Ia orana, tahiti

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M I C HAEL S M AL L, W RITER TUESDAY, 9 AUGUST 2011

IA ORANA, TAHITI I came to like life here, with its ease and its leisure, and the people with their goodnature and their happy smiling faces. The Fall of Edward Bernard, W. Somerset Maugham Thursday: Papeete Landing at Faa’a airport in late evening, Clay was breezily waved through immigration and greeted by the balmy air and grin of his young transfer driver, Thierry. Not so pleased, though, by this long-haired French émigré’s driving skills, left hand solo while texting, phoning a girlfriend and puffing away on a ciggie for most of the journey. The road down the west coast was fortunately dormant, but also dark, so Clay could gain no insight into his shadowy surroundings, except the humidity, for he was already prickly with perspiration, still bundled up in wintry garb. An hour later he was dropped off at his relais, shown into a spacious room that opened out onto a garden and unpacked. Next morning he was awakened by the hum and draught of his ceiling fan, the bright rays of sunshine filtering through the drapes and a burble of voices at the long breakfast table on the patio. Having briefly introduced himself to the two French couples and the older, more reticent German pair, he tucked into slices of tangy grapefruit, reassuring cornflakes, a soft sweet banana rationed by each plate, a chocolate croissant and serial cups of coffee. Then with keen anticipation he set out to discover the delights of a sub-tropical paradise. Walking along the narrow grass verge at the side of the two-lane road, he soon located the entrance to the plage publique, already crowded by nine o’clock with the car park almost full and bodies hugging the broader square of sand where a stream trickled into the lagoon. Pretending not to notice the bronze statuary of topless women of various ages, European and Polynesian, he halted at the edge of shore to ingest his first vision of that iconic image of a paradisal island – the long, low, level line of lacy white ruffles


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