Ferry Landing in Vaiare, Moorea. The 1829 gun can be seen to the right of the two orange trash cans near the water. This picture was taken on 14 August 2009. Thank you for viewing, commenting, and favs, Sig... A comment about Polynesia: First of all 'thanks' for all the nice comments. I have often asked myself what it is that I find so attractive about these islands (Society Islands)? There are five groups of islands spread over 2,000,000 square kilometer of the South Pacific that make up French Polynesia and the Society Islands are one of them. Is it the physical beauty of the islands, the steep mountains? Is it the incredible variety of plants, trees, and shrub, ironically many of them not native to the islands, but imported by the botanist of early explorers and especially by the American Harrison Smith that introduced to the islands a range of tropical shrubs, trees, and flowers from throughout the world to improve the economy and conditions for the locals? Is it the climate, or is it the people? It is probably a combination of all of these. I have never seen peaked, steep mountains this close to the coast anywhere. The highest point on Tahiti is Mt. Orohena (2241m). It is only about 12km from the coast as the crow flies. On Moorea the highest point is Mt. Tohiea (1207m), about 4 km from the nearest coastline as the crow flies. And these peaks occur throughout both islands. The climate seems ideal. It is winter in August here and the dry season, yet there were showers every day somewhere on either island or over the ocean. But they were passing, dropped a little rain, nothing heavy, at least of what I could see. The people. According to statistics there are probably no longer any 100% pure Polynesians in the islands, yet a survey found that 65% of the locals consider themselves Polynesian. Throughout the week I was there, time seemed to have stood still. By today's standard, the islands are relatively unspoiled. Yes, there is tourism, but the islands are off the beaten path and when compared with Hawaii for instance, they are relatively unspoiled. The first time I arrived here 8 years earlier I felt that Hawaii must have been like this 100 years earlier. Here, the official language is French. Polynesian is the second language, yet when leaving Papeete the spoken word is Polynesian. With a little imagination one can pretend one is in paradise. Yes, it is expensive (a four hour rental of a 200cc ATV on Moorea to get me to where I wanted to go was $90). Taxi from Papeete to the hotel, 8km distance $30 fixed rate after 8PM, a little cheaper before 8PM. I hope this clarifies my fascination with the islands, but I am not sure in my own mind, Sig...