Raiatea, 8-21-2017--Mt. Tapioi hike, etc.

By Pearl

The mara'amu winds finally abated somewhat on Friday morning (it never seems to stop blowing hard here this time of year).  We soon ditched the projects we'd planned for the day and hit the trail out of town to Mt. Tapioi.  It sounds daunting but is actually a road closed to vehicles up to the top of a 1000' peak.  We met a number of other hikers along the way and on top.

As we left the marina to hike, the dock was abuzz with new charter customers.  Chartering sailboats is big business here on Raiatea.  Almost all the charter boats are 40-50' catamarans.  

School is just opened and lot of these curious school buses can be seen around the island.  Looks like a fun vehicle for converting to a camper:)

The next several photos are from the top of Mt. Tapioi.  This is looking toward the pass we sailed in through 3 weeks ago.
Huahine is visible in the distance to the left of the pass.  The motu on the right of the pass is where we anchored initially and were run off by the snooty lodge owner.  

Looking down on the village of Uturoa.  The barrier reef is marked by the darker colored water.  The island of Tahaa is to the left.  

Tahaa Island, within the same reef and lagoon as Raiatea.

David on Mt. Tapioi with Bora Bora faintly visible in the distance.  

David scowls as the internet room is once again closed.  Despite paying $5 an hour for internet, the room is not only stifling, but closed most of the time.   The choices then are sitting outside under the 2nd floor room, where the wifi reception isn't good or standing out in the parking lot where one of us has to hold the computer while the other one types. In either case, it's out in the sun, which makes it almost impossible to see the computer screen without an umbrella.
When Pearl asked the local wifi rep about the situation, he shrugged and said the person responsible is in Tahiti.  As you can see from this and our bank experience and too many others to mention, customer service is not a priority in French Polynesia.