HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL FROM TAHITI

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

Here is a bouquet arrangement to wish you a HAPPY THANKSGIVING. The flowers were freshly picked from my garden.

This is a day to be thankful for so much that we have in our life...the beauty of nature and people that are surrounding us.

I am thankful for all the blessings that I have recieved through my whole life... the family that I was born in and the one that I have raised with the father of my children.

HAPPY THANKSGING to my friend Vairere Tane and three children Manea, Heitiare and Tahaki.

I love you and miss you all on this special day.

With all my love,

Tararaina

MOOREA

MOOREA
Tahiti Sister Island

Come along with me in my little corner of the world.

Now this is a place like no other places I have taken you so far. This is a unique place with a view over the lagoon, the reef, the ocean and the Island of Tahiti. It is indeed a dream place and definitely very authentic and very close to nature.

The Aremiti boat departed Papeete for the Island of Moorea at 5:00 pm on a Saturday. Hinanui, Matahere and I did this trip together. We all brought with us great food to be prepared while there to share with the family we were going to stay with.


The trip on the Aremiti was very smooth. On the boat they sold drinks and we all got ourselves something very refreshing to drink so our crossing would be nice, fun and exciting. We were saying to each other “Here we are once again…the greatest team going on a new adventure!” all looking forward to a relaxing time during an exceptional long weekend with friends.

The head of the family met us at the dock with his car and drove us to his place. The house we stayed in was a typical Tahitian Fare (Tahitian house). The windows were built very different to allow a constant flow of fresh fragrance of the Kahaia flowers and cool breeze through the whole house.

Here is a picture of a Kahaia flower. It is as you can notice a very tiny thing but it carries a very nice scent that you can smell when walking all over the property.

At dinner we all gathered around the table for a very nice Tapenlou (an Asian Specialty meal) prepared by Val (the lady of the house) and it was with great pleasure we visited until bed time.

As always I was the first up wondering along the coral beach to admire the view. After taking a few pictures and videos…I was in the water enjoying the magic of the place. Aaaaaah! Nice!

The coral reef was just at hand separating me from the deep blue Pacific Ocean while gazing at the Island of Tahiti.

Surfers showed up two hours later with their surfboards under their arms ready to jump over the reef to start sliding on great waves. Ha ha ha this is really amazing to watch! They must have done this since little.

Every day we tasted different food that ranged from Maa Tahiti (Tahitian Food) to B.B.Q and caraibian food. Every day the Master of the house prepared home made Suisse bread for our breakfast and it tasted wonderful with cheese. He even took the time to teach Hinanui’s husband, who joined us the very next day, how to make this wonderful bread.

I have noticed that bathing in the lagoon opens up an appetite. Apparently I was not the only one ‘cause at every meal none of us had any trouble filling up our stomach. Wow! Even the plan overs went.
Ha ha ha… There was so much to eat!

On our leisure time we walked the beach looking to collect a few rare pieces of shells or dead corals that were actually brought up to the beach by the waves during past and violent hurricanes. It is amazing to see how nature works to bring this

whole place together. It is a real beauty. It takes years for multitude of corals to grow and to get stuck together with shells to contribute to the formation of the “papa” (coral reef). I would say that the lagoon we swam in to refresh was all part of the coral reef. You could find “papas” everywhere…close to the shore or right on the beach. Amazing!

Notice in between the reef a few openings. When you have a big opening it is called a cut in the reef. On the island of Tahiti the cut can be very wide…large enough in size to allow a cruise ship through to get closer to land.

I am sure you wished you were all here. I wished you were too. No one wanted to leave this place…We all agreed that this site deserved to be left alone and protected from predators.

I leave you with more pictures for the pleasure of your eyes and soul. I hope they will bring to you much joy.

I would like to thank our hosts who were so kind and gracious to share their home with us. I wish for them to continue to enjoy their privacy and also their retirement. A big MAURUURU (thank you) to Val, her husband and children.

With much love,
Mauruuru and Ia ora na

Written by Tararaina

BEAUTIFUL BORA BORA

BEAUTIFUL BORA BORA
At the Four Seasons Resort http://www.fourseasons.com/borabora/guest_rooms_and_suites.htmls_and_suites.html


The Air Tahiti plane landed in Bora Bora at 7 :45 pm.
Upon arrival the Four Seasons Resort met and transferred customers to their “Motu” (Islet) in their luxurious shuttle boat. During the transfer I was fortunate to sit in the very back under the open sky to admire the Milky Way. As we approached the Resort the captain took us right up to the front of the reception area.

As soon as I was able to step out of the boat I was greeted with a “Ia ora na” (Hello Welcome) and the traditional “Hei Tiare Tahiti” (Tiare Tahiti flour lei). After handling formalities at the reception I was then transferred to my Over-water Bungalow with what they call a “Voiturette” (A Golf Cart).

As we rode to the Bungalow I was able to get a nice feel of the hotel. Everything that I was seeing so far was impressive.

OH MY GOD! My Over-water Bungalow was a real jewel!… awesome and beautiful! You would have loved it too. They welcomed me with a fruit basket and special cookies. I toured the entire bungalow and it got me excited about my stay there. Then soon after my luggage were brought up to me.
I called the Voiturette to take me to the Sunset Bar for a relaxing time before dinner at the restaurant followed by a good night sleep.

Early morning…I was up on the deck starting to take pictures and videos of Bora Bora most famous mountain called OTEMANU. This mountain has been for the longest the signature of the Island. It’s been published, used in movies, in commercials etc... I then spent hours soaking into the beauty and Spirit of the Island.
It suddenly felt like home again. It is such a great feeling! What a wonderful thing to be back in the South Pacific Islands!

With that feeling I did not want to leave the comfort of my bungalow so a room service American Breakfast was ordered. Soon after I took a swim in the turquoise lagoon and laid for a while in the sun.








In the afternoon I took a walk around the property checking out the villas and other parts of the resort.

The villas are great for big families and family reunions.















I was very attracted by the beauty of the place, the trees and flours. I couldn’t help to take pictures to share with you.

I visited the chapel. It is very tiny but exceptional. Behind the alter is a magnificent view of the OTEMANU mountain. This is a obviously a memorable place to
get married.







I stopped and visited the gym and the spa. They are both located on the wild part of the Resort where you can see the coral reef.













I found out that the Four Seasons in Bora is a very family oriented Resort. They have put a lot of thought into their place. They have for your children up to the age of 5 a kid’s club and a teen Motu (Islet) for teenagers from the age of 15 to18.

On my way back I went through the pool area and noticed they rented little huts for the day for those who wished to rest, relax away from the sun and take an afternoon nap. At this point of my tour the hut sounded good and looked quite tempting to me.

In the evening a buffet dinner was served at the restaurant and Polynesian dancers performed for all who came.

Quickly I got myself into a daily routine between swimming, sunbathing, eating ect.

The very next day before leaving the Resort for the airport I had my last meal at the Pool Bar…ordered marinated fish and rice…then spent some time around the pool visiting with friends.

It was difficult to leave this dream place but since my stay was a short one and had to come to an end… I embarked the hotel shuttle and headed for the airport.

This trip will always stay memorable and dear to me. I truly hope one day you will also have the chance to visit the beautiful island of Bora Bora to capture the magic that I and others before me have found there.





Ia Ora Na
Written by Tararaina








Slide show dedicated to Heitiare !



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More pictures of the FATAUA valley and Coming SOON Others !

RAAU NONO

The RAAU NONO is also commonly known as NONI JUICE in the western world. The Noni Juice is prepared a little differently to make the product free of the natural strong odor and to suit people’s taste.


This morning I woke up and went on my way to bathe in the natural pool. I looked up to the Nono tree and saw that the Nono fruits were ripe and perfect for use in making a Raau Nono. They have been growing and riping on the tree at the corner there between my Bungalow and the water.

I collected them very carefully so I wouldn’t break the branches they are sitting on and brought them inside to be rinsed and dried before putting them into a plastic bag to ripe perfectly. In the past my mother said that they would weave a basket with the niau (coconut tree leaves) and would lay Nono leaves down at the bottom where the Nono fruits would sit and ripe for a few days.

Then the next stage is to gather them into a very large glass jar with lid. Take it outside and let it sit in the full sun until all of the fruits would melt. I am being told that your house roof is the perfect place to have it. This stage could last days. Take the jar back in at night and back out in the full sun the next day. In the middle of the process, you would want to mash the fruits and leave the mixe out again for a few days.

The way a friend of mine does hers is a little different. She feels that it is a safer process to keep your jar of nono in the fridge and not to take it out in the sun. She came up alone with making it this way instead of the traditional way. I assume that her technique is as good as my mother’s. I am sure there are many ways to come about to obtain the same result.

To get it ready for use… after they have set for a few days in the sun …you mash the fruits a little more then filter the puree to collect the Nono juice… Store the potion in the fridge.

How do you filter? You put the puree in a clean cloth…turn and squeeze it in a bowl and repeat that gesture until you run out of the puree. My mom said that she would eat the left over of the puree leaving the seeds out… but know that this is totally optional.

For the next few days you will drink the Raau Nono as you wish or really until you run out of it as directed below:

You fill a quarter of your glass of the potion and drink it straight, twice or three times a day. Once a day is great. However you wish to take it is fine.

Many in now days in Tahiti and her islands will make it easy by letting a Nono fruit ripe then will cut it in half and will eat either a spoon full of it or half of the fruit just as it is, mixed up with some of their favorite fruit juice.












Written by Tararaina