I am sitting on the ferry to Moorea as I reflect on the last 6 month. I look back at Tahiti with the green mountains and the blue water. The clouds hang deep into mountain. It almost looks mystical, as the ferry bumps across the blue water to the other volcano island. Some kids fight over McDonalds at the table next to me. I can’t help it and smile. It is probably something special for the kids, as they don’t have it on Moorea.

On Moorea I go to the street and put my thumb up again for hitchhiking. Three elderly women stop and pick me up. Of course they decide to bring me directly to my accommodation. When we reach the location they even gift me a few mangos as a goodbye. You got to love this attitude! Also I love free food in expensive realms. In the first location I didn’t do much. It is rainy season and it was pouring for the day straight. I took a much needed rest day. I watched the rain pouring down on the ocean, while reading a book. It is as cozy as it can get. After that I changed locations and voila the sun is shining again.

I stumbled into two problems on Moorea and Tahiti. One is the privatization of most of the ocean and jungle access. There is only a few public accesses. I am not sure if this is a good or a bad thing. The public beaches are usually designated to swim in. Most of the privatized access is pretty shallow with a reef directly below. So maybe this acts as a protector for the reef. As long as the land is owned by the right people I’m fine with it. The second problem is the language barrier. It is hard to make friends. Everyone is either Polynesian or French. The French can’t speak good English and every conversation usually ends after three short questions. Then they switch to French again and I am left sitting there wondering if they talk about me. One time I was asked why I don’t speak French. Internally I was furious. My thoughts went something like this: “I can understand four languages and can speak two and a half. And then these guys come and only speak one language and get mad when I don’t speak it? Are they fucking serious? They can’t learn a second language, just because their ancestors imposed the language on half of the world?” I smiled and politely declined, that I can’t speak French. They wouldn’t have understood my arguments anyways…

I find a public beach, named Ta’ahiamanu. You can swim and snorkel here. It is a bay with a view onto the island. Sailing yachts are anchored in the bay and the reef is visible even from the beach. The place is also plastered with palms and grass. Truly an amazing place! I get ready to swim in the water. I have never seen water this clear! I am blown away by it’s beauty. Tropical fish swim by in masses.

My last day on Moorea I decide to check out another beach. The beach is called Plage des tipaniers and Of course I hitchhiked there. The first ride stops at the street. He puts the car in reverse to speed up the process of picking me up. Apparently the driver was in a hurry to get to the Hilton hotel to drop off a scooter he has loaded. I see he’s fully backing up. I just realize that at this speed, the driver will hit a street lamp. I tried to warn him. Everything is feeling like it is moving in slow motion. The Truck is still reversing in full speed, until I hear a loud boom. The truck has landed full speed into pole. The driver was pretty pissed, but he still took me in. The scooter was luckily almost undamaged. Man what a story! Sooner than later another pick up truck stops for me. They say. “Jumb in the back, there is no police in Moorea.” So I jumped in the back. This is pretty normal in Latin America. It was my default mode to go to. It is the safest place in the vehicle. You can just jump off and you can’t get kidnapped. The first time in Tahiti people were pretty confused, that I jumped onto the back of the pick up truck. Here it is forbidden though, as French Polynesia is more imposed to European guidelines. Anyways I jumped into the back and got to the beach!

The beach Tipaniers is unfortunately privatized by the hotel with the same name… You are only allowed if you are a hotel guest or have a reservation at the restaurant. I am not a fan of paying for something, that nature usually provides for free. Right at the entrance I meet Megan. She is from New Zealand and is here for a short vacation. We hesitantly reserve a table at the restaurant and go to the beach. This is one of the first beaches I saw, that is packed with tourists. It is like a different world. Usually locals sit there and blast some music, while enjoying all the water activities you can think of. Not on this beach. Here rich Europeans and Americans sit and burn in the sun. Literally, because the ozone layer is missing here. Tours to see sharks, whales, or mantarays are offered next to kayaks and jet skis. I haven’t seen one of these in the accommodations I stayed in. Maybe they know, that I don’t have this kind of money to spend. The beach is still well worth it though.

Later Megan and I go the restaurant. I just ordered a coffee after I saw the horrendous prices they charge. My luck had other ideas, because my coffee never came. Guess I am not paying for this beach after all! The swimming here is very gorgeous. You just have to be careful with the reef. It is pretty shallow in several places. In between the coral there can be trenches. This creates a maze out of the reef. These usually have a current flowing in one direction, as the water can move faster in the tranches than over the corals. In surfing language this is called a channel. Surfers use these to navigate through the reef to get faster to the breaking wave. I got caught in several channels which dragged me out to the open. I had to swim back through different channels to get back to the beach. Stressful, but nothing too bad, you just have to watch out for this. When I was swimming in the water I also saw a fin peaking out of the water. The fin was moving fast across the lagoon. Oh this must be a shark I thought. These are usually not dangerous, though. The sharks are used to people and also hunt at night. As long as you don’t act as prey and you don’t splash on the water, you will normally be fine. Later I also saw a stingray. These creatures are just too beautiful. I swam a little bit with it and then we both went our way in the different worlds.

I was fully enjoying the swimming, that I forgot the time…. I had to catch the ferry back to Tahiti. For this I had to hitchhike back to the accommodation to retrieve my backpack. I pointed out the difference between the Polynesian people and the French in my last post. The Polynesian people drop everything they do and bring you directly to the location you want to go. Even if you insist, that they drop you off where they want to go. Pretty convenient though! Well the French drop you off wherever is most convenient for them. My luck seems to play with me, because only French people pick me up this time. I had to take four rides just to get back to the accommodation. I was already running late. There wasn’t even time to shower. I grabbed my bag went back to the street to hitchhike to the ferry port. Somehow only French people picked me up again… It took me another four rides to get to the ferry. Every ride I would watch the clock anxiously. In the end I made it just in time! Ten minutes before the last ferry left. My luck doesn’t seem to disappoint. Maybe it was just testing me.

On Tahiti only one thing is on my mind. It is Taharuu beach. The beach to surf. I found a family, that is hosting me for a cheap price. They are also providing a surfboard for me. That’s all I need. Did I mention, that they also gave me breakfast and dinner? My last days on Tahiti I just want to surf. I arrive throw my backpack somewhere grab a board and go. The swell seems to have gone down a little. I head into the water and I can even surf the main peak. When I went in the last time I thought it was sand below. The water was too turbulent to see. Now as you can see through the water you can see that it’s all rocks below… At some point in the water I got scared. Next to me there was something moving in the water. I almost jumped on my surfboard, when the massive turtle peaked out his head directly next to me. Wow this is a big turtle. It was almost bigger than me! I’m so glad I am here right now!

The vibe at this beach is just amazing. It is a local meeting point for young and old. Four and five year old’s get surfing lessons from their parents and uncles. There are always 40 people in the water. Doesn’t matter if it’s six in the morning, ten in the morning or 5 in the afternoon…

The people have such a deep understanding on where the wave is going to break, that there is almost no competition between getting waves. They even encouraged me to take some waves. They just know. I was just glad I could witness surfing on such a level. Truly watermen and waterwomen in the water. The old people come to watch the surf and have a drink. The occasional commentary, when a big set rolled through reminded me of some people at home watching a football game. I guess this is their television.

The only thing I hated about this beach were the sand fleas. These creatures bite you. You don’t even realize it at the moment. It gets so itchy after a few hours. Every night I would wake up and scratch my feet until I was bleeding. The views, the culture and the people make up for it though.

The last days I decide to take a hike. Something I haven’t done yet. Most of the life on the island is happening close to the beach or on the water. Only secluded people live more in the mountainous jungle. There is several well marked hiking spots here though. Doesn’t matter where you go hiking on the island the probability that you will find at least one waterfall is pretty high! Another thing I thought I wouldn’t see here is pines. These trees seem to grow everywhere. I saw them in the mountains of Mexico. I saw them in the jungles of Colombia, in the cold northern California and I now see them here. Seems to be a more resilient tree than I primarily thought. The hike was super exhausting and just too sweaty in these humid environments. It was still worth it to experience a bit of the inlands

The time in Tahiti has come to an end. Truly one of my favorites so far! Just the crazy mix of culture and food, combined with the lovely people and landscapes so far away in the ocean makes this such a special place. Thank you for reading and until next time!

Still tired I hitch a ride to Papeete. If you imagine paradise with a pristine beach you have to think again. It is the capital city of French Polynesia with a mere number 20.000 people living here. The city is quite ugly. The first experience in Tahiti was not the best to be honest. I stroll through the grey streets and to my disgrace it also starts raining.

Tahiti is divided by two parts. Tahiti-Nui, which means big. It is the main island and Tahiti-Iti, which means small. It is the peninsula in the south east. After a jetlagged sleep I start to explore the island with the intention to go to Tahiti-Iti. Only problem, it is Sunday. On a Sunday almost everything is closed. If you are German, you know the struggle as well. It is almost a ghost town. Every bar and restaurant is closed. The supermarkets are usually closed and even the busses don’t drive! My only option left is to hitchhike to my destination. However my luck never seems to disappoint. It is election day and there is more traffic than usual for a Sunday. After waiting a mere five minutes a women on a scooter stops. I gladly hop on. She even has a spare helmet for me! She drives pretty fast through the green scenery with the curvy roads. She seems to know what she is doing, though. We lean deep into the curve of the road on every turn. When I take a peak on how fast we are going, I can see that we are cruising at 80km/h. Of course I am wearing flip flops again… This reminds me of the horror motor ride I got in the Dominican Republic. This feels much safer, though. Afterwards I got picked up by a lovely couple in their jeep. As I said, my luck is guiding me! They did not only bring me to the destination I wanted to go. They also showed me the island and went with me to a beautiful waterfall.

We talk and laugh a lot. They explain what is going on on this election. The division between the people. At one point I asked them about a particular tree that was bearing some strange fruits.

“Oh what kind of fruit is that?”

“That’s breadfruit”

“Cool! What does it taste like?”

“Bread!”

“Uh Okay…”

I later tasted it and I can confirm it actually tastes a little bit like bread. I would say a mixture of potato and bread. What a crazy world… This interaction gave me the first impression how life on the island is. I also decided to do everything by hitchhiking now. I later found out , that almost all Polynesian people bring you exactly to your location. Doesn’t matter how far away it is from their actual destination. Only the French people drop you off where they need to go. So make sure you get picked up by the Polynesian people!

The ethnicity of the people resemble a mix of Latinos, Asians and Caucasians. An amazing combination that creates beautiful people. This resembles in the available food as well. The french culture is mixed with the culture of Asia and Polynesia. In every supermarket you can buy fresh spring rolls, baguettes and pastries, mochis and raw fish like sashimi. The next day I grab a surfboard and drive with a rented bike around Tahiti-Iti. Oh what a surfer is doing just to surf is sometimes beyond understanding. The sun is very treacherous, because the ozone layer is missing here. If you sit in the sun you can feel your skin burning on the spot. Equipped with a strong sun lotion. I jump into the water happy as a fish.

Tahiti-Iti also hosts a very famous wave. The name is Teahupoo. It is a treacherous big wave that breaks over a shallow reef. I often watched my idols surf this wave. I also zoomed into this place via maps quite often. I thought I would never be even close to this area. But here I am, biking 20 km to Teahupoo on a sunny day.

Happiness is flowing through my body, as I arrive in Teahupoo. I can’t believe that I am actually here. So many times have I zoomed into this place and so many time did think that it is just too far away to ever reach it. But here I am. It is even more charming than I imagined. The green mountains of Tahiti-Nui. The blue water is hugging Tahiti-Iti. It is just a place out of a Magazine. The mango trees bear multiple loads of fruit. The coconuts are bursting from water and the star fruits ripe as well!

Tip: If you ever travel to Tahiti without a surfboard. Don’t be discouraged by the missing surf rentals ask some locals instead. They are happy to have some extra income!

The best part about Teahupoo is, that it doesn’t only have a treacherous reef break. It also has a beach break. I thought I wouldn’t go surfing this day. After a while I found a family, that is willing to rent me a surfboard. First they wanted to charge a horrendous price. They thought I wanted to surf Teahupoo. I laughed with them and said “I am not crazy. Well a little bit, but not that much to charge Teahupoo!” I get the board and get into the water again. Happy as ever.

I get to experience the true watermen and waterwomen in the water. The level of surfing is on different level. Kids and adults just play in the ocean and show their skills. I also notice how damn shallow this wave is. The wave is surfed and there is about 20cm water below it. Not filled with sand, but with rocks! It doesn’t seem to bother them too much though…. They do tricks, and airs on their surfboard like it is nothing! Later That evening I got invited by some people for beers. On my way back I got gifted some mangoes, star fruits and coconuts. This shows how friendly the Polynesians are!

I top my first week off with the Taharuu beach. When I pulled up, I saw how big the waves got here. Taharuu is located on the south of Tahiti-Nui. It is just like Teahupoo firing during summer time (winter in the southern hemisphere). The south pacific swells arrive here first. When it is winter (summer in the southern hemisphere) the waves arrive on opposite side of the island, the northern shore.

Here I get another display of the true watermen and waterwomen. I went out in rough conditions with three to four meter sets coming in. It was often at the maximum of my capabilities. The waves would come in fast and build up, than crash down with a terrifying sound, that resembles the thunder. I was struggling from time to time. I had to bail my board sometimes. At the same time some parents were surfing with their 5 year old kids. No worry or fear on their faces. Their faces were just lit up with happiness. If we would be in Avatar these people would be the water tribe. Doesn’t even matter which Avatar…. The people would surf these waves like they have never done anything else. They surf it with ease and turn every section into a show.

I was startled. There was something moving next to me in the water. First my heart sank, as I thought of a shark. Then this beautiful head of a massive turtle pops up next to me. Seems that the turtle was enjoying the waves and the show of the locals as well! What a beautiful experience!

Until next time cheers!