Trouble in Paradise

Many well known celebrities have come to these islands to make a home, 
Gauguin, Brel, Brando, Julio Iglesias, Joe Dassin, Melville, London and Bobby Holcomb (a Huahine favorite).  Some are buried here and others have estates blown away by hurricanes (like Katrina but called a cyclone, maybe Wima or Olaf in 2005) that blew away Iglesias’s hotel resort here.  

 We went for a day tour in a boat around the island to snorkel in different spots.  The underwater fish so colorful. But the guide who is here from the back in this film explained a few problems facing the Tahitians
The Chinese are severely infringing on their , Tahiti’s, territorial waters and scraping the sea floor for fish, protected and otherwise.  Just like in the Galapagos.

Tahitians are very tribal and inheritance of land is a big deal since now a member of the family under french law can sell it for big money. Under the old laws it was the elder that was in control of the use of land. 

Also since what comes to this island stays here in terms of “stuff”, cars, plastic, unrecyclable stuff, so they have to be very ecological.


More outriggers, this has Rasta colors, they do cultivate and sell Cannabis, called Pakalolo here, it is legalized and grown up in the hills.

Tomorrow we fly to Papeete.

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