Day 11 Raiatea

So today we wanted to climb Mt Tapioi - the highest point on the island of Raiatea, rising about 460 m from sea level. In the Rocky Mountain, that would be a mini-hike. In French Polynesia, in 30 C and about 78% humidity, that climb had us profusely sweating within 5 minutes. 

I believe my blogging mentor Pescado Amarillo, referred to this hike as a death march!  So we were prepared!  We came with hiking poles, me wearing my knee brace and plenty of water. And when we were climbing in the direct sun, it was HOT!  We made a point of not stopping unless we could stand in the shade.  We were told to be wary of wild dogs, but in fact we only encountered horses, cows and chickens - all free range!!

Finding the start of the trail was the biggest challenge - we knew the trail started between the post office and the gendarmerie (the police station). Friendly locals pointed us in the right direction and little red signs saying Mt Tapioi helped too. 

We managed to get to the top after about an hour and enjoyed a visit with a couple from our home town in a nice shady area as they were descending, so we knew what to expect. Thank heavens for some cloud cover and breeze the higher we got. 

But the view was worth the effort to be sure!!

On the descent only 7 people were in their way up - so clearly we were one of the tardy climbers by starting at 8:30 am!!

After a very desired and needed shower, we went for lunch and ran into our Missouri friends so we enjoyed eating with them!!

We then returned to our room and I did a load of laundry - the laundry room on our floor was a busy place. Three washers and dryers were being used once I added my load. Each wash and dry requires a token that costs $2 US, but soap is provided for free!!

J had a nap (I did too but he had a longer nap!) as I went out shopping in the port. Stores were closing by 4:30 and most were closed by 5 pm. We are staying overnight in this port so I guess we won’t be going ashore after supper. One other exciting feature about Raiatea is that we were able to dock here!  No tender required!  Yippee!

I stopped at the specialty dining reservation desk and was able to change my Red Ginger reservation from Feb 10 to a table for 2 on Valentine’s Day!!  That was something that definitely wasn’t available when I tried to pre-book it from Canada!!

Tonight we have a shared table at The Polo Grill at 7:30 pm. I trust we will enjoy it!!