Every once in awhile we have the privilege of hosting a few of our local Polynesian friends on Sugar Shack. The local English teacher, Poerani (also known as Popo) and her friend Anne hung out with us for a few days. Anne is an English teacher in Huahine who is visiting Gambier.
We picked Popo and Anne up along with loads of food and a full cooler. You could see the excitement in their eyes! We had hoped to raise the sails, but there was little to no wind. A motor it is. We head to Onemea Baie which is on the west side of Taravai. It is a beautiful, isolated bay with a pretty beach, beautiful reef, and is surrounded by lush green hills.
Onemea with Polynesian Friends
The motor only took about 2 hours as we let the ladies enjoy the experience. They hung out on the bean bags which were on the trampoline and had a marvelous time.
We enjoyed some water time hanging out behind the boat with some floats. Then we get the girls out on the paddle boards and they make their way to shore for some beach time.
Polynesian Friends on beach
We enjoy a feast for dinner after a beautiful Polynesian sunset.
Polynesian Sunset
After a lazy morning, fresh bread and a pancake breakfast we head out. Instead of returning straight to Rikitea, we take a detour to a new motu called Tenoko. It is a really small spit of land just east of the main pass. We have always wanted to stop here but the weather has to be just perfect.
Tenoko
Tenoko is a very small motu measuring about 500’ from end to end. There is very little onshore besides rocks, coral and trees. It is surrounded by coral which makes it tricky to get to by dinghy. The image below shows Tenoko in the upper right corner. You can see the main pass into the Gambier lagoon in the lower left corner (pink lines below the red marker)
Popo, Anne and I jump in the water and enjoy the beautiful setting. We were blessed by a visit from a spotted ray who hung out under the boat for well over an hour. Such pretty creatures!
On the way back, we enjoy some sun and goofy girl moments.
Popo and I
It is a true blessing to have met these two ladies – they are the epitome of the perfect local Polynesian friends!
Events from this blog post occurred during early April 2021. Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind our adventures.