TAHITI - FEBRUARY 2ND

Two words:  HOT – HUMID -- probably because we’re now in the wet season (Polynesian summer from the months of November to April). 

Papeete is French Polynesia’s capital city, and is situated on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia’s Society Islands.  Population 26,017 (est. 2012).  French, Tahitian and English spoken here.

We arrived in Papeete in the morning and were in dock until 11 p.m.  At the suggestion of our destination lecturer, we were out early in the morning before the shops close at noon.  I wasn’t impressed with Papeete at all and actually found it to be quite rundown where we docked.  From the information we received about how expensive it is ($30 hamburgers/$8 Cokes), I would’ve expected it to be far more upscale similar to Monaco.  

 

We didn’t schedule an excursion but were on a quest for a refrigerator magnet which we found for $9.00.  More expensive than usual.   Rate of exchange:  one penny, one French Pacific franc.  So, $9.00 paid in U.S. dollars for a 900 CFP item.  I did enjoy a little bit of frozen yogurt for $3.00 (the clerk also took U.S. Dollars).

The “mall” was not very impressive and contained only a few stores that weren’t very interesting.  Far too many people sleeping on the streets and on benches. 

There were a few stalls at the dock selling all sorts of shells, jewelry, woven palm hats, fruit, pearls, hand-dyed shawls/wraps, etc.  We asked one of the ladies if we could take her picture – she was wearing one of the common head dresses made from local greenery, flowers, fronds, etc. and her mother happened to be nearby so we were able to take a picture of both of these lovely ladies. 

Michael is trying to convince me to move here (the humidity doesn’t bother him because he doesn’t have the same insulation I have) and I always give him the same response:  “I will email you, I will call you, I will text you, I will snail-mail you, I will messenger you, I will Skype you – every day.  Send me a postcard when you get a chance.” 

MICHAEL’S OBSERVATIONS:   Sadly, my dreams of moving to a tropical oasis have been dashed.  I enjoyed walking around and found the people to be friendly.  More importantly, the merchants we dealt with were willing to accept U.S. currency so we didn’t need to exchange money which is always a pain in the behind.  Talking to some of the travelers, we were told that it was unusually humid because there were no trade winds.  Apparently, there’s usually a nice breeze that keeps the area cool.  Sadly, Leona wasn’t able to experience that which is why we’re not moving.  On to the next port o’ call. 

We visited the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception where Leona lit a candle and ladies were busy preparing the floral arrangements of gorgeous tropical flowers including the very appropriately named  Bird of Paradise.