Moorea: Second Attempt to Find Trois Cocotiers

About a week ago, our friend Giorgio on Hoa Motu joined us in Opunohu Bay, Moorea. The last time we had seen him was in Boston earlier this year. Now, with all of us being back on our boats, our encounters felt much more natural; the environment more enjoyable. It was hard to believe that so much had happened since our last reunion… After spending two fun (and late!) nights together, the three of us geared up for another hike on the island. Mark and I had tried earlier to find the Trois Cocotiers (Three Palms) pass and viewpoint, but failed. This time, we had a general idea of where to go, since we could spot the palm trees from down in the valley. As usual, no signs were to be found, but we felt confident about our pathfinder skills. First, we made it all the way to the Belevedere, where we had enjoyed the vistas on prior occasions and then we set out to the west. We disappeared into the forest and hiked amongst trees, ferns and stretches of pretty bamboo. We crossed a few rivers, picked the left fork at a split, climbed up and then down again. We walked and walked, quite level most of the way and … never found our destination!

Instead, we arrived at dirt roads and more trails, and each time we needed to pick a direction, based on our intuitions. We felt like real adventurers exploring the bowels of Moorea! At last, we arrived at a farm, along the main road to the Belevedere, from where we easily found our way back to the dinghy. The hiking on this island is fantastic; we just have to be fine with rarely reaching our anticipated and planned target! All our hikes so far have had a different outcome than anticipated.

Since it was Wednesday and before 2pm, the local shrimp farm was open and selling fresh jumbos. Giorgio bought a kilo – thanks for the treat! -  and we peeled, cleaned and cooked them up on Irie. Since they were pretty expensive, nothing went to waste. Mark made a broth from the shells, fried shrimp heads as an appetizer, and delicious shrimp skewers as a main course. The second half of the shrimp heads went in a pasta sauce later that week and the broth was used in a risotto. But, by that time, Giorgio had already left for Tahiti. We would follow a few days later…

Mount Rotui along the road

View from the Belvedere: Opunohu Bay, Mount Rotui and Cook's Bay

Edible "fruit" along the trail

Many people have walked along this part of the trail!

Which way do we go?

Pineapple plantation close to the road

Making shrimp/onion/pineapple skewers the "artsy" way