Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/198651
polynesia Writer Lucas Aykroyd snorkels at the InterContinental Resort, Moorea; (top right) a replica HMS Bounty sets sail; performers twirl fire at Moorea's Tiki Village. (snorkelling and performers) darryl leniuk, (hms bounty) aubrey dale, (market) danita delimont/getty images It's April 28, 1789, and mutiny is brewing on HMS Bounty in the South Pacific. Commanded by tyrannical captain William Bligh, the ship is transporting breadfruit plants obtained in Tahiti as cheap food for West Indies slaves. But first mate Fletcher Christian and 18 other sailors are sick of Bligh's insults and floggings. Memories of the warm Tahitian weather, tropical food and beautiful women they've left behind are too much to resist. Christian leads an armed revolt, forcing Bligh and his loyalists off the 28-metre, 215-ton armed merchant ship and into a small open boat. The mutineers sail back to Tahiti and whoop it up. Some later decamp to remote Pitcairn Island to escape justice, but wind up fighting one another. Meanwhile, Bligh and his men survive a gruelling 47-day voyage to Timor, some 6,700 kilometres away in the Dutch East Indies. It remains the most famous mutiny in naval history. I grew up reading the 1930s-penned Mutiny on the Bounty novel trilogy by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. I wrote and recorded a radio play based on the books in high school. I thrilled to the 20th century's multiple movie versions. Hollywood's quintessential bad boys have played Fletcher Christian, including Errol Flynn (1933), Clark Gable (1935), Marlon Brando (1962) and Mel Gibson (1984). Next year (2014) marks the 250th anniversary of Christian's birth, which has inspired me to travel to Tahiti and compare my experiences to those of the mutineers. As Brando stated in his 1994 autobiography: "The happiest moments of my life have been in Tahiti." How could I resist? p12-21_Tahiti.indd 17 T he eight-hour Air Tahiti Nui flight from Los Angeles to Tahiti is certainly more comfortable than the Bounty's 10-month slog from England. Instead of seasickness and salt pork, I get striking stewardesses with aquamarine eyeshadow that matches the decor, minimal turbulence and tasty meals graced by white tiare flowers. Even before landing, I can see why the word "jealous" invariably popped up when I told someone I was going to Tahiti, the largest of French Polynesia's Windward Islands. Papeete, the capital city, greets me with a pink sunset and humid 29 C weather. The laid-back port city, mingling French colonial architecture with cheerful, ramshackle modern buildings, is home to 26,000 of the 274,000 inhabitants of To Market, To Moorea Member Carl Tenove, Calgary: "The Papeete farmer's market is a must-visit: you'll find everything from inexpensive bouquets of tropical flowers to freshly caught tuna there. From Papeete, take the ferry to Moorea. Rent a car to explore the island instead of taking a taxi – fares are outrageously expensive." w i n t e r 2 0 13 | w e s t w o r l d A l b e r t a 17 13-10-22 9:17 AM