Part 1 - Robinson Crusoe
After a lovely reunion at Tahiti on 1st December we finally had the chance to be in each others arms again. Unfortunately we had also decided to spend this night on the airport floor and take the 6am flight out to one of the remote islands (Huahine) the following morning ...
And for our first introduction to French Polynesia - Wow!!! ... our accomodation was on a small remote island (Motu) which contained just two guest huts along with the owners own hut. This was truly a Robinson Crusoe moment without our own servant 'Friday" though. The island offered lots and lots of peace and quiet with the option of snorkelling on all sides of the island as well as having a kayak available for our use at any time.
So, thats exactly what we did - had lots of peace and quiet, lots of snorkelling and plenty of kayaking! We even kayaked acrossed to another Motu which had the remains of an old hotel along with beach and overwater bungalows - it was a very eerie place to be as you could see the rotting remains of an exclusive holiday resort with not a single person to be seen apart from the wild cats sleeping on the reception desk in the foyer.
What are you thinking !??? ........ After a few days of soaking up the sun on our own little island it was back to the mainland. We parked ourselves and our backpacks at the local jetty and scanned the horizon for a Catamaran which would eventually come along and pick us up. After a short while my stomach got the better of us and we decided it made better sense to sit and eat whilst waiting so off we went to the local food van which was conveniently parked next to the harbour - Bife avec pomme frite sil-vous-plais. Typical, Murphys Law, no sooner had the food been ordered and arrived and a small Zodiac boat come speeding along the harbour with two European looking types with their long hair blowing in the wind. After some quick kisses between Monika and the couple I could only think she had either taken this French thing a little too far, or this was indeed her friends and our pick-up for the Catamaran.
It seemed thay had already moored the Catamaran further long the beach so, after a quick bite, we threw our back-packs in the boat and off we sped towards the Catamaran to meet the rest of the people we were going to spend the next two weeks with.
It was a great experience to live aboard the Catamaran and explore the Society Islands of French Polynesia. To put it in perspective we explored one small part of a group of islands which in total covers an area of the globe the size of Europe!
Lots and lots of sunshine, yellow sands and many many different blues of water - truly truly beautiful!!!
James in the middle of endless shades of blue!
We got invited by locals to join their family party on their remote island! :-)
Yummi! ... and fresher than fresh!
Beautiful Bora Bora!
PS - With regards to the title of this part of the blog, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zkZ3f8DnKs .... was worth a laugh or two when on board :o)
Part 3 - Living like Kings
They say that pictures speak a thousand words - well this is very very true for French Polynesia - See below.
French Polynesia has to be one of the most expensive places to travel in the world. As much as you try and fight it, and get frustrated by the price of even a beer, there comes a point when you just roll over, accept defeat, accept it for what it is and remind yourself you only ever live once and might never be coming past this place again. Once you are over this hurdle, you just sit back (with credit card close to hand) and let French Polynesia wash over you .............
The stunning atoll Tikehau from the plane
Empty beaches, pink sand and turquios water
Our "special" overwater bungalow! :-)
Snorkeling with sharks
Part 4 - 'Yes' !!!
They say that you know when you know - from my perspective (and cannot speak on behalf of Monika ;o>), from the day my eyes met hers, I knew!!! ............ 4+ years later, with a few hurdles to challenge us, it was time to show her what I really felt for her. And what better place than one of the most romantic places on earth.
With a little prior planning all the pieces were safely tucked in the bottom of my rucksack waiting for the 'right' time. Now, what exactly is the right time when you are in French Polynesia - every sun-set is more romantic than the previous, every patch of blue water even more special than the last and every white beach more pure than the one you sat on that morning.
21st December all of the planets seemed to be aligned (there had even been a full eclipse of the moon the night before so this metaphor was actually technically correct too!) and an early wake-up call had me out of the room, before Monika could wake, to make the final preparations.
With the help of the housemaid everything was set for our return from breakfast ............
Happy to say, with a few tears shared by the both of us, she said Yes !!!!!!!!!!!! ..... most amazing and happy day of my life!
