We had quite a disruption of our WiFi service. But it’s back up and working reasonably well. Our excursion today was a ride in a 4 x 4 vehicle up a dirt road to the top of the volcano on Tahiti. Here’s the vehicle. We sat 4 people on each side. Our conveniences included everything from fresh air to seatbelts.

According to our guide there are anywhere from 100 to 500 waterfalls, depending on the rain. We saw plenty of waterfalls, and you’ve seen them also. They have an interesting belief that the water from rain runoff is not safe for drinking. Water that penetrates the mountain is filtered by the basalt and is safe for drinking. Danita and I followed Holland America’s advice and drink only bottled water.

This pic tries to show how rugged the country side is. In spite of this, locals find a way to harvest the pine trees from the top of the mountain. They also hunt wild pigs and lower pigs weighing 100 pounds or more down to the valley where they have a pig feast. But there is also a story. At the end of the valley, we see what appears to be a wall. Actually, it is just a bump you have to get over to get to the top. Before Columbus, another island wanted to get control of Tahiti by climbing to the top of the volcano. They saw that wall and decided they couldn’t get to the top that way. They tried some other routes and finally gave up and went home. The Tahiti gave this ledge a name that means “The place where those who are not brave turn around”.

Whenever entering an area that your family doesn’t control, you should make a conch call. This lets them know you aren’t trying to sneak up on them — you are coming in peace. Then you wait until they reply with their conch call, giving you permission to proceed.

While on the mountain, you might have an emergency. Perhaps a group of warriors from another island is trying to take you over. You can “call 911” by pounding this tree with a rock. Our tour guide made a sound that reverberates throughout the valley. I tried it with much less success.

Tahiti has a cool system to help with electrical generation. They have a large pond near the top of the volcano, and a second one closer to the bottom. During the day they pump water from the lower pond to the upper. At night, they release the water back to the bottom pond so they have electricity at night. These concrete bumps are on the upper pond. If the water level gets up to the red level, there is danger of serious flooding and all people should evacuate the mountain. These stones were painted two months ago. Already, trees and debris have worn the paint off the first bump.

At the end of our ride, we were given an opportunity to play in the river. Danita and I decided not to bring swim gear and towels, but some others on our tour swam. While we were waiting, our tour guide played a couple of songs on the ever ubiquitous ukulele.

That’s it for today. I hope this finds everybody doing well.