Papeete, Tahiti

Papeete, Tahiti

David spent the next five days trying to get the outboard fixed, get officially signed in, trying to get on-line and get a phone card. He was not successful on any of these. I was only able to communicate with winlink - frustrating for both of us. Was just hoping he got the message and would be at the gate on Tuesday night.

1130: I arrive in Papeete and walk through the gate and was very happy to see David on the other side of the glass. 

We spent that night in a wonderful pension - a glorious hostel (NOT) for $90 US a night. No hot water. No wifi. Breakfast included was a cold baguette and instant coffee. We passed. A lumpy bed. But it was clean.

We spent the rest of the month in Papeete, one week at the marina and the rest at anchor. On a scale of one to ten the marina was probably a 6. Showers were good. They had two washers and dryers but they were out of order. There was a laundromat within walking distance and to tell you the truth - it did not cost much more than if I would have done it myself (which would have taken a day) and they supplied the soap. Yamaha was temporarily fixed as you will find out later. Thought of buying a new one but the 5 hp only came as a 2 stroke - and these are not allowed in New Zealand. So we will have to pray that the repair works or that we can anchor close to shore, within rowing distance.

Grocery provisioning was good. Carrefour is the main grocery outlet and they are well stocked. Another amusing thing - in Victoria, except for holidays it is very difficult to find Creme Fraiche but sour cream is everywhere. Here you will not find sour cream but the Creme Fraiche is everywhere. Got to hand it to the French! There is also a wonderful market right in town at the square across from the marina. Fresh vegetables and fish can be purchased there everyday and I have found that their shelf life is actually longer than the vegetables in the grocery store.

 The market is local. The grocery store is from the US. 

So the pantry is full again. The water tanks are full - one of the nice things about being at a marina with potable water at the dock. The boat is nice and clean.

We did manage to take in some of the interesting things that Papeete has to offer. A parade to honor Bastille Day - national holiday commemorating the beginning of the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille and the unity of the French people. 

Group representing outrigger canoeists - the national sport. Eye candy for the girls!

Eye candy for the boys

An annual event is the Hieva competition - a dance, singing and musical competition. 

Participants are from all over French Polynesia. We went to the premiere performance and we were lucky to see the group that came first last year. It was unique and we were able to witness very traditional Tahitian music.

 We also rented a car with Amanda and Marc on Balvenie and drove around the island. A highlight was our picnic lunch from one of the wonderful view points.

Before leaving Papeete we headed back to the anchorage so we could top up the diesel tanks - another plus as we could actually sail up to the dock instead of hauling jerry cans.

Other sites of Papeete

05-Jul-2016 which was Dad's birthday, we left Papeete for Moorea.