Yesterday we hiked to Trois Cocotiers. But there aren’t three coconut trees anymore, two blew down years ago and there is only one now; the name hasn’t changed however. We 
spent the walk alternately gawking at the lush undergrowth, puffing up steep rises, and catching our breath while gazing at the majestic mountains. The ridge that was our final destination is the edge of the crater of an old volcano. The valley that was formed by the crater is called Oponohu, which is where my mum did most of her research 16 years ago. It is amazing to think of her working there when there were no roads. When I looked off the path all I could see was very thick vegetation. Apparently she got lost everyday and once found herself in Paulette and Gré’s backyard. She knocked on their door crying because the lack of roads, trails or landmarks made it hard to find her way around and prevented her from doing research. That was how they met each other. The Tahiatas helped Momma navigate Opunoh
u valley by sending two of their children with her as guides—mainly Teremoana and Marta, who are now grown and with kids of their own.
We had fish (Ume Ume and Mahi Mahi)cooked over a barbecue for dinner. But I like Mahi Mahi in Poisson Cru better. Dinner here is a big deal. The whole family helps prepare it and we talk non-stop through dinner, and after too. We all help set the table and clean up. We finish eating in an hour, but we talk for much longer.
So far, our dinners have been very deluxe. We had Taro, a traditional root, Poisson Cru with a different type of fish, and fish cakes. But these were no ordinary fish cakes. They were made up of hundreds of little fish two cm long mixed in batter and fried in oil. They were delicious, like latkas, but with fish, not potatoes. Apparently they are the same kind of fish that the whales eat around here.
Today we got a driven around Mo’orea, literally. We stopped for the necessary reasons, such as buying some coconut ice cream and having a picnic at a church. Later we stopped to go snorkeling too. The current wasn’t as strong where we went snorkeling as it was at the hotel on Tahiti, but you still had to be paddling constantly stay in one place. We were all pretty exhausted when we got out.
Snorkeling here can be dangerous. Well, it’s not really the snorkeling, it’s the getting into the water. There is a type of fish, called Stone Fish, Poisson pierre, that if stepped on, can paralyze you, potentially fatally. Poisson pierre looks like a stone with brightly coloured spines, so it is easy to miss, especially if you are walking among rocks. We haven’t stepped on it yet, but it only takes one false move.
