August 30/31

I had forgotten what a healthy reef looked like. We (and theTahiatas) went to Michael (the person who took us to see the whales) and his family’s house. They live on a motu, a coral island. It is a buildup of coral on the barrier reef. There is no volcanic core to the island, like on Moorea. The only soil is what has built up on the sand and coral. Their motu is connected by a thin strip of land that goes over what used to be the lagoon. It was partly filled in by a golf course. Since we were right on the reef, the coral and fish species were amazing. The coral was alive for one thing, that meant that it was colored in blues, purples and yellows. There were fish that were electric blue, ones that were up to half a meter in size, and some new species, like black clown fish with turquoise faces. Sadly, no sharks though. But we did see one whale. As we were getting out of the water we saw it blow. Through the binoculars we could see it travel and then dive.

The next day we got a tour of Opunoho Valley. Gré rode with Daddy in the cab of the pickup explaining what we were seeing as we drove. I don’t know how much Daddy got out of it, seeing as he only speaks minimal French and Gré doesn’t speak any English. We (Paulette, Taufa, Georgie, Paulette’s granddaughter and I) rode in the back of the pickup. When we went up hill we slid backwards in the open box, then when we went downhill, we slid forward—it wasn’t the most comfortable ride ever.

Most of the time we were driving though seemingly endless pineapple plantations. For those of you who haven’t seen a Pineapple plant, they look kind of like a cactus. The Pineapples grow in the center of the plant, with a cage of serrated leaves enclosing the fruit. Can you imagine having to harvest the Pineapples? There isn’t even enough room to walk in between the rows. I hope the workers are getting paid well.

That evening we had our last dinner at Paulette and Gré’s. Jenny arrived from the airport then too. Jenny also does archaeological research here. She and Momma are going to write a book combining both of their PhD research projects. After dinner we moved to the University of California Berkeley Gump research station where we will be staying until we leave for Fakarava.