We have had a few quiet days, mostly due to unpleasant weather, but in-between the rain, we managed to attend another Heiva event last night with groups from other districts competing in the singing and dance categories.
It is amazing to see the productions that have been presented for such a small island. What makes it more unique is the "stage" - the floor is beach sand, the roof open-air with fairylights strung overhead. Three sides of the perimeter are cordoned off with rope and mats laid out for spectators to sit on or you can choose to sit in the grandstand, located on the fourth side, for a small entrance fee. Being shown to your sit in the grandstand reminds one of the movie theatres years ago, but, here, beautiful ladies, in traditional dress with flowers in their hair, escort you. There's no doubting the fact that you are attending a function in paradise.
Today we joined Michelle and Neil from YouNevaKnow to explore the island
by car and then enjoyed a delicious lunch at one of the local restaurants.
What was surprising was the level of poverty outside the touristy sections of the island, poorer than we have seen on any of the other islands in French Polynesia. Obviously most of the island's income is going into the private coffers of the foreign hotel conglomerates and we imagine that most of the guests are not leaving these sprawling resorts at all, further restricting the flow of income to the island. To exacerbate the problem, there were so many smaller hotels that were in wreck and ruin, unable to compete with the multinationals. Very sad indeed and certainly begs the question: "Is this paradise or only paradise for some".
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