Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/250756
mothers gave their children before we had candy." Steps away, intense drumming by heavily tattooed Marquesan Islanders (hailing from a Polynesian island cluster north of Tahiti) reinforces the sense of history and pride. A bumpy midday drive brings me to Marae Arahurahu, a restored Polynesian temple constructed from black volcanic rocks between the 15th and 18th centuries. Although nestled in a lush valley that's alive with birdsong, its sacred courtyard, decorated with unu (wooden sculptures), is less than comfortable for worshippers due to the rough rock surface – not to mention the pigs still sacrificed here. After a lunch of delectably flaky parrotfish in lemon butter sauce at the waterfront Captain Bligh Restaurant and Bar, I decide to view something that Bounty boatswain's mate James Morrison described in 1788: "At this diversion both sexes are excellent and some are so expert as to stand on their board till the surf breaks." Morrison was referring, of course, to surfing. At Taharuu Beach, more than 40 local young men are braving big waves on surfboards and 26 W e s t w o r l d | S p r i n g 2 0 14 p22-27_Tahiti.indd 26 14-01-23 10:57 AM darryl leniuk the wind as young families wade in the warm water. A flotilla of outrigger canoes passes outside the distant reef. I stand on the black sand beach and think about my grandfather, who bought the Hall and Nordhoff books that ultimately led me here. Tahiti's ability to feed both body and soul is becoming evident. My cross-cultural dinner on the pier of the upscale Blue Banana restaurant later in the evening – escargots in garlic butter and shrimp in coconut curry sauce – is succeeded the next day by an unusual breakfast at the free, inaugural "Festival du Uru," or Breadfruit Festival, at Papeete's Maison de la Culture. I quickly tuck into hearty, nutty-tasting bread made with breadfruit flour at the Bounty-themed stall of Swiss-born Beni Huber. Huber is spearheading plans for an annual Bounty festival and a touring replica of the ship. (See sidebar.) Even more delectable is popo uru, sundried breadfruit soaked in sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. An old woman dishing out the sweet treat at another stall tells me, "We need to preserve these traditional recipes before they're lost. This is what