Oranges in Tahiti are mainly an import, but it wasn't always so. Once Tahiti was an exporter of oranges. Cook, they say, introduced oranges to Tahiti, and they did very well there until a disease decimated the trees, except for the ones on the high plateaus.
Today the local make the difficult yearly pilgrimage to gather the incredibly delicious oranges on the high plateaus of Punaruu.
My friend Benoit and I set out early to make the climb up the mountain side to reach the plateau. Two hours later, and that at a rather quick pace, we arrived at the refuge where we learned that we were too late for oranges, and that a guide was needed for the rest of the climb. It was raining, we decided to go back down. The climb was as arduous as it was beautiful, so there were no regrets on our part.
On the way down we met a number of locals heading for a weekend at the refuge. Each time we were greeted with "Iorana" and "bonjour" and a little chat about the state of the terrain.
On the way down the rain had filled the river banks already and the crossings were a lot more difficult than on the way up. I set aside my pride and accepted the generous offers of help to get across the river, now flowing very fast over round rocks on which I had tenuous footing.
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