Huahine, Society Islands, French Polynesia

Bump, bump, bump...my knuckles clenched the armrests of my airline seat and I tried to hold on to ward off the whiplash, which was surely coming. Air Tahiti Nui is NOT my favorite airline. The small aircraft had just landed safely (and by safely I mean from my vantage point no one appeared to be dead) on a short flight from Bora Bora to Huahine. As Ana, my traveling companion from California, and I disembarked the aircraft it was as we had stepped into another time and place. By the time our travels had led us to Huahine we had been in French Polynesia for quite sometime and had visited many of the islands, however, Huahine was by far the most wild and underdeveloped. Coconut groves and thick rainforests adorned the surrounding scenery.

Iaorana! The airport agents greeted us as we made our way through the airport. We were off to pick-up our rental car and get a few recommendations on what to do on such a majestic isle. The man behind the rental counter leapt up abrubtly when we came through the door. It looked as if he hadn't had any customers in days and shocked that someone would wake him from his nap. He was European and quite nice. Ana asked him what we should do with all of our time and we soon found out that the number one attraction on Huahine is visiting the "Sacred Eels". I am not making this up! Eels are very important to Tahitian culture, but really, we had traveled to one of the most beautiful island chains in the world to visit eels? Keep in mind that these are not the maginificent moray eels that live in the caves and crevices of the reef, these are nasty, slimy, freshwater eels that slither around just like snakes! The man was literally ecstatic we were going, he immediately pulled out a map and frantically drew our driving route, although it wouldn't have been hard to find on the one road on the island! And we were off to see the eels....

As we pulled up to the one-lane bridge we knew we had arrived in the right place. A group of other tourists had beaten us to it. I can assure you that they were the only other tourists on this deserted island. Ana and I stood on the bank of the shallow stream and waited. A few moments later a small boy, no older than 4, appeared with a can full of mackerel. Before he had even opened it, the eels recognized him and collectively swam over and surrounded him. It was one of the most repulsive things I have ever seen in my life! They slithered and contorted their bodies, some even coming out of the water and exposing their black bodies on the rocks. I was literally horrified. These monstrous eels looked as if they were going to eat that poor boy alive! The size of these creatures was incredible. He just looked up and smiled at us as if on que. Everything was going to be okay. He had probably done this a hundred times! The boy dispersed his can of mackerel and as quickly as he came he disappeared. The eels were even fatter and happier than ever. Together they swam back to the middle of the stream and waited patiently for their next meal. Wow - I thought to myself, utterly disgusting, but a memory that I will truly never ever forget. It was not until years later when I was on a plane bound for Lima that this memory came back to haunt me. The couple next to me, cultural anthropologists and fellow world travelers, found out that I had been to Huahine and the first words out of their mouths were "Did you see the sacred eels"? I chuckled to myself and answered "I wouldn't have missed it for the world"!

Huahine is home to an abundance of archaeological sites and holds high significance in Tahiti's ancient past. The island has the oldest recorded date of human occupation among the Society Islands. The most famous of the sites is located near the village of Maeva. It boasts the largest concentration of pre-European marae in Polynesia. Almost fully restored, approximately 200 archaeological stone structures have survived centuries of natural destruction. These structures lie along the shores of Lake Fauna Nui and on the sacred Matairea Hill and include marae of island chieftains, dwellings, horticultural & aquacultural developments, religious, and ceremonial monuments. Overlooking the ancient stone fish traps we followed a footpath that meandered among the marae. It was absolutely fascinating and reminded me very much of the heiau found in the Hawaiian Islands. As it should due to the fact that the last settlement of Polynesians that migrated to the pre-contact Hawaiian Islands originated from Tahiti. Whenever I explore ancient archaeological sites I literally get chills that run up the back of my spine. Being surrounded by ancient structures and the mana that is exuded from the land it is as if you have leapt back into the past and feel the presence of a society and culture that was so similiar, yet so different from your own. I always feel as if the land itself is communicating with me, being unbound by the constraints of time and space.

Every island fantasy comes to an end with the appearance of a cruise ship. Sunburned, snooty, obnoxious, and irritating tourists surely follow - and in mass quantities I might add. Ana and I stood on the pier and watched the Wind Star pull in and tie off in the small harbor. We had ventured into the village to buy some apple bananas and had been met with a not so pleasant surprise by its arrival. Just as we were about to leave we noticed a group of children who had gathered on the pier. They paid no attention to the Europeans who were furiuosly trying to snap pictures of them, they just stared intently at the large rope that had been used to tie off the vessel with ear-to-ear, mischevious smiles on their faces. It was like clock work. As soon as the last passenger had disembarked the first child had already made his way up the rope. He walked it as graceful as a tight rope. SPLASH!! I watched him cannon ball right off the side of the ship into the shallow water below. The boy surfaced and the joy on his face was simply priceless. Before I knew it he was in line for his next turn! By now there was a line all the way up the rope and the sounds of laughing and screaming filled the air. Suddenly, the captain of the ship came on deck and started yelling at the top of his lungs to get off of his --- --- ship. Now these children did not speak a word of English, but I on the other hand speak it fluently. At this I ripped off my clothes (being from Hawai'i it is second nature to wear a bathing suit under my clothes at all times) and proceeded to the edge of the pier. As I made my way to the rope I stared right into the whites of the captain's eyes and smiled. I am sure he was baffled that this blonde haired girl was about to join in on the havoc, but instead he threw his hands up in the air, muttered some more profanities and walked back to the bridge. The walk up the rope was scarier than I had imagined, but mostly because the water below was so shallow. Fall flat, fall flat, I kept repeating to myself. On the way up I had to reach out and balance my hand on the side of the ship in order to keep myself from falling in prematurely. When I finally got to the top it was a good twenty feet up, which does not sound like a lot, but again THE WATER BELOW WAS VERY SHALLOW! SPLASH!!! I made it and as I surfaced all I could hear was the sound of children cheering. Before I knew it I was in the line again, and again, and again......

Our accommodations on the island were typically Tahitian. We stayed in a studio-type shack with two beds draped with mosquito netting. A table and chairs sat right out front and directly faced the tranquil lagoon. The first night Ana and I stayed there we had done so much sightseeing that by the time we made our way back to our room it was quite late. Nothing was open - seriously it was worse than Kauai! We were starving!!! The two of us completely ransacked our rental car and came up with a partially eaten loaf of bread and a bottle of wine. DINNER! The gentle lapping of the water against the shoreline and the sound of the palm trees swaying in the breeze added to the calming ambiance of the evening. That soon came to an end when Ana realized she had locked the key to our room INSIDE OF THE ROOM. Exhausted, tipsy, and laughing hysterically as we tried to climb through the window, we attracted the attention of some local children. Ana spoke with them in French and then even more laughing insued. Before I knew it the smallest one was up and over the windowsill and our door swung open. We could finally go to bed! We crawled under our mosquito netting, drank another glass of wine, and went to sleep. In the morning we would be off to visit the Pearl Farms.......