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Silver Lining owners Alfred and Phyllis Balm experience the warm embrace of island hospitality on a small motu near Moorea.
by Alfred H. Balm
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06/01/2005
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The barbecued fish was a delicacy and soon consumed. Two young
men with traditional tattoos all over their bodies approached the water, sang a
short prayer to ask permission from the gods to take some fish, and soon their
catch filled our plates. We finished our feast with sweet banana poe served hot
and smothered in coconut milk and sugar.
 Top: Dancers
perform on Silver Lining’s aft deck. (Click images to
enlarge)
We enjoyed more music and conversation with these people living
so close to nature, respecting and maintaining old traditions, and yet so well
educated and conscious of the necessity to protect our environment and conserve
the reefs.
Back on board after a much-needed siesta, we heard the birds
stop singing as day gave way to another starry night. Fishing boats in the bay
lit gas lamps to attract their prey. In the dark distance a torch became
visible, reflecting a fiery glare in the water, then another and another....Now drums could be heard and the mysterious sound of a conch
shell howling across the water like some scary sea creature. Sound and light
moved closer, and six canoes appeared from the dark, drums pulsing, voices
chanting and grass skirt- and coconut bra-clad girls dancing seductively,
moving according to century-old patterns: a ghostly fleet from the days of
Captain Cook.
 Two motus
(Tahitian for islet) lie within Moorea’s fringing reef on her northwest corner.
Maire and Jean-Pierre’s Motu Moea is the smaller, more eastern of the two.
Guests from Silver
Lining visited it by canoe from Opunohu
Bay. (Click image to enlarge)
They accepted our invitation to come aboard where our chef, JJ
Coaton,
in conspiracy with Maire, had prepared another marvelous buffet.
Then
we were presented with a show worthy of a world tour.
 Torches glowed in the semidarkness on our aft deck, while
women, young and mature, and tattooed men built like Adonises (according to my
wife, Phyllis) swirled to choreography written by the gods themselves. Every
delicate movement was explained to us, but this display had little to do with
tourism. Men and women performed as much for each other as for the visitors from
afar. They absorbed us in their hypnotic dances, tirelessly moving faster and
faster. (Click image to enlarge)
It was long past
midnight when the dancing stopped and their voices came together in an emotional
song that we were told was a prayer. It echoed across the water like a call to
the gods of their forefathers. To us, dreamers and adventure seekers, it was a
rare gift from an unspoiled culture living true to its rich history.
To arrange for a special excursion or private guide, contact Maire and Jean-Pierre at Maiau Beach Garden at 689 707858 or
info@maiaubeachcom. For more information about Moorea, visit
www.gomoorea.com.
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