We boarded a plane on Air Tahiti for a quick 45 minute ride to Raiatea. Along the way, we gazed the islands of Moorea and Huahine from above and admired the turquoise waters.
We landed in the island of Raiatea and were shuttled by boat to a tiny island (a motu) in the neighboring island of Tahaa.
It is in this remote little motu that we Discovered Hotel La Pirogue.
We were greeted by Séverine with flower leis and tropical drinks.
Our room was Bungalow 1, which faced the beautiful calm ocean.
View of our hotel from the water.
View from our bungalow.
The beach in front of the bar.
Path toward the dining area.
The bar.
Dining room.
Hotel La Pirogue
As of the date of this travel diary (April 2006), Hotel La Pirogue was only 2 years old.
The Swiss couple, Séverine and Giuliano, had previously run a hotel in Tahaa, built out a small hotel with only 8 bungalows (3 water front, 5 garden) in a remote island. This island, called a motu (a piece of land with no mountain), is about 5 minutes away by boat from its mainland of Tahaa. Its closest neighbor is Vahine Island, which is another motu resort.
Hotel La Pirogue is a small piece of paradise away from the rest of the world.
Our bungalow opened to the beach, facing Tahaa. From our deck, we could see crabs, small fish and an occasional sting ray and puffer fish. We also saw the boats come and go between the mainland and our little island. This included the daughters of the hotel owners who commuted to school by boat (imagine that!).
Every night, we could see the sunset over Bora Bora from our deck.
After sunset, we casually walked barefoot to the dining room, where we had great food in a dimly lit setting.
