I was absolutely delighted when Lisa and Steven picked me from the shelf in Southampton. Lisa was about to embark on a journey that would take her half way around the world and Steven was unfortunately unable to accompany her. With the firm promise that I would do my very best to keep her safe from harm, I accepted the role of her companion and friend.
Lisa, although no stranger to travel in foreign parts, had never travelled totally alone until this point, I had not travelled at all but between us we checked in our luggage, which consisted mainly of things for Lisa's mother, and settled down to await the first of three flights that would eventually see us soar over the rough seas of the Atlantic, cross the snowy mountains of Canada, touch down in New York, cruise the huge plains of central America and spend a frantic hour in L.A. Trying to claim our luggage during the sparse 1 hour transfer (many thanks to the guy who grabbed us and ushered us to the front of the queue so that we could catch our last flight!). We tried to rest as our final flight took us across the vast Pacific Sea but we were too exhausted and far beyond the realms of sleep, so we listened to music on the super ultra modern noise reduction head-phones that had also been a present from Steven.
We reached Tahiti Airport at 5.45am, the sun was up, the day was warm and yet our journey was not over. Lisa's Mommy was living on the Island of Moorea, 12 miles away and we settled down to wait as she caught the first ferry of the day over to the mainland to find us.
Lisa was exhausted so I told her to put her head on her case and to try to sleep while I kept a look out for Kerriann. Within moments she was asleep, her bags firmly clasped in her arms and it was with great difficulty that we managed to wake her half an hour later as her Mommy and Grandfather Ron arrived.
They greeted each other warmly. Lisa's Mommy had made flowered necklaces to welcome her.
She had picked so many flowers that she had made two necklaces plus a crown for Lisa to wear.
There had even been enough flowers left for her to make herself a crown and so decked out with sweet smelling flowers we headed for the bus that would take us to town and to the ferry boat to Moorea.
Once we were settled on the bus I was introduced formally to Kerriann, I handed over some white chocolate buttons, her favourites and she thanked me for my care of her daughter. It had been a long journey I told her but now that we were here we were so looking forward to seeing everything she had been up to.
We stopped at one of the cafe beside the Ferry Terminal so that Lisa could have something to eat. The food on the flights had not been good and although Lisa had booked Vegetarian food, the instructions had somehow been lost and she had had very little to eat for the whole journey.
Lisa was still very tired but she was also so happy to see her Mommy and they chatted and smiled as I sat quietly with my flower.
Lisa's Grandfather Ron has lived on Moorea for the past 19 years, Kerriann had arrived six months ago to spend a year with him, Lisa was just here for the month to say hello to her Mommy as she missed her so much. There was a lot of catching up to be done!
Once she had eaten we entered the ferry and found some seats. The the sun was quite high now and the view was amazing as Ron pointed out Moorea in the distance. There was no wind and the crossing was calm, not like the day when Kerriann had arrived bringing the rains and gales with her!
Moorea, being volcanic, is incredibly mountainous, yet the road that runs around it's coast is very level except at two places. Kerriann has named one of the hills Are's Hill (as it is by Are's -pronounced 'arry' as in Harry but without the 'H' -Supermarket!), the other hill is by the Sofitel Hotel.
A magnificent view point lies at top of the hill with a monument erected to remember those who dies in a terrible plane crash a few years ago. We parked the car and got out to get our first real look at Moorea.
Kerriann pointed out Tahiti to me now far across the blue blue waters as Lisa took photos of the morning sun shimmering on the sea.
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It was still only 8am and the sun was hot in the sky as I sat quietly on the wall and waited for everyone to finish taking photos.
Lisa noticed that the ferry that had brought us was leaving again and so with a final look around and a few more clicks of the camera, we climbed back into the car to continue the journey.
Our first stop was to Ron's friend Jan, as it was her car we were using due to the fact that it had 4 seats and Ron's van only has two.
Jan greeted us enthusiastically and gave Lisa even more flowers to wear.
Lisa by now was looking very hot and tired but she kept smiling and enjoyed the refreshing drink that Jan offered.
Chickens run wild in Moorea, turning up in peoples gardens, wandering the roads and scratching up the forests. With movement on Jan's balcony, the local tribe hurried over to see if there were any scraps on offer. Jan threw them a handful of rice and they tucked into their breakfast feast happily.
Although there are no real predators to the chicken, the mortality rate for the young chicks is high and it was with relief that Jan counted the usual amount of chicks within her flock.
We said good bye to Jan and transferred the bags from the car to the van to completed the final leg of the journey to the house where Kerriann is living. We paused briefly at Are's Store to pick up a few essentials, (Nuttella I have discovered is classified as an essential!).
Ron pointed out his house as they passed and Kerriann said they would call later that day once Lisa had rested.
Both Lisa and I were amazed at the splendour of her mothers house as although she had described it to Lisa, and I had seen the photos in the Blog, nothing could have prepared us for the beauty of the place.
The sea really was only 20 foot from the house,
the garden really did stretch as far as the eye could see,
the mountains across the bay and behind the house really were truly majestic.
Rascals and Pepsi came bounding up to meet us as Lisa stood and just gazed around her for a good 5 minutes. Moorea is indeed a paradise Island and we were both awed by everything we could see, until hunger once again assaulted Lisa and we went inside to eat.
I helped Lisa to put her bag into the twin room while Kerriann dished up large plates of Spaghetti Bolognase that she had made the night before. Together they sat on the decking to enjoy their 'breakfast', the sun was beating down, it was nine in the morning, the travelling was over, the holiday stretched ahead and we had arrived!
The rest of the day blurred into a mixture of rest, introductions, exploration, more food and a swim. All the wonderful goodies that Lisa had brought over for Kerriann were unpacked, conditioners, deodorants, toothpaste from home. Things that Kerriann had found either hard to find or too expensive on the Island were put into the cupboards. The wing mirror for Ron's van that Kerriann had smashed off after misjudging a corner had already been handed over to Ron and now Lisa's bag lay virtually empty in the corner.
Pepsi, Rascals and I discussed the long journey and I said I was looking forward to staying with them for the next few weeks.
Both dogs informed me that they had loads of thngs lined up for us to do!
Backgammon was played for hours on the decking as the sun shone down and Lisa was amazed as Kerriann beat her game after game! Until now Lisa had always been the stronger player and their games took on an earnestness never before experienced between them.
At one point their game was interrupted as the tiniest of Praying Mantas working its way across the board.
Lisa rescued the tiny creature and put him in the relative safety of the bushes next to the decking.
That evening, as the sun set, Lisa began the first of her many chores, starting on a regime of dog psychology training for both Rascals and Kerriann. A dog, she explained, needed proper guidance.
Dogs lived in the moment of 'now' and Kerriann needed to assume the role of 'Pack Leader' to give the guidance needed. When Kerriann fed Rascals that evening, she was instructed to 'claim' the food for herself and not to allow Rascals to take it until she had given her permission.
Kerriann 'claimed' the food so well that even when Rascals was told she could have it, she continued to sit there and just looked at the bowl and then looked at Kerriann. Eventually she understood and proceeded to eat her supper.
As the half moon worked its way into the heavens Kerriann introduced Lisa to the evenings entertainment. Tupa Hunting!
Land Crabs inhabit all the low areas of Moorea digging huge 'warrens' of caverns about 3 to 5 foot below the surface. At their entrance holes they throw up huge piles of dirt changing the landscape, over a period of time, into something resembling the barren lunar landscape, devoid of living materials and unsafe underfoot (these caverns can sometimes collapse if you jump on them too hard!)
Since Kerriann's arrival in the house she had been on a mission to reclaim the land back from the Tupa's. Every evening she patrolled the grounds with a little wind up torch and the two dogs (Pepsi normally lived next door but came to visit on a regular basis) catching and relocating the clawed creatures to places other than the garden.
Lisa unpacked her big powerful torch from her bag and together, armed with the big bucket and leaf rake, they set out on patrol. Lisa's first encounter with a Tupa was brilliant. A medium sized creature who waved its claws around in the most ferocious fashion.
Lisa was determined to hold a Tupa saying they were nothing but big crabs, but decided to start with a slightly smaller specimen first. That evening we caught a dozen Tupas, relocating them to the bottom of the garden while the dogs ran around looking for more.
Our beds were found early that night, the sea could be heard lapping on the shore, the thunderous crashed of the reef echoed in the distance but we were too tired to worry and were soon asleep.
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