What is Barack Obama Doing Now? Former President in French Polynesia for Month-Long Vacation
After eight years in office in one of the world's most difficult and demanding jobs, former U.S. President Barack Obama is now taking life in a more relaxed stride. As a private citizen, Obama is now able to just go out there and soak up the sun, and where can he better do that than in the celebrated French Polynesian luxury resort, The Brando.
The former POTUS has reportedly flown to Tahiti by private jet and arrived at Faa'a International Airport just outside the capital of Papeete at around 3:30 p.m. However, he did not stay in Tahiti for long. Just 30 minutes after his arrival, he caught a ride on a much smaller private plane headed for The Brando, an eco-conscious luxury resort on the French Polynesian atoll of Tetiaroa.
The private island used to be the Tahitian royal family's favorite destination until it was bought by actor Marlon Brando in the 1960s while he was there filming the movie "Mutiny on the Bounty." The actor later renamed the island to The Brando, and it has now become the Reader's Choice Awards top pick for resorts in Australia and the South Pacific. The island can only be accessed via a 20-minute private plane ride from the nearby island of Tahiti.
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The eco-minded resort takes its power from solar energy and coconut oil and is ventilated by a seawater air-conditioning system. Mosquitoes will never be a problem since the private island is also said to be home to an innovative mosquito eradication project that has even brought in researchers from Oxford University.
Obama will reportedly stay in The Brando for a month, where he is believed to be taking some time out to finally work on his memoirs, for which he and his wife Michelle have reportedly signed a $60-million deal with the Penguin Random House publisher.
The former U.S. president is also expected to visit some of the other islands in the French Polynesia, and might also be spending time on film producer David Geffen's $300-million yacht, which was previously spotted moored in Papeete, but has now since moved off the coast of the nearby island of Moorea. Geffen, who founded DreamWorks, is also a friend and big supporter of Obama.
It is not yet clear whether the rest of the former first family will be joining Obama on his French Polynesian getaway at a much later date.
The former President has also recently expressed his regards and respect for the late Chuck Berry via his official Twitter account.
In a previous interview with the Rolling Stone, Berry had been quoted to say how grateful he was to have lived long enough to see the day that a man with Obama's "qualities, features, and all that he has" would become president.
"My dad said, 'You may not live to see that day,' and I believed him. I thank God that I have," Berry said.
