Once in a lifetime opportunities are magical moments and you never know when they will happen or how they will change you. My mom gave our family a memory that will last forever! We had 16 days together and had a glimpse of heaven in the people and place of French Polynesia. We had an overnight in LA to play and start to relax. It also helped to break up the flight across the pacific and into the Southern Hemisphere. Arriving in Tahiti and boating over to Moorea was surreal … there was so much God created beauty and we all loved the feeling of drowning in His glory. Arriving to the hotel and the open air splendor – the sights, the smells, the sounds – everything was melting away anything that wasn’t the absolute truth of who we are. The process of becoming exactly who God made started that instant – I was in awe of how different we all “felt” getting in touch with the connection to our senses. To bring in tastes, we were escorted to our first meal, breakfast, and it set the stage for how incredible all of our food would be …
We made our way to our overwater bungalow and I immediately had to climb down the ladder to get my feet in the ocean. It was the moment I knew it was real and I would never be the same again. Over the first few days, we played in the water, going on whale watching tour and saw momma and baby hump back whales, dolphins, sting rays, little reef sharks; we played on land, renting a car and driving all around the whole island seeing real life, markets, views from the top of Belvedere, fun shops, a variety of pearls, tikis, chickens, more fruits, foliage, flowers and heavenly food. The pace of life in Moorea, the joy of the people, the peace of everything was the best way to be introduced to the culture and the simplicity of Ia’Orana.
We made our way to Tahiti for the next part of our journey. A few days with the more modern Polynesian flair. We did the straw market, the Pearl Museum, the shops, the flower mart … lots of time in the pool , the lagoon and on our balcony … it was fun to see Moorea from a different perspective and relax even more. We were already a week into vacation, completely adjusted and adapted to Polynesian life, when it was time to board the Paul Gaugin.
It was the ship Thad and I had seen a special on a couple years into our marriage. It’s a small ship dedicated to the culture of the islands – 332 passengers max with 217 crew and only the islands. We had said we wanted to sail for our 25th Anniversary – turns out we were on the ship for the 25th anniversary of the day we met vs our 25th wedding anniversary! The cruise introduced us to the intricacies of each island.
- Huahine – there were only 8 on the tour and we visited a working pearl farm and then our guide invited us to his home to snorkel and have a snack together – fresh coconut and bananas picked on their property and fresh squeezed juice – oh my word!
- Bora Bora – we did something I never thought I would ever consider – I swam with huge sharks, saw a 15′ Manta Ray, was surrounded by schools of fish and then bought my self a crown of shells to remember who I am.
- Taha’a – going to a vanilla plantation and understanding why it so amazing was so good, seeing all the ways that every single part of the coconut gets used, and the catamaran took us to a private island. As a family, we made the decision to hire a ships photographer so we could capture everything of the vacation … and have the pictures to prove and remember all that we learned about ourselves and each other.
- Moorea – we closed out the cruise back on our island. We swam with the dolphins that were our bungalow neighbors with during our stay, we got tattoos and celebrated with a Grand Polynesian night watching Wally learn the traditional dances and I learned how to make the flower crowns.
A tour of the island of Tahiti closed out our adventure. We had an afternoon on our first ever black sand beach before preparing to head back home. Most people only dream of a trip like this … the time to stand in paradise … My mom gave our family the top of the line luxury, every experience you could dream of, sensory beauty that can’t be found anywhere else on earth, love laughter and everything our souls needed to find deep rest.
“When you see the southern cross for the first time. You understand now why you came this way” are the song lyrics I sang my whole life – and it is true. I think we are all French Polynesian at some level and we got to go home for a couple weeks to remember who we are; and that is something that I will cherish forever.
