French Polynesia - life in a pearl farm

The destination! Pearl farm became my home for about one week. Life in the middle of ocean, water water water and just a thin stretch of land,  farm work - pearl farm work!!! And of course never ending talks about fishing :)

Ocean side

Pearl farm built inside the lagoon side, standing on poles on the shallow reef, thin bridge going over the water to the island. Remote place, just few fishing boats per day passing. Rare visitors - like me - can come here and stay for free, if willing to get hands dirty with the farm work! Work - diving for pearl baskets, shells cleaning, attaching shells to baskets.

 

Pearl shells attached to basket

Day 1 decided to dive for baskets, like planned - free dive down, pick the basket and towards the surface to hand it over to boat, no problems. With second dive decided to follow the locals and take 2 baskets at a time. Picked the 2 and towards the surface, mere 2 meters to go the lower corner of basket got stuck in ropes, what a great moment. Air was running out, so no time to go down to un-do the ropes. Only way to drop the baskets to the bottom of the lagoon - would be rather nice black for the first day :) Luckily one of the other divers noticed me doing fish talk and saved the baskets from going to the bottom. Good introduction to the life in the middle of the ocean :)

Thursday is the big day for Ahe, cargo ship is brining ordered goods and fuel to the island, unloads it and goes on to other islands. All the households around the island will go to the tiny village to pick up pre-ordered packages and also have the big night out. 

The waters are full of sharks, smaller ones 1-2m. In farm sharks loved to swim just under the bridge and also in the area where the pearl baskets were hanging under water. And of course whenever going for harpoon fishing, usually appearing right after catching a fish and making a circle just below. For the second fish already closer. It is good to call it a day when they are coming to snatch the caught fish.

The boats can enter the lagoon only through one place called the Pass. The best for fishing and also the place with strongest current.

In the farm there was plenty of time to think about important things, like why on Earth the logo of Australian biggest salt brand has a boy who is running after a live chicken and pouring salt on it. One of the cruellest logo to have.

Männi searching for answer

Ahe island airport

5 pearls for memory

French Polynesia - Heiva and other animals

The story of why I didn't visit Estonia in summer 2012 and swapped it for 2 weeks of winter in French Polynesia. From China it must be just a short trip further to make it to Middle of Pacific Ocean, so why not to do it?! This was my first impression when the whole idea started to roll...

... If there is a small island at the very edge of the world with a pearl farm on it, then this has to be THE destination. Actually it all started few years back in 2008 in Australia, where I met university time friend Männi, who was living at that time on the beach near Brisbane and did nothing but surfing. Checking out the beaches of Queensland lead to talks of all kinds of crazy corners of the world, as a result the project Tuamotu was initiated. Well, few years passed, till in 2011 December I got to know that Männi had actually made it to Ahe atoll in Tuamotu Islands and is living in one remote pearl farm.

Tokyo

After researching flight deals through Europe and the U.S., managed to finally discover that Polynesia can be reached by Air Tahiti Nui. Flights from Tokyo - perfect - just "next to" my current home and as Japan is one of these mystery destinations it was all GO for me. Even though it was just a night-over in Tokyo, hotel location selection was inspired by Murakami's book. Selected hotel - obviously the capsule type - "room" size is 2x0.9x1m, large enough for TV, radio, alarm clock, and me. Bonus was the rooftop with a proper bathhouse - classic Japanese style.

Graffiti art. Morning started with Lost in Translation feeling, looking for ATM able to deal with foreign cards, this took about half the time available before heading back to airport :)

Japanese fashion

French Polynesia

On the plane.

Heiva
12 hours over the Pacific Ocean and my feet touched the ground on Tahiti. Dateline and the equator crossed, winter had started and it was bloody hot. Then 1 hour flight from Tahiti to Raiatea island, and from Raiatea it was just a short crossing on boat to Taha island. Männi waiting for me in the airport in true Tahiti style - bare foot, motor boat as the vehicle parked in the airport boat parking lot.

Despite the closeness of Bora-Bora 5-star hotels, I spent the first nights on the old sailing boat parked in the middle of a secluded bay. Then moved to the island to live in Polynesian family home - a house with walls, windows, roof and floor, only doors had been forgotten. Rooms were full of cats, chickens and occasional!

Polynesian Heiva - historic dance and song festival - groups come together from all over the archipelago. The family offering me a place to stay was deeply involved in organizing the Heiva, father had choreographed Taha dances, mother sang in the choir and one of the sons was in a dance group.

Building his boat.

Heiva dances

and songs

Männi and the host family's son giving "all cool" or "give me a call" sign.

Moments before getting on the dancing arena

After Heiva and Taha island it was time to leave the crowded civilization behind and fly 3 hours further to Tuamotu archipelago, the place that is almost at the vey end of the world. Ahe atoll  - collapsed volcano that has only the edge rim out from the ocean, the 10-20km in diameter, oval ring with huge lagoon inside, the dry land rim 3-400 meters wide. All very simple, there was a runway for airplane to land, shed served as a terminal. To leave the terminal there has to be somebody to pick you up by boat. No road will lead to the village on the other side of the atoll.