Ch-ch-ch-Changes

January 18, 2025
80 degrees

"We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words — to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.” ~ C.S. Lewis

When I first glimpsed Mo'orea in 2016, my chest constricted strangely. Even though the day was overcast, and the sun struggled to break through, the island was achingly beautiful. The jagged peaks rising from the waves made me weep for joy that God had blessed me with sight. 

Mo'orea in 2016

Now it appears we will not be calling on Mo'orea during this voyage, but I'm okay with that. So often when we visit a place that affects us deeply, we find on returning that the experience is not repeatable. And I suspect it's not because the place has changed. It's because I have. 

Evidently there was a groundswell of pushback over missing Bora Bora, so Viking has rearranged the itinerary so we could double back to "Bali Hai" after we deliver our ill shipmate to the hospital in Papeete. Today, we'll be in Tahiti, tomorrow Bora Bora, and then back to Tahiti so the Sky can be reprovisioned while we spend another day on this capital island of French Polynesia. But that leaves no room for Mo'orea in the schedule.

No matter. I still carry the memory in my heart.

 

Today, we reached Papeete around 9 AM. After the initial customs inspection of the Sky, a trio of crewmen wheeled out several suitcases and carry-on bags to a waiting taxi. The patient was brought down the gangway by EMT's from the Tahitian hospital. The woman who was disembarking with the ill man was escorted to the hospital in the taxi by our hotel manager. The man who supervises over 400 of the nearly 500 crew members on board, dropped everything to take care of this emergency and help them negotiate the scary prospect of seeking medical care in a far off land.  

It makes me feel even more satisfied with our choice of cruise line. Anyone can deliver an exciting itinerary, excellent meals and entertainment, but when there's a serious complication, it matters who's by your side. 

Last time we were in Tahiti in 2016, we made a stop at the museum of Polynesia. As usual, there wasn't nearly enough time for me to read all the placards and soak up all the exhibits of art and artifacts. So today, we joined an excursion that made the museum its sole focus. 

Even though our guide Greg was not a native--he moved from CA some 30 years ago--he was  knowledgable and passionate about French Polynesia and telling the story of the migration of the people. Just as the Atlantic has the Bermuda Triangle, the Pacific has its Polynesian Triangle, stretching from Hawaii, to Easter Island, and then to New Zealand. It's a large enough area to fit most of the continuous United States inside it. 

Greg claimed the Polynesians had a "six hour work week" because food was so readily available on Tahiti, but a people who carved iron wood (a wood so dense it will not float!) and volanic rock with stone tools cannot have been without a serious work ethic.  

Often the migrating ancient polynesians are portrayed as couragous and intrepid, but Greg's opinion is that they were the "losers." As the population grew on various islands, more wars and battles arose between competing factions. Greg suggests that those who lost were banished, rather than being killed outright. At least on the open ocean, there was a chance.

But what a slim one! It sort of reminds me of my own family who came to America in the 1600's. Clearly, we were in trouble in the old country. Or the vikings who were mostly second sons and couldn't inherit any of the miniscule plots of arable land in Norway.  

Still, you have to admire the ingenuity of the South Pacific seafarers. They packed everything they thought they'd need to transplant their culture on a distant shore. These stone age people managed to spread over the entire Pacific, from the island of Taiwan to Easter Island. Without any metal tools, they managed to build double hull canoes. They didn't weave cloth, but they discovered how to pound certain plants into sheets of something resembling it.  They didn't fire any pottery, but made use of stone tools to carve out gourds. They developed no written language, but retained a vibrant oral tradition of their animistic religion. 

I'm sorry not to offer more photos. The flowers around the museum were spectabular and plumeria trees were in riotous bloom. Unfortunately the band-width is making the internet pretty slow on board. But the DH is working on his montages and we'll upload them as soon as we're able. 

 

More soon...