Real November 8

November 8, 2012

Today we went on a bike ride around the north part of the island.  It was so so beautiful.  We rode by mountains, we stopped and checked out ancient sacred grounds (Maeva archeological site – for those who have been to Hawaii – similar to a heau), biked by ancient fish traps in an ocean fed lake, biked through farms – vanilla, coconut, Tahitian flower, cantaloupe, and other stuff we were unsure of – stopped at an ocean front that was the deepest blue I have ever seen an ocean!  It was quite a fantastic bike ride.  It ended up being about a 3 hour bike ride - 9.3 miles. 

The only problem was:  It was SOOO hot.  Lisa got heat exhaustion and thought she was going to die.  After she partially recovered – cold water shower as quickly as I could get her there plus some electrolyte drink and shade – she said to me “what was that?”  I smiled and said, that my friend, is heat exhaustion – maybe heat stroke.  She almost puked and couldn’t remember lots of what happened.  Yes – we had sunscreen on, YES – we had water, YES – we took breaks in the shade.  For all of those who are still skeptical – it is really hot here… as a matter of fact, I will no longer say “Hotter than Haiti,” I will now say “Hotter than Tahiti!”  J

The funny thing is this – there is couple who is staying on this property in a different house.  Her name is… not sure, but his name is DJ – I am too embarrassed to ask her name.  I simply forgot it.  Anyway.. they have been coming to Tahiti for over 30 years now and she says this is the hottest it has ever been… Thanks Lisa.  She has this way of bringing the “est” to wherever she goes… Sister Brinkley, if you are reading this – it didn’t rain at all when I was with my sister on the big island… I hear it rained every day you were there.  It’s Lisa’s fault.  J There are so many things that I could talk about – I seriously could write an entire post of just those stories.  Regardless – Lisa and I never dreamed that we would be in the shade as much as we are.  But we definitely are not complaining – PROMISE!  We really really really love it here.

For the rest of the day today – since Lisa hasn’t really fully recovered.  We just chilled in the shade – and went swimming and snorkeling.  We did watch the sunset.  It sets over Raiatea – an island we can see from here.  It is really beautiful.  Sorry there aren’t as many pics as I would like to post, but the upload speed here is atrocious – and my battery runs out before the uploads happen.  It’s a mess.  Maybe the next place we go will be better for that.