A sensory retrospective of French Polynesia

Port lecturer Douglas Pearson encouraged us, in every one of his presentations, to do more that just tour the islands. He wanted us to immerse ourselves in French Polynesia. He had a slide- See. Hear. Smell. Taste. Touch. Feel.- and I thought about those words every day.

Now that we are at the end of our French Polynesian winter, I wanted to give my 'Best of' the senses of French Polynesia. It was hard to refrain from listing ten more things for each sense; there were so many that were so good.  But it wasn't hard to choose the very best experiences...those that follow are the clear standouts and are forever etched in my mind. 

See:  the view of the lagoon surrounding Taha'a and Raiatea from the top of Mount Tapioi in Raiatea

Hear:  the ocean thunderously crashing on the reef just 100 or so yards away as we sat safely on the calm waters of the beach at the Bora Bora Hilton Nui

Smell:  wearing a wreath of plumeria flowers while drinking a tropical drink topped with a tiare flower at the Kia Ora Resort on Rangiroa

Taste:  enjoying taro ice cream on Huahine 

Touch:  the velvety softness of stingrays as they brushed against me on Moorea and Bora Bora 

Feel:  the cooling breeze coming across the Sea of the Moon at the Sofitel Moorea after the heat of Papeete

Just remembering those moments makes me smile. 

Life is good. :-)