This was published 5 years ago
Tahiti to Bora Bora and Moorea: Polynesia cruising with Oceania
Bora Bora Lagoon is breathtakingly beautiful.Credit: Alamy
"My island is the most beautiful," announces our local guide, improbably named Giovanni, puffing up his chest with pride. He's wearing a garland of leaves on his head like an ancient Olympian and a hibiscus-print shirt whose colours are loud enough to match the colour explosion inside the market, which is piled with papaya, dragon fruit and purple potatoes. Parrot fish hang on strings. Local fei bananas used in cooking have startling orange skin.
A Polynesian market in the company of a cheerful local is a good way to start any day. The harbour is blue, my ship Marina spanking white, the stall owners clad in pink and yellow dresses and crowns of bougainvillea.
But don't ask me if Raiatea is the most beautiful island. So far, my cruise has taken me from Tahiti to Bora Bora and Moorea, and every island has been absurdly gorgeous.
The view from the mountains of the north-west coast of Tahiti with Moorea island in the background.Credit: Alamy
Raiatea is same-same only different. It has a splendiferous lagoon and beauteous bays, of course, but is also a centre of ancient Polynesian culture. It's the second-largest of the Society Islands after Tahiti, yet has only modest tourism.
Vanilla, pineapple and coconut farming are its mainstays. "Tahitian, Madagascar and Mexican are the main types of vanilla, but they say Tahitian is the best, really fragrant and potent and I think amazing," Giovanni says. "My island is the best for vanilla!"
Marina is docked at main town Uturoa just across the road from the central market. I've opted for a culinary tour, something of a speciality with Oceania Cruises, which has a reputation for its foodie focus, and for shore excursions that explore that lovely intersection between food and culture.
Ricotta and spinach tortellini from Toscana restaurant on Oceania's ship Marina.
The market is our first stop. We inspect rambutans, pomelos, mangos the size of small oranges and avocados as large as footballs. Giovanni introduces us to the starchy roots so common in local cuisine, such as taro and manioc. He explains how breadfruit is roasted whole on coals, then peeled, mashed into a paste and covered with coconut milk to make a staple called kaka.
"The breadfruit here is really big and 250 can be harvested from a single tree, everyone has one in their garden," he says.
Our next stop is at a vanilla plantation just beyond town for a chat with owner Bertrand. He says it takes two years for a vanilla vine to grow and produce flowers, which in turn produce a single vanilla pod each. The plants need mulching, and like moisture and somewhat cool air, though cool is a relative term in French Polynesia.
"Keep your pods in rum," Bertrand advises as we depart. "Then add lime and sugarcane and have a little nip every day, and you'll be happy."
We drive on between lagoon and hibiscus hedges to Raiatea Lodge whose chef Eddie takes us through a cooking demonstration. First up is the Polynesian staple poisson cru, a salad of raw tuna and vegetables in coconut milk and lime juice. Then we put one of our fresh vanilla pods to work in the main course, grilled mahi mahi with vanilla sauce. Eddie reduces white wine with finely chops shallots and the vanilla until almost dry, then adds cream and butter with a wantonness that betrays his Brittany origins.
The result is a sweet, unusual accompaniment to fish, part French part Polynesian, which seems to match perfectly with our view across the gardens to Raiatea's neon-blue lagoon. Maybe, we admit to Giovanni, your island is the best for vanilla. Maybe it's the most beautiful too. We're too satisfied to argue as the lagoon shimmers, palm trees rustle and we wait drowsily for dessert.
CRUISE
Oceania Cruises' has several itineraries through French Polynesia, such as a cruise from Papeete to Sydney on November 27, 2018, on Regatta. Marina sails from Santiago to Papeete on January 3, 2019, and follows with several Polynesia-only cruises. The writer sailed a 10-day "Sparkling South Pacific" itinerary round-trip from Papeete visiting Moorea, Fakarava, Rangiroa, Bora Bora, Raiatea and Huahine. From $3450 a person. Phone 1300 355 200. See oceaniacruises.com
Brian Johnston travelled as a guest of Oceania Cruises.
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