Huahine is the Society Island no one knows about, but so far it is my favorite. It lacks the dramatic beauty rivaling the Marquesas that Moorea had, but it is much more removed from the tourism industry, and therefore, much more friendly and relaxed. This morning’s run followed the same path as yesterday around the southern tip of the island from Avea to Parea, but today I knocked out 3 miles rather than the single mile I could muster yesterday. Well, I don’t actually know exactly how far I went, since I didn’t take my Garmin, just a sport watch, so I ran for more or less 30 minutes. In my currently severely out of shape condition it was probably less than 3 miles, but who’s counting. I didn’t wear my Garmin because I’ve decided to simplify my running. No Garmin. No iPod. Today I didn’t even carry water, because it’s not too hot, and I wasn’t going very far. My entire life has been simplified in the last year, why not my running too? The only thing I carried was my camera. For obvious reasons.
I was passed in both directions by several people in cars, on scooters, and on bicycles. It’s nice to be on an island again where people smile at you and say hello (well, they say Bonjour or Iaorana). Throughout French Polynesia there has been a definite correlation between the exposure to international tourism and the probability that people randomly say hello to you. To be fair, it may not be just tourism, but rather simply how connected they are to the outside world. In the small villages in The Marquesas and The Tuamotus we met the friendliest and most generous people. Even though we speak barely a lick of French people shared meals with us, took the guys fishing, and loaded us up with as much pamplemousse as we could carry. I noticed a stark difference almost immediately in Papeete (The capital of Tahiti and French Polynesia). While walking from the marina to the super mega giant huge grocery store (hadn’t seen one of those in a while) we passed people on the street and most had their head down or were looking at their smart phones. Eye contact was avoided. It felt cold and impersonal. It felt like home.
-D.
Gresham Family Exodus 