were destroyed under the influence of Christian missionaries. The remaining few are now starting to be restored.

This photo of the Paul Gaguin was also taken in Huahine.

It rained cats and dogs in Bora Bora. But on the second day, it cleared up somewhat so we were able to do an island tour by "Le Truck," the local tourist bus line. Bora Bora is a beautiful place and features the craggy volcanic mountains common to most of French Polynesia.

Rangiroa is technically an atoll rather than an island per se. We wandered through a small village, down to the spectacular shore line. Look at the three different shades of blue in that water!

Tomorrow -- Selected photos of the other three islands we visited.

[All photos by Debra She Who Seeks, 2014]

Don't Hate Me

Hi everyone! My Rare One and I are now back from a cruise in Tahiti and French Polynesia. That's right -- we ditched wintery Canada for sunny paradise!

And no sunburn to report! Although we did both catch bad colds -- a hazard of constantly moving between the tropical heat outdoors and air conditioning indoors, as well as living in the germ stew of a cruise ship. Oh well, at least it wasn't the norovirus, LOL!

I'm also happy to report that the captain was a sober and responsible Serbian seaman who didn't pull a Costa Concordia on us. But as a precaution anyway when booking, we had upgraded to a stateroom with a balcony so that, if worse came to worst, we could always jump off the ship. Now that's just good prairie girl practicality.

Tomorrow and Friday I'll post a few photos of the various islands that we visited.