August 3, 2012
Over our time in Raiatea, we found that it is a strange, beautiful and exotic place. Each island in French Polynesia is unique, but somehow Raiatea is more so; it feels different from the other islands. When I see a new place, I tend to go through the brain memory files for a close match. Often, I can pick out places from my past that a new place reminds me of, but not so much with Raiatea. Sometimes it is beautiful and feels like a dream world, sometimes it is strange, sometimes it’s a little foreboding, and sometimes it just feels like the end of the earth.
This really hit home when a friend of ours was thinking about going around to seldom-visited anchorages on the south and west side of the island. On our circle-island drive we had seen these anchorages and been surprised there were no boats in any of them! Hearing our friend talk about going, we told him these would be perfect for him: off the beaten path. I then realized, in spite of my own love for the occasional secluded bay, I would not want to anchor in these places. Even though they were only a few miles away, they seemed too wild and remote, the kind of place where you just feel very alone (in an unsettling way).
Rich and I came to love this island, but this is one of those examples of it being important to tell people why you love a place (the same way you should tell them why you don’t). We were lucky and got into a marina and were very comfortable during a windy period – we were in the right place at the right time. We rented a car and saw the island. We liked the “strange” Chinese food (other cruisers were always surprised that it wasn’t spicy, resorting to using Tabasco sauce to try to liven it up). We did yoga every morning on a grassy area overlooking a beautiful bay, and we made great friends here.
I can certainly see how for most cruisers, this is a quick stop in an odd place for groceries and duty-free fuel before heading on to the more classically beautiful Taha’a and Bora Bora. This was one of our favorite places, but we’d be careful about recommending it as this isn’t for everyone. With our circumstances, it was perfect for us. -Cyndi
Below, some photos from our circle-island car trip.
