Today's port of call was a very familiar one for us, since we have been here in this most beautiful part of the world many times….too many to count. And the port was the island of Tahiti and the capital Papeete. The bow was opened at 7am for those who wished to watch the sail into the harbor. Watching the bow camera in our room, we noticed that only a few folks got up early today. And what did they miss? Dolphins in front of the ship, then alongside right below our room, and finally in the wake. They appeared to be feeding in a pod of adults and some youngsters. In all of the times we have done this sailing, we never saw so many dolphins, and certainly not this close-up. A young neighbor gal next door to us was at the railing, and she heard us say dolphins. With that she asked where? She whipped out her cell phone and took some pictures, and said in a joking way, wait until my husband (in the shower) sees what he missed. Yep, you just have to be in the right place and time like today.
At the same time there were two ferries that were waiting for us to enter the harbor. They proceeded on their way out and that was the end of the sightings. We will be leaving the harbor at 4am tomorrow morning, and we know we will not be up to watch it, let alone see any more dolphins.
Before we arrived here, we all got notices regarding the biosecurity notice for all of French Polynesia. This notice advises us not to bring over agricultural items, fresh fruits, flowers, veggies, plants, or plant derivatives. Quarantine officers will be at each port and will spot check bags. We have seen it done and we have also seen folks bringing bananas, oranges, and sandwiches for their bus tours. If a fine is involved, it is not worth it.
Another notice was a new one we have not seen. It is informing folks that buy pearls more than 5,000 Pacific French Francs, or about $45 USD, you may be eligible for a tax refund if they are purchased in a shop and you get a receipt.
Two room things were scheduled this morning. First we had balcony cleaning, followed by rug shampooing. We think both happened while we were at breakfast.
OK, so what is there to do in Tahiti? We have heard some guests on previous trips say there is nothing to do and see in the town of Papeete. But then, they were organizing independent tours outside the area and sold many to the guests. We happen to like the town and easily can spend most of the day exploring the sights and having lunch. Naturally, there were some HAL excursions here, many of which we have done over the years. East coast highlights was 2 hours for $100, while the West coast tour was 4 hours for $130. Rapenoo Valley & waterfall on a 4wd was 3 hours for $130. Tahiti lagoon discovery was 3 hours for $140, while Natural treasures was 4 hours for $140. The Ohana Catamaran was 3 hours for $160, and a 2 hour sunset sail with cocktails was $160. Tahiti around the island was 7 hours and $220 which included lunch.
No doubt it was going to be a nice and warm day even though we have been seeing rain in the forecast for a week now. Yes, it can rain at any given time, but it usually, it is passing. The temperature at 10am was already 86 degrees with the humidity at 70%. The winds were 17 mph but decreased as the day advanced. We had overcast early on, followed by some sun and broken clouds. The rain stayed away, at least in the town.
Around 9:30am, there was a crew drill, which we knew would last an hour. So we left the ship by 10:15am for a walkabout in downtown. Going through the new terminal is not people-friendly in our humble opinion. Once leaving the gate at the pier, we had to walk up a flight of stairs to access the terminal. There is a ramp, but you have to walk almost the entire length of Vaiete Park where the food roulettes come at night. We did notice another ramp by the stairs, but access to be building was closed. This new terminal does have all of the souvenirs that used to be at the old tent and info hut…..all gone now. There is another section full of seating for those who are boarding other ships here as well as those who try to get internet. We tried later in the day but had no luck connecting.
We crossed Boulevard Pomare and headed right for the Marche Municipal, or the Marketplace. This two-story building has everything you might be seeking in the way of clothing, jewelry, woven goods, or souvenirs. There is a food and fish market on the first floor and something we always get…..flowers, tropical flowers. We had recalled that this market closes earlier on Saturday like around 1pm. So we decided to continue our hike and stop here on the way back. That way we would not have to pack flowers for hours, as they tend to be heavy.
Passing the outside tables, we looked a little closer at the pearl offerings, and found a strand of 5 dropped black and grey pearls that would work with earrings already owned. The prices were quite reasonable and it took a short time to find a suitable necklace. Deliberately staying clear of the fabric shops (I have too much already), this was a nice substitute.
Hinano has a very nice store in this area with a variety of clothing that one of us likes. Namely, t-shirts with the Hinano logo. They happened to have a 20% Valentine's Day sale if you bought one man's and one woman's t-shirts. A good deal, we did just that, and lucky to get our sizes since the store was full of customers, mostly from the Volendam.
Our walk took us into the downtown area passing the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Once again, we found the doors locked to the public. A little further up this street, we passed one of the busiest places in town….McDonalds. Locals love to dine there, and cruise ship guests like to use their free wifi. Of course, the more people using it, the slower it becomes. Beyond the parking lot at McDonalds is a wall that always had a beautiful mural. It had been painted over the last couple of visits we had here, but today, there was a new one in its place. Even nicer of a beautiful mature Tahitian woman who might be famous person here.
This is where the Assembly building is located with the Queen's Garden walk along the side and into the back of the property. Sadly, the place was gated and locked today. We did see a sign saying that on Monday, there would be an event held here for a week or so. So we crossed the busy street to Bougainville Park, which seems to have become the refuge of a few homeless locals. There are public restrooms located here and are convenient to the non-working crowd. Remembering that the marketplace might be closing early, we headed back to purchase some tropical flowers. We ended up with four large bunches of white and red ginger, bird of paradise, protea, and some filler blossoms with many ti leaves for color. They are surprisingly heavy with their thick stalks.
Back onboard, one of us re-arranged the flowers and made one huge bouquet using the large vase our room steward supplied. Even by shortening the stems, it remained very large and tall, taking up our coffee table. Sometimes there are ants in the blossoms, but we only saw a few. Taking no chances, we always use Vaseline around the upper one inch or more edge of the vase as a barrier. It works well. By the time we were done with that job, it was time to head out again for lunch.
This time we walked in the shade to LaPizzeria, not too far from the ship. The pedestrian traffic had slowed to the point it looked like a Sunday here. Many of the shops on the boulevard had closed and we knew that the marketplace was also wrapping up business for the day. It is always a relief to find the doors of this popular Italian restaurant opened. We were seated next to a family of eight with four little kids. Obviously on vacation, they were speaking French. The young kids were pretty good, until one by one, they began roaming the place with the excuse of going to the restrooms. Always fun to watch, and glad they were not part of our group.
So the very first thing we ordered were Hinano draft beers….the big ones. Then one of us recalled having some pasta here last fall, and decided to try another bowl of the tagliatelle noodles with butter. Oh….noodle heaven and gladly shared since the petite portion was still large. The pizza we always like best is the Hawaiian with plenty of sauce, pineapple, cheese, and ham. Hands down, it is among the best pizzas you can find in all of these islands. Dessert was one shared bowl of profiteroles with vanilla ice cream. Needless to say, dinner will be light tonight.
Heading back, we crossed the boulevard and took or time walking the Paofai Park trail. At this time of day, the harborside cafes and restaurants were not crowded at all. But then it was 3pm and ice cream time for many. Along the marina, there are a series of manmade coral beds with growing corals that had been tied on years ago. Much like planting a garden, these colorful corals attract many small and large tropical fish. One such fish is a puffer fish . The one we saw today was bright yellow, most unusual we thought. The bird sightings today were fewer with two types of terns, doves, pigeons and chickens.
On the way back, we stopped for a while to try for the wifi at the terminal but had no luck. The restaurant did have a website, but the signal was poor at best. So we gave up and boarded the ship, enjoying the coolness of our room for the remainder of the afternoon, consuming at least two sodas each.
Somehow we missed the sunset, or a huge black cloud obliterated it. Once it was dark, the food trucks arrived at Vaiete Place, a favorite spot for the crew members to have local cuisine.
One event that took place last evening was Dinner Under The Stars held at the Seaview Pool area at 6pm. Many of our friends attended and they were all concerned about sudden rain showers. They got lucky and only a light mist came down upon them by coffee time. Bet it felt good because it was still hot a 9pm. Dinner for us was light with a salad, one bowl of soup and a "right-sized" petite tenderloin meal with polenta. Even at that, we were still full and declined dessert. We had outdone ourselves at lunch, but did not tell our waiter that.
There was a local show in the World Stage with "Mana: The Spirit of Tahiti" which we saw last November. This award-winning show featured the best singers, dancers, and musicians from Tahiti and was well-attended.
Tomorrow we will be in Moorea.
Bill & Mary Ann
