Moorea is triangular in shape and is 8th the size of Tahiti. Small but power packed with beauty. We decided to live on the edge and go on a 4x4 off road trek with our new best friends, Bruce, Jerry and Stephanie! We all piled into the back of what was sort of like a Jammed up Chevy 4x4 truck and held on for dear life! This vechicle can climb mountains like a billy goat! We were up so hig at one point I thought our driver might be wanting the vechile to become a teeter-totter atop the crest of that jagged mountain! When he finally "BACKED UP" and got us in place, he asked us to get out and climb to the summit. Not far but steep! Could be the best 200 yard walk of a lifetime! When you get to the top, you can almost see Alabama! We were WAY up there!! The smaill white rope that you can see in the photos was all that was keeping our family of four from coming home in body bags!! One step the wrong way.....YIKES!! Breath taking views, would not want to be there on a windy day though! After taking in all we could, we were off to see a pineapple plantaion. Along the way, our guide told us about the locals trees and fauna. What you could eat and what you should never eat! The pineapples they grow are the sweetest in the world. This is what they claim, and I would have to say they are right. You know when you cut up a pineapple at home, you have the unedible hush in the middle?? Well, you can eat these "husks" as they are tender and rreally the sweetest part of the pineapple! Who knew?? Mango. I've tried to like them, as they seem to be beautiful in color and have an exotic alure to them. Until Moorea, they have always had a mushy stange taste. These....wonderful. You slice them open, bright orange in color and sweet to the taste! They should lift the No Fruit brought back into the country rule!!
At one point you can see our new friend, Bruce running to catch the jeep! He lost his sunglasses off the back of his head and had to jump out of the truck to retrieve them! Small scratch...but got them! The guide with the bones in his ears was an interesting guy for sure. His dog had died two years prior and he dug him up and got two of his teeeth and wears them in his ears as a tribute to his dog! That seems weird/sweet until he also told me that peoplein Moorea eat dogs! Dogs seemed to be everywhere. Didn't see any cows. Did see beauty at every turn, lovely people, nice housing, vendors that were not pushy with their pearls, learned about how not to stroke the leaves of a pineapple plant, (there is a right and wrong way), how to use just your toes, a big pointy stick and a strong action with your thumbs to crack open a coconut for when we go on the show "Survivor". Tattoos are an art here. The same guide that has his tribute to his dog in his ears has his whole family tree tattooed on his body. He was kind enough to show us...beautiful work if you enjoy tattoos. Whe he told me he had it done without pain killers or topical numbing treatment I was leery until he showed us their homemade "vanilla extract". You can see him in a photo with a bottle that he passed around for us to have a smell! Seems most families make their own and might have bottles up to 4 years old or older on hand for the "special" recipes!!! This vanilla extract would certainly liven up a banana pudding at a church picnic! Great day.
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