Each of the five regions of French Polynesia has their own character, geography, and culture. So a landfall in a new archipelago feels like entering a brand new place, even if it’s part of the same country we’ve been visiting for the past several months.
The Society Islands are the most developed, and most well-known, archipelago in FP. Even the famous names – Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea – are evocative of tropical scenes, steep jungle-covered peaks dropping to palm-shaded beaches along the crystal-blue waters.
For salty sailors who’ve been away from any settlement larger than a village for a quarter of a year, Tahiti is a revelation. A giant Carrefour grocery store, rivaling the size of the largest in the US or Europe, offers the first opportunity to restock with virtually unlimited fresh produce since Panama, albeit at elevated island prices. Restaurants abound, and the French influence on the island’s cuisine is an indisputable positive.
Nothing in life is free, though, and the novelty of a return to civilization is tempered by the challenges when several hundred thousand people live in a strip of flat land along the base of an island. There is prodigious traffic each morning and afternoon on the single road leading to the big city of Papeete, and while the people are still quite friendly, we’re not greeted by every single person we pass with a cheerful “Bon Jour” or “Ia ora na“.
The Society Islands are volcanic peaks that are ringed with coral, and once through the pass into the lagoon between the coral and the island itself the strength and intensity of the ocean outside fades. Anchorages are well-protected from the seas, and the scenery is spectacular. Cook’s Bay (named for the English explorer, although he reportedly anchored in neighboring Opunohou Bay rather than his eponymous one) is a postcard – a narrow indentation in the north coast of Moorea, with 2000’/600m peaks descending vertically into the deep green water of the shady bay.
While not the most scenic, the lesser-known island of Huahine might be the best fit for Oso’s cruising style. A few small hotels area scattered along the two-lane road that circumnavigates the island, but the prevailing feeling is one of a place that still belongs to the locals – no large developments, mostly small food trucks instead of formal restaurants, and the typical pack of children fishing from town pier.
Oso stages in Bora Bora at the western edge of the Societies, ready to continue the long journey into the sunset, aiming for the far side of the Pacific.
