Ra'iātea, French Polynesia

An early arrival in the lagoon where both the islands of Ra'iātea and Taha'a in French Polynesia are located. Ra'iātea sure looks promising and it will be a lovely day.

For our excursion to the island of Taha'a we used a pretty small boat. Here we passed our cruise ship, the Norwegian Jewel, which was docked in the town of Uturoa on the island of Ra'iātea in French Polynesia. It's really a small boat versus this giant.

On our way to the island of Taha'a we passed this small motu between Ra'iātea and Taha'a in French Polynesia. Great place to relax if we would have had the time. Sure looks like paradise here.

Driving past a simple house in the Ha'amene Bay on the island of Taha'a in French Polynesia. Most probably people that make a living by fishing. It doesn't look all that stable to be honest, so let's hope they do not get hit by a huge storm.

One of the higher vantage points on the island of Taha'a in French Polynesia provided us with this beautiful view of Ha'amene Bay.

While on an excursion on the island of Taha'a in French Polynesia, we stopped at this pearl factory on Ha'amene Bay. Interesting to hear the history of pearl production and processing. This here is the boat they use to collect pearls from underneath the water.

After the excursion on the island of Taha'a in French Polynesia we drove back to the boat that brought us here.

The bigger island of Ra'iātea can be seen in the distance which is where our cruise ship docked.

While on the island of Taha'a in French Polynesia we got to see how vanilla grows. Obviously there was a 'shop' where vanilla could be purchased, but I found the way it grows way more interesting. Vanilla is hard to grow as pollination by hand is required and it's actually the second-most expensive spice in the world.

Arrived at a motu near the island of Taha'a in French Polynesia. A motu is basically a reef islet formed by broken coral and sand and many may be found in lagoons around larger islands. Some are even bigger and form an island on their own around an atoll. This was a small one where we got some time to swim and snorkel. I used the time to walk towards the motu.

The water in the lagoon around this motu near the island of Taha'a in French Polynesia looks extremely friendly, but nothing is ever what it seems. Many rocks and plants are hidden under water which makes it pretty hard to simply walk around here.

During the time we had to explore the lagoon around this small motu near the island of Taha'a in French Polynesia I was wading towards the motu in the hope of getting there. Not as easy as it looks I found out really quick.

I am almost at the beach after wading through the lagoon around this motu near the island of Taha'a in French Polynesia. From the boat it looked a lot closer but it was actually pretty hard getting there, especially with avoiding rocks and holding a camera.

While approaching this small motu in the lagoon around the island of Taha'a in French Polynesia, we are coming close to the wild ocean. Pretty unusual to see a motu this close to the edge of the lagoon.

Heading back to Ra‘iātea after our excursion on the island of Taha'a which we are leaving behind us. We seriously enjoyed all of the Society Islands in French Polynesia but Ra‘iātea and Taha'a will always have a special place in our hearts.

We were definitely not the only ones speeding on the lagoon on our way back from the small island of Taha'a in French Polynesia. The people in the other boat waved friendly to us. The water in the lagoon was an incredible shade of blue.