MEETING WITH “GRANDMA PARE” IN RURUTU
I woke up at 06:10am. Shower, clothing and breakfast.
I talked with a very nice couple and the woman gave me their name and address and told me that she was very interested to have a look regularly at my blog to see my Polynesian adventures!
Today, I went for a hike with Reti, the local guide in Rurutu. At 08:10am, he came to pick me up with his car at the Pension. His cousin, Alfred, was with him.
We stopped for a while on a beach to take some pictures.
Then we went to the Town Hall of Moerai where there was in the room of the Council a copy of the famous Tiki A’a (the ancestor of the gods of Rurutu).
Then, we went hiking on the plateau of Tetuanui and in the private property of Metuari’i.
The hike was very nice and very shady too.
At 12:00pm, I invited Reti and Alfred for lunch. They accepted with pleasure. We went to a restaurant where we ordered a big plate of raw tuna. While we were waiting for our meal, Reti saw his grandmother and his aunt. He asked them to come and join us at our table. And then, I saw a very impressive and beautiful grandmother. She was impressive by the aura she radiated. She had a beautiful face and a very good taste about her clothes, her hat and the flower delicately put behind her right ear. She spoke French perfectly.
Actually, the grandmother of Reti was a symbolic figure on the island of Rurutu. It was “Grandma Pare“: her real name was Taaria Teinaore, as known as Pare. She was born on October 11th 1930 in Auti. She was the fourth on a family of twelve children. She got married to Clet Walker of Tahiti. She worked as a nurse. She founded in 1980 the Association of Polynesian craftsmen Tamatea, then the craft Association Tiare Poera. She participated in some contests proposed by the Tahitian Academy where she obtained several times the first prize of the best book (see “Mémoires d’avenir d’une île australe”: “Memories of the future of an Austral Island”). In 1987, Pare came back to Rurutu. She founded the craft and cultural Association Taurama. She was elected in 1993 local representative of Rurutu and she chaired the Territorial Center of Information for Women and Families. Then, Pare founded the Association Tau metua vaine. She was a member of the Council of the Wisemen, of the Toohitu, of the Tourism Comity, of the Association of Fairground people. She was a figure of the island. In 1996, Pare was named as a “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite” (legion of merit). And I could confirm that she was really an exceptional woman.
Here is the picture I took during lunch (from the left to the right: Alfred, Reti, Grandma Pare and one of her daughters).
After lunch, Reti drove me back to the Pension at about 1:30pm. I took a rest because it was raining!
At 3:30pm, I went for a walk on the beach facing the Pension and I stared at the ocean. Then, I came back to the Pension at 4:45pm. Then I took another rest until dinner time. The menu was: raw vegetables, fried chicken, smashed potatoes, taro and lime sorbet. I still ate too much, I was so full! I didn’t know how many kilos I had gained since my arrival in Polynesia, but I began feeling a big roll of fat on my stomach! Moreover, this morning, all the other guests of the Pension left and so I was the only guest and will be the only guest at the Pension during 3 days. It was less nice.
Then I went to bed at 8:30pm.