Tahiti #1 la Orana #039

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Set among tropical gardens, alongside a beautiful black sand beach, Tahiti Pearl Beach Resort features an infinity pool, a day spa and a health club.

Hiti Mahana waterfront restaurant serves a mix of Tahitian, southeast Asian and Mediterranean cuisines. As a guest we enjoyed tropical cocktails and views of Matavai Bay at the Bay Bar.

Swimming and relaxing are the main activities on the first day! You can swim in the large infinity pool and observe the ocean. Loved the soft black sand and the sound of the waves!

Dining/lounge area was very pleasant and is adequately staffed. We had the breakfast buffet and the food was very good and the Tahitian dance show was terrific. We would stay there again!  In fact Dream Vacations has scheduled another tour there very soon!

I took many beautiful photos of the hotel along with it's Check-in staff with their flower halos - very beautiful!  Please order your own download of this beautiful area!

Papeete, on Tahiti, is the capital of French Polynesia, a group of islands in the South Pacific. Beside the port, busy place Vai’ete fills with roulottes, or food carts in the evenings.

Nearby, the large Marché de Papeete market sells local produce, fish and handicrafts. The Robert Wan Pearl Museum focuses on the local pearl industry and sells jewelry. You can get anything from produce, red and blue fish, flower displays, listen to music and watch all the activity - lots of pictures and videos!

Papeete is a great base for exploring Tahiti’s lagoons, black and white sand beaches and volcanoes. We also found a lively nightlife scene centered around the ferry dock.

For an authentic island experience, we visited the Mapuru a Paraita market or Musee de la Perle to find local black pearls when we returned from our cruise.  I just had to have the beautiful black pearl necklace to match the bracelet I bought in Bora Bora!  They are known for their black pearls and they're not cheap either!  Check out the market...

Marché Papeete or Papeete Market is an extensive market place in Papeete, the capital of Tahiti. This large and bustling market hall offers local farm products, handicrafts, souvenirs and a variety of fish and food products; sells fruit, vegetables, fish, oils, handicrafts and various souvenir items. Vendors also sell local textiles and handcrafted items such as shell necklaces.  

If you only have a few hours time in Papetee, visit this place. Everything French Polynesian in terms of food, jewelry, other art products congregate here. Of course quality and price varies depending on the situations at that time.  Here's a few pictures - the rest are on our special download for your enjoyment !!!

(16:00 & over 200 photos for just $12.00) #040

It’s easy not to notice the small, lovely islets that form a ring around the lagoon of Fakarava, the second largest atoll in French Polynesia. After all, it’s the lagoon that draws your attention, its beauty pulling at you like a magnet. 

• There is a purity in the lagoon, and in the quiet elegance of the marine life that live out their lives in the shallows near shore. It’s almost as if each time you glance at it you’re seeing and feeling it for the first time.

•  Here, the world seems unblemished.

•  Life in the small villages, with their bougainvillea lined roads, bright coral churches, quaint homes, boulangerie, snacks and restaurants seems to hover above the clear waters that surround this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

One of the purposes of such a reserve is to combine conservation of natural resources and human development in a harmonious way (research, surveillance, training and education of locals).

The famous French painter Henri Matisse (1869-1954) would claim that colors were for setting oneself free. The artist spent three months in Tahiti in 1930 exploring as far as Fakarava, where he was enthralled by the infinite variety and shades of blue of the lagoon. This discovery was such that it triggered a new creative artistic move for Matisse. Think of Fakarava visual therapy for the soul.

Omo‘a is the name of a small town and valley at the head of a bay by the same name, on Fatu Hiva. The bay of Omo‘a is the southernmost bay on the western coast of Fatu Hiva, and provides a good anchorage. The village of Omo‘a was home to 247 inhabitants.

Fatu-Hiva is the southernmost island of the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. With Motu Nao as its closest neighbor, it is also the most isolated of the inhabited islands. 

Anchored, tender to the pier in the village of Omoa.

Fatu-Hiva is the southernmost island of the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. With Motu Nao as its closest neighbor, it is also the most isolated of the inhabited islands.

As far away from the rest of the world as it’s possible to get in these modern times (despite mobile phones and satellite TVs), Fatu Hiva is a marvellous ‘stop the world and get off’ place. When arriving by boat (there’s no landing strip), expect a visual shock: wrinkled cliffs tumble into the ocean and splendid bays, including the iconic Bay of Virgins, indent the coastline.

We had to use the "tender boat" to come on the island.