Tahiti - Papeete, Moorea, Bora Bora

Quite honestly, any island after Easter and Pitcairn is just gravy. Nothing can compete with the emotional impact of those two.
But...these lovely islands of French Polynesia are definitely the classics we think of when we remember Rogers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific". The women and the men are beautiful, the traditional dances are stunning, and the flowers and the fruit are exotic. At 17 degrees latitude South, the air is very similar to what we feel in Tortola - warm, fresh sea breezes.
Papeete (Pappy-eh-tay), the capital of Tahiti, is urban the same way that New Orleans is urban, with the smell of coffee and beignets prevalent. We visited the local market, filled with sarongs, wooden carvings, shell and pearl jewelry, fish and flowers. Later in the day we went to a local beach, where everyone spoke French, but then moved up the beach to a local surf break where everyone was speaking Tahitian. There are 18 Tahitian dialects.
That night we watched local dancers and you simply cannot believe how fast these women can move their hips! For the men it's the knees - everyone had amazing thighs and calves.
The next day it was on to Moorea...at every stop one is greeted by ukulele music and flowers to put in your hair. We took a snorkeling trip where we swam with stingrays and sharks - and the stingrays just put themselves all over you! They are soft and slippery.
Our guide then brought us to one of the many motu (islands) surrounding the main island, and demonstrated how to make Poisson Cru (Ceviche) with fresh tuna, salt, sea water, peppers, onions, and the milk from squeezing the coconut meat - delicious! He then demonstrated how to husk and crack open a coconut, knowledge which will serve us well in Tortola. You need only use sharpened sticks, and no machetes.
The current from beyond the reefs was quite strong, so you had to swim against it but then were able to simply drift over the coral and see the many creatures. The fish are so different from the ones in the Caribbean, and all so beautiful. There are unusual spotted sea cucumbers as well. The oyster shells are green and pink inside, with black scalloped lips.
Yesterday we went to Bora Bora. We drove around the island, looking for petrogylphs and temples. However, this island was used as a staging ground during WWII, and there are U.S. cannons and an old naval base on it. It was not as pretty as Moorea. But, like the other islands, it had numerous motu ringing the lagoon of myriad blues, and had abundant fruit hanging from the trees - breadfruit, soursop apples, mangos, papaya, and a bumpy red one whose name I do not know.