I woke up to clear skies and calmer seas so Captain PJ and the pilot had no trouble in bringing the Westerdam into the pier in Papeete, where we are now docked between two mega yachts.
Originally we were to sail out of Papeete this afternoon at 3pm so I hadn’t planned on any excursions here except a self-guided walking tour of the town. With the change in itinerary we now depart at 3pm tomorrow so to make the most of my time in port I booked excursions for both days.
Today’s excursion was a 4WD along the coast before turning inland to view several waterfalls along the lush valley. After my experience in Bora Bora, when my group was asked if anyone wanted to sit up front with the driver I jumped at the chance – padded seat, seatbelts and air-conditioning. Plus, I could look out the front windscreen and see where we were going instead of clinging to the rear tyre to keep from sliding off the seat! We were in a convey of 3 4WDs and our driver had only joined the company two weeks ago so was being very cautious on the potholed roads with his precious cargo of tourists. He also wanted to practice his English so we chatted most of the trip.
With Tahiti’s lush interior, I found that practically all of the vegetation is not native to the island but are introduced species which have taken over from the original plant life. Likewise, years ago a species of bird was introduced to eradicate pests but unfortunately the pests came out at night when the birds weren’t active so the birds attacked native birds’ eggs for food, so virtually all of the native birdlife on Tahiti has been eradicated instead.
While the tour showed us another aspect of Tahiti away from the town, I don’t think it offered a lot in the way of scenery apart from a few waterfalls which weren’t particularly remarkable.
When we were dropped off back at the port, I had a stroll around the town. I was interested to see how much French influence there was but apart from the language, a few small clothing stores and a patisserie, there wasn’t a lot. I had a laugh though in the local markets where you could buy prepared baguettes for lunch – fish and chip baguettes and barbeque chicken and chip baguettes –with gravy! Although some locals were buying them, I’m sure there would be thousands of horrified epicureans back in France
The roads around the port were the busiest we have encountered since leaving Honolulu but I found the drivers were very courteous, stopping as soon as pedestrians approached the crossings. The only time I found this not to be the case was a young driver on a mobile phone who zoomed straight through as I was crossing, even though cars in other lanes had stopped for me.
All my excursions on this cruise I have deliberately booked for the morning, figuring that there was more chance of heavier tropical rain in the afternoon. This might be flawed reasoning on my part but it has worked out well for me. In Mo’orea I avoided the heavy afternoon rain which deterred snorkelers from going in the water and I met fellow passengers who did the 4WD tour this afternoon –and got drenched. We only had a light sprinkle for a few minutes in the valley this morning (which didn’t affect me as I was in the enclosed cab) but apparently it poured this afternoon.
This evening local musicians and dancers came on board and performed in the Vista Lounge. The group, called Hitireva, proved a hit with the passengers and the theatre was packed.
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