From here, the road crests a rise, then drops onto the eastern backside of the island. The discards of civilization besmear nature's masterpiece. This is the lonely side of the island, where few outsiders venture beyond tours. Many of Bora Bora's 6,000 inhabitants call the area home. After a few kilometres of rural solitude, I enter the fishing village of Anau.
Music pours from the community's combination school and meeting house.
In its open breezeway, a Polynesian choir harmonizes for the local church service. In sheer volume and exuberance, they put other gospel revivals to shame. Coasting down the hills' backside, I grin into the breeze and listen to knobby tires hum on the pavement. A deserted beach invites, its lonely sand shaded with coconut palms. Glass-clear water laps the shore.