SEASIDE LUXE
Tifaifai Papetoai
Tifaifai are Tahitian applique quilts: intricate, delicate and colorful. Miri my friend and guide is a master tifaifai quilter, making them by hand in the traditional way as well as by machine for the more durable stitch. Miri lives on Moorea in the district of Papetoai, so aptly her business is named, “Tifaifai Papetoai”. Her entire operation is out of her humble home. Daily she welcomes people from around the world into her studio of fabric and fantasy. Miri is not only an quilter, she is a visionary, her designs go far beyond the traditional styles and color palettes. No longer adhering to the traditional motifs, Miri has created entire landscapes of her home island Moorea. Her home is a gallery of beautiful things, collected through travel, gifted to her, inherited by her and made by her. Everything in its perfect place, all under the roof of a small beach front cottage. My room for this week was covered wall to wall with tifaifai, an absolute dream for me. Everything even the lampshade has been appliqued.
Dimanche a Moorea
Sunday on Moorea is quiet. Everything is closed and there is a ghost town feeling that falls over the island. It makes for a great day to explore the aqua lagoons and the creatures that live in them. I have a Tahitian friend here named Thierry, some would consider him the “crocodile dundee” of Moorea. He casually tells me stories about tiger sharks and how they, just like cats have a sweet spot, that if stroked just right, makes them purr… I have seen with my own eyes giant open ocean frigate birds eat out of his hand as well as swarms of stingrays fight to give him kisses on his face. This Dimanche or Sunday we headed out of the lagoon and into the deep lapis ocean to look for the humpback whales that have migrated here from Antarctica. These Tahitian giants are on the opposite schedule from my familiar Hawaiian humpbacks, visiting Moorea between June and December. My trip falls in the middle of their visit to the islands, just in time for me to view the newborns and see preliminary courting by the males. I grew up seeing whales breach and slap the water with their magnificent dorsal fins, all from the safety of some sort of water vessel. Today I had an experience that has changed me for ever. I slithered of the safety of our 30 person boat into the bluest of ocean you can imagine, with clarity that made me question if I need my mask or not. Once under the surface I could hear the deep moaning song of the humpback as she rolled and put her silvery belly to the sun. Scared, but not deterred I swam with a few others slightly closer, there was a lot of commotion in the water as we were greeted by a pod of rough tooth dolphins that were very interested in my camera. I snapped away as they danced all around me, but mama whale wanted us to know that she was still there, belting out another ocean rattling bellow. Hovering at the surface I realized that within 10 feet of me were 3 very large humpback whales spinning, singing and playing. For one quick moment I looked right into the eye of one of the worlds largest mammals and felt that she saw me as clearly as I saw her. I climbed on to the boat still in shock and Thierry looked at me and said wow you are so lucky and I thought that is an understatement. He further explained that it is rare that while swimming with whales in Tahiti, that in the water at the same time will be 2 other species of dolphins (melon head and rough tooth). I felt exhilarated and blessed as the boat pulled away, still shaking from my experience. Heading back to shore on either side of the boat were whales lumbering and dolphins surfing, in the distance a very large tuna jumped out of the water as an Oceanic White Tip Shark was in her pursuit. It was a good day.
Raivavae: the Australs
South of Tahiti is a chain of islands known as The Australs, part of this group is a small island called Raivavae. Raivavae is 730 kilometers (454 miles) south-southeast from the island of Tahiti. From east to west, Raivavae is 8.5 kilometers (5.3 miles) long by 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) wide and covers an area of 16 square kilometers (6.18 sq. miles). Its highest point is Mt. Hiro, which has an altitude of 437 meters (1,434 ft.). Total population is approximately 1069. I had never even heard of Raivavae until this trip to Tahiti. When I was here last I was given a shell necklace that I love. I wear it with everything and have gotten numerous compliments on it. When I arrived at the Papeete Market this Saturday I wanted to find the women that gave it to me, just to say hello and see if she had any new finds. It turned out she had a new batch of these exquisite shell leis and she felt inclined to tell me about just how special they really are. She explained that they came from Raivavae and from the beginning it is painstaking process of finding them by hand, to gently piercing them, to finally meticulously stringing them into gorgeous leis. I love shells and find each one a miracle of nature, these tiny Raivavae gems are no exception. My gift has officially turned into an obsession, I learned they come in 3 distinct but muted pastel colors; peach, lavender and cream, now I want one of each. Not only are they delicately beautiful but they now also have an intriguing story.
Iaorana
There is nothing more magical than landing in Papeete in the middle of the night. Off the plane and down the stairs, no stuffy jetway, only to be greeted with a tiare to put behind your ear, if that’s not enough there is always live Tahitian music to get you in the mood. Through passport control, grab the bag and head to customs, all the while the frosted glass sliding doors that lead to the greeting area intermittently open and close, exposing a hoard of people anxiously holding leis, ready to embrace their loved ones and friends. This is where I see Miri, my friend and guide for the week. One quick glimpse of her radiant smile and I can already tell it will be a good trip. Enveloped by the perfume of my tipanier (plumeria) leis and overwhelmed by the flurry of reunions around me, I exhale a deep breath and then take it all in.
store photography by Noah Webb, model photography by Jennifer Binney, modeling by Jyoti Mau, website built by H2Pinc
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