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FANTASY ISLAND
Story written by Rick Archer
Pictures contributed by Milt Oglesby
May 2008
One of the most popular vacation and retirement fantasies is
the island home away from it all. Many people love the
water. For example, although I am more
of a Colorado mountain guy myself, my wife tells me a house
on the ocean would work just fine for her.
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As you will soon see, this article
will display a mouth-watering
cabana built out into the water next to some small island in the middle of
the Pacific Ocean. I am not sure where this island is. My friend Milt sent me
the pictures, but there was no accompanying information as
to the origin of the shots.
Rumor has it that Tahiti has many locations
like the pictures you are about to see. Hopefully some
snooping around the Internet will turn up more information.
Yes, that rumor is confirmed! As you can see, Tahiti
has lots and lots of cabanas with thatched roofs out in the
water.
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Tahiti, Queen of the Pacific
Tahiti, often called the island of love, is the
largest of all French Polynesian islands. Deep
valleys, waterfalls cascading into cool rivers and
streams hide between the beautiful mountains,
overlooked by majestic peaks. The flat coastal
lands, are planted with fields of tropical flowers
and home to most of the island's population.
Tahiti's beaches vary from black sand beaches on the
north east coast and white sand beaches on the south
west coast. Papeete, the capital, is the place to
shop for authentic souvenirs at the great local
market.
Bora Bora, the Romantic
Island
Bora Bora island is possibly the most famous island
in the world
(Rick Archer's Note: I
doubt seriously that Bora Bora is the most famous
island in the world). Lush tropical rainforests, white sand
beaches and palm covered motu surrounding the island
and the gorgeous azure lagoon, make this island the
perfect nest for romantics and honeymooners... Bora
Bora is love at first sight.
Moorea, the Bay Island
Crystalline lagoons, home of dolphins and rays.
Waterfalls tumble down the steep pineapple covered
mountains. Volcanic peaks rise high above the
tranquil waters of Cook's Bay and Oponohu Bay.
Peaceful meadows and gardens of hibiscus, birds of
paradise and many more exotic plants will renew your
belief in the majesty of nature. Less than ten
minutes away by air from Tahiti, Moorea is ideal for
a day's visit.
Huahine, Garden of Eden
Huahine, picturesque, with its lush rainforests,
rich and fertile soil growing abundance of vanilla
and bananas on the slopes of a very diverse and
dramatic geography, is one of Polynesia's best kept
secrets. A scenic road winds around the two small
islands that compose Huahine, through charming
villages, beautiful vistas of crystal-clear lagoons,
rich with sea life, where lie motu islets bordered
by white sand beaches and coconut trees. Maeva
village is a wealth of archeological sites that go
back to 1000 years. The spell cast by Huahine will
last a lifetime.
Raiatea and Taha'a
Far less traveled then Bora Bora or Moorea, these
two sister islands offer an experience of a true
unspoiled Polynesia. They share a wonderful lagoon
rich in sea life, and ideal for sailing, scuba
diving and outrigger canoeing.
Taha'a, filled with a rich aroma of vanilla
lingering in the air, is "The Vanilla Island". This
flower shaped island charms us with the simple
beauty of its soft mountains and surrounding of tiny
motu on the endless lagoon. Taha'a still maintains
an authentic flavor of Polynesia.
Rangiroa
Life on these remote atolls is simple and normally
quiet and peaceful. In the small villages the
visitor can discover the true flavor of the Tuamotu,
often participating in the daily activities of the
Paumotu people. The interior lagoons are a haven for
black pearl farms, fish parks, snorkeling and scuba
diving.
Tikehau, Remote, Beautiful,
Magical
Tikehau, considered to be one of the most beautiful
atolls of Polynesia, is a graceful crown of
pink-sand beaches. In this pristine world, fish seem
to outnumber people. The interior lagoons are a
haven for black pearl farms, snorkeling, exploring
the Isle of Birds and enjoying endless hours of
kayak ballads encountering rays, exotic fish and
coral gardens. The local people, friendly
inhabitants of the small village of Tuherahera,
invite you to share their world beyond imagination.
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Now that we have taken a look at
Tahiti and studied the architecture of the cabanas, let's
turn our attention to our own "Fantasy Island". As
you can see, the first glance at our Fantasy Island carries
a serious "Wow" punch! Talk about luxury in the middle
of nowhere!
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The light blue indicates shallow waters.
The dark blue is deeper waters.
If you look
carefully, you will notice a long bridge connecting the two islands together.
There appears to be about 20 cabanas surrounding the long slender
island with two trophy homes set apart at the end. Note the
long walkway out to the trophy homes. These homes are built completely
out in the water.
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These are the same two islands, but from a
different perspective. Now we are looking at the larger
island. With this close-up, we can see the larger island has cabanas
too, except that most of appear to be on the island. Wherever
you see brown, those are cabana roof tops. Is that a
spot of blue in the middle of the island next to the clearing? Is that a swimming pool?
Maybe this island has been developed as a resort.
The water appears to be very shallow. It looks like the
bridge crosses a third island lying just below the water. Also note at the
top of the picture what appears to be a man-made protective barrier.
You have to wonder how long these two islands would hang
around with global warming. Watch a couple Antarctic glaciers
melt and these islands might just be marked for extinction.
But for now they serve as Fantasy Islands for the rich.
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And now we come to our Trophy Homes. Studying
both islands, I believe these homes are attached to the long slender
island. Do you see the two blue squares in front of the
stairs? Those squares are likely man-made. I assume these
areas are used for docking purposes. Wonder what the
explanation is for those two squares? Anyone have an idea?
Here is our first close look at one of
the cabanas.
Studying the architecture, wouldn't you agree our cabana hut
has "Tahitian" written all over it?
I don't think this picture is one of the trophy homes.
It looks too small to be one of the two structures in
the picture above it.
I see only one roof here. The larger homes have three rooftops.
But on the other hand this smaller cabana does have a walkway. Are there
other rooftops hiding behind the roof we can see?
I don't
think so. My conclusion is this is a
different structure than the two Trophy homes.
Maybe you can figure it out.
Meanwhile this deck appears to belong to the house
with one roof.
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This lovely view appears to be part of
the smaller cabana in the previous picture above. The
wood is the same color and the umbrella seems to be the same
as well. Is that a hot tub
on the left?
Note the square bed inside the cabana. I will refer back to
it in a moment.
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Here we have a massage table with a
see-through floor. This allows you to look at fish swimming by while
you scream in pain. This lends more weight to the 'resort idea'.
Private homes don't typically have massage tables. In the
second picture that looks like a flat-screen TV and a jacuzzi/bath
tub. There is a ceiling fan as well. Conclusion: There must be
electricity! The electric wires are probably disguised by
attaching them to the side of the walkway.
By the way, as you can see the bed is round. However in the
previous picture the bed was rectangular. Conclusion? We
are looking at pictures of two different structures.
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Here is more evidence to support the
theory of two different structures. Here is the round
bed and the square bed. One room has light wood; one room
has dark wood. They are probably adjacent cabanas.
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Now that's pretty cool - three stingrays
right below the deck! Three stars on the Wow factor.
And how about having a living room with a see-through floor
- three more stars on the Wow factor! Fun.
I am still curious to know if these are
places to live or places to visit. The simple
furnishings indicate these cabanas are 'visited'. They
don't have that 'lived in' look. The cabanas are elegant, but very spare.
Note that one woman has a drink in her hand while there is a
champagne bottle on ice in the other. I don't have any
champagne on ice in my home. I believe these are
resort advertisement pictures.
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These two pictures definitely show
different structures. There is a triple roof on the
left and single roofs on the right. The left is an
elaborate dwelling while the right seems to be dwellings on
a more simple scale with much different construction in the
stilts below.
This lends more evidence to the theory that our pictures are
from at least two, maybe even three different structures.
So what is going on here?
One day in April 2008 I received an email from
Milt Oglesby. The pictures were enclosed in a PowerPoint
presentation, but Milt didn't have a clue as to their origin.
The PowerPoint was scripted as a 'pretend' invitation to attend a
luau at one of the homes. The point of the presentation was to make
people envious as all get-out. As for me, it was successful. I
openly lusted for the chance to spend time in one of those cabanas
and see a part of the world totally foreign to me.
There was something odd about the PowerPoint
though. It included pictures of an RV to pick you up at the
airport and a magnificent yacht to bring you to the luau on these
islands.
The more I thought about it, the more I decided the PowerPoint was
blowing smoke. For one thing, I can't imagine an RV picking
people up in Tahiti. Second, I can't imagine a massive yacht
operating in these shallow waters. Plus there was the
curiosity of pictures from two or more different cabanas.
That is why I concluded the PowerPoint itself was made by someone
who is poor like you and me. They simply collected the images
on the Internet from some 'Tahitian Vacation' web site and spliced
them together. I imagine the bloke didn't have enough cabana
pictures of one home, so he (or she) simply used pictures of several
different structures.
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That said, I still thoroughly enjoyed
the pictures. And knowing the truth helped my envy
calm down a little. Still, it's fun to dream.
So what do you think? Are you ready to settle down on
Fantasy Island? Is this a valid Retirement Fantasy?
Want to spend the rest of your life watching fish float by? Or would you rather
just drop in for a visit sometime?
One thing for sure - this place definitely qualifies as a
Tropical Paradise.
In parting, the PowerPoint presentation reminded me of one
of my favorite jokes about Paradise. If you would like
to read the Genie and the Law Firm, Scroll
down a little.
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The Genie and the Law Firm
A secretary, a rookie lawyer just out of law school, and
a partner in a big city
law firm are driving to lunch. The traffic is ridiculous and they
haven't moved five feet in five minutes. Noticing a parking spot
next to a city park, the law partner orders the first-year
man to pull over.
The high-powered attorney barks at the
other two and says it would be quicker to simply walk.
Then he looks at his watch and frowns. Addressing his
secretary, "What does my afternoon look like, Sarah?"
Worried she's about to miss lunch, Sarah squirms a little.
Finally she admits, "You have one appointment after another, Mr.
Jones."
The law partner fumes, "That's what
I thought. Damn, it's late! We
are wasting valuable time! Let's get moving, people."
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Jeff, the first-year lawyer, points to the city
park. Jeff suggests, "Sometimes I walk to lunch. I know
a short-cut through this park."
The law partner snorts and says the rookie
lawyer better be right or he'll take any further wasted time out of
the kid's salary.
So they walk through the park on their way to lunch.
Jeff, the over-worked first-year
lawyer, is so preoccupied with his
massive workload that he pays little attention to where he is going.
Suddenly Jeff trips over some
object buried in mud on the side of the trail.
Jeff kicks up an antique oil lamp.
Sarah the secretary exclaims, "Oh,
how pretty! That looks like Aladdin's lamp! I
can't wait to polish it off and put it on
my desk!" Sarah rubs
the lamp gently to clean the mud
off a bit. Suddenly...
Poof! Shazaam!
A Genie comes out in a puff of
smoke.
The Genie takes a look, then says, "I'm glad to see you. I
have been stuck in that lamp for a
thousand years. But
I have a problem. I can only grant three wishes
and you are three.
Therefore I will grant
you each one
wish."
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"Me first! Me first!" says Sarah the
secretary. "I read travel magazines all the time.
I know exactly what I want! I work year-round,
put in lots of unpaid overtime, and never call in sick, but I
am still too broke to go anywhere fun."
Sarah pauses for effect. She is hoping the partner will
realize she is underpaid and overworked. But the partner
doesn't blink. So Sarah continues, "I want to be in the
Bahamas laying in a hammock with my boyfriend
without a care in the world!"
Poof! Sarah's gone! She
has vanished before their very eyes.
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At Sarah's sudden disappearance, the rookie
lawyer's eyes bulge in disbelief. He is astonished.
It takes Jeff a moment to accept this incredible opportunity is
real.
Taking a deep breath, the first-year
lawyer says, "Since I joined the law firm, I have been working
80-hour weeks. I got married the moment I finished law school, but
ever since I started working here I barely
see my wife at all."
Jeff stops to think. "I miss my wife so much!
I would like to be alone with her
in Tahiti watching the sun set. We could live
together in one of
those bungalows drinking silly
fruit drinks with umbrellas in
them!"
Poof!! Jeff is gone.
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Now that Sarah and Jeff have been whisked off to
Paradise with their loved ones, that leaves only the law partner and
the Genie.
As they stand alone in the park together, the Genie awaits his final
command. The partner is mulling something over.
"You're next," the Genie says to the law
partner.
Pressed for a decision, the partner looks
at his watch and frowns.
Then he looks up, curses under his breath,
and says, "Oh hell, give 'em 15 more
minutes."
"Then I want those two back in the office after lunch."
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