Papeete, Tahiti

January 20, 2023

Hallo all, this morning we sailed into Papeete  on the island of Tahiti in  French Polynesia. Tahiti is the largest island pop.200,000 the capital Papeete has a pop. of approximate 27,000 . The beaches here consist mainly out of black lava sand. Away from the coast the island consist of lush green mountainous terrain. This morning we explored the city on foot, visiting some stores and a local market. We had to brush up on our limited amount of our french vocabulary skills. A group of Chinese people were snaking through the streets with large drums setting off fire crackers celebrating Chinese New Year. About 10% of the population is from Chinese descents who were original brought over in the 1800 hundreds to work in the cotton fields. Local Tahitians were not interested in that work. Their comment was, why would you grow something you can’t eat. In the afternoon we had a tour planned visiting an  ancient cemetery, an old medicinal garden on the water owned by an older Chinese lady. The last stop was at a rain garden with an underground cave and several waterfalls and wetland ponds filled with colourful Koi fish. After this last stop we returned back to town. One very noticeable observation was, that a lot of families spend their time along the waterfront in the shade from the trees or in the water. We had our dinner on the back of the boat under the stars on a very warm evening. We closed of the day with a colourful performance by a group of local Polynesian singers and dancers in the ships theatre.

” Travel is not a sprint. A journey is not a marathon. Chill out and enjoy the moment. “By – Duaransel

Cheers