Friday, August 31, 2007

Raiatea

The third island we went to was Raiatea. The following pictures are from a lagoon sunset cruise we went on.
My mom and I. And people wonder where I get my facial expressions from!





The island in the distance is Bora Bora

Perfect surfing waves that day! We stayed out there and watched some surfers! It was pretty sweet.


Oyster hut and Bora Bora in the background, as well as lots of water, fish, coral and sharks!

We did a 4x4 through the middle of the island and also stopped at a vaniall plantation which was quite interesting.






This kid was standing on the pile of gravel crying really loudly. It was kind of funny though, because he was pretty much by himself and was really really loud.


The rim of the volcano on the island



Vanilla plants!
House by the ocean




An old Marae, which is where human sacrifices used to take place.









View up the coconut tree
There are wild chickens everywhere and a lot of little chicks too. These guys were having a little feast on the smashed melons that were on the ground.



Vanilla bean plant demonstration

Crazy flower

Church in the distance. Protestant Churches are the main religion of most of the islands. I would have thought Catholocism, because the islands are governed by France, but I guess the Protestants were the first missionaries, so they have churches everywhere.


Drying coconuts

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Second Day in Paradise

Our second day was on an island called Huahine.





My mom enjoying the boat ride.
Our cruise ship from afar.

Beautiful!










we went to a mini island and had our lunches in the water!! It was great! If you threw food in, the fish would come gather around you and it was pretty sweet!



Our guide Delores


Loved the headband!


The bridge connecting two of the islands



Our musical accompaniment along the way.


In the afternoon we went snorkelling in this area. We saw a giant eel!