23 August 2024 – Moorea- Society Islands

It was a much better day when we woke and calmer and sunnier. I had to get the car back so went ashore and drove it to the car hire office and was given a lift back. I bought some more baguettes, bananas and croissants etc before returning to Stormbird for breakfast.

We had been looking for days over to a patch on the hillside which looked cultivated and believed it may be pineapples that were being grown there.

Most of us think of pineapples as coming from Hawaii (or somewhere like that),but that's not the case. Pineapples are a member of the bromeliad family, which is indigenous to the Americas (mostly South America) but has been found in Africa as well. By far the most famous plant in the bromeliad family, pineapples were first brought over to Spain by Christopher Columbus in 1493.

The pineapple—which is no relation to pine trees or apples—got its name through the combination of the Spanish "pina" (so named because it reminded them of a pinecone) and the English "apple" (so named because of its sweet taste).

Back in Europe in the 17th century, pineapples were grown in greenhouses and were a symbol of opulence and wealth, only adorning the banquet tables of the very rich. Fast-forward to today, and pineapples are everywhere.

Even though pineapples are considered a fruit (and a fruit generally comes from trees—unless it’s a berry), pineapples actually grow on a plant close to the ground. Each pineapple plant bears exactly one pineapple. Time to Maturity and Fruiting: Regardless of how it was started, a pineapple plant matures at between two and three years of age when it will bear its first fruit. Afterward, it can fruit another time or two at roughly two-year intervals before the plant "wears out."

A pineapple therefore starts and ends as the same product—that is to say, you need a pineapple to grow a pineapple. Pineapples don’t really have usable seeds, so pineapple plants start from the pineapple itself, or more specifically, from the leafy top.

In a tropical climate, a pineapple head can be placed directly into the ground. In less tropical climates, pineapples can be planted in pots inside your home. You can therefore in theory actually grow your own pineapple! Once the pineapple head takes root, it’ll take two to three years before it starts bearing fruit. It’ll grow to be almost 4 feet high by 4 feet wide. Once it has matured, a large flower will grow in the middle of the plant and eventually be replaced by a pineapple itself. Once the pineapple is harvested, a new fruit will grow in its place the following year. It is therefore quite labour intensive and takes a long time. In Moorea the type of pineapple if called Queen Tahiti.

After educating ourselves on the above we wanted to see whether there were pineapples growing in that patch. We took the dinghy ashore and then walked up the road and round the bay to opposite where Stormbird was anchored. We carried on and then came to a track at the bottom of the patch. We wondered in and saw the plants which looked a bit like Yuka plants with sharp serrated leaves. In fact, the next time you buy a pineapple look at the foliage at the top and the plant which is about 3 foot tall looks like a larger version. We were not sure what stage these plants were at but many had the flower in the middle and some were beginning to develop into pineapples and in one there was a small pineapple.

This was interesting to see and something we had wanted to do here. The picture of the day is looking back to the bay and the reef in the distance across these pineapple fields.

We returned to the road and back to the snack bar for a drink and Corinne and I had banana and Mark had pineapple all made from the factory we had visited the day before.

We returned for lunch and enjoyed some of the local avocados and chicken and of course some pineapple.

We spent the afternoon chilling and reading and enjoying the toing and frowing in the bay. Mark chopped up a coconut and we had coconut juice and we later made a rum cocktail made with rum, coconut cream and pineapple -delicious.

We then had delicious tuna with green beans, ratatouille and bread fruit chips – cooked by Mark. It was a good end to a relaxing day. We plan to move round to the other bay tomorrow.

 Crewing Opportunity Year Two

In year two I will be going from New Zealand in early January 2025 across to Sydney and up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025. I will need some more crew.

If there is any interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

The blog will continue as we move through French Polynesia and beyond. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com