ARRIVAL IN TUBUAI

I woke up at 04:00am.

Daniel, of the Pension Damyr, drove me to the airport at 04:45am. It was raining a lot!

The plane took off at 06:00am as scheduled. We had a stop in Raivavae after a 1h50mn time flight. We stayed 20mn then another 30mn time flight to Tubuai. The view from above Raivavae and Tubuai was amazing.

I was welcomed at the airport of Tubuai by one of the daughters of Tico (Richard) and Juliette. I met also Simone who was a niece of Juliette. The drive to the Pension TOENA was beautiful, full of beauty... Wonderful beaches, a lagoon with a gradation of blue, beautifully shaped mountains and still a luxuriant nature.

Then we arrived at the Pension TOENA.

Here are some pictures:

Here is my bungalow:

Juliette showed me my bungalow and offered me a coffee with vanilla inside. It was very good.

Simone drove me in her car all around the village. Then, we came back to the Pension where I had lunch. Indeed, in Tubuai, I preferred to choose the full board. So today the lunch menu was: raw vegetables, grilled fillet of surgeon fish, sweet potatoes, taro and for dessert watermelon. The whole family is nice and very welcoming and friendly. It’s so great also to share a meal with a local family...

I told Juliette that I would like to move on to Polynesia and this was the reason why I would like to visit all the archipelagos of French Polynesia and choose the island where I would like to live. She answered that if I chose Tubuai, she could help me and she already needed someone with a boat license to go fishing with the tourists! Juliette added that they needed also someone who organizes horse rides for tourists and children...

After lunch, I had a rest until 2:00pm. Then, Juliette drove me all around the island in her car, with her 2-year-old grandson.

Tubuai is particularly beautiful, vast and very flat. This island has, like Raivavae, a very beautiful lagoon, contrary to the other islands of the Austral Islands which have no lagoon. There are about 2,000 inhabitants in Tubuai. Juliette comes from Rangiroa. She is at the Assembly of Polynesia, on the political list of Gaston Flosse and she represents the Austral Islands. Her brother is the mayor of Rangiroa.

Then return to the Pension and rest until dinner time. At the table, there were two other clients: two Polynesian who were here to work and who rented a bungalow. The menu of dinner tonight was: raw vegetables, brochette of fish, gratin of taro, pineapple cake and vanilla ice-cream.

I went to bed at 8:30pm.