It is almost 2am here - 5 hours difference from Miami where it is 7 am. I am sitting on our balcony with the computer and watching guys racing up and down the main street on motorbikes with engines that sound like angry bees. (you can't hear them in the cabin.) There is a dog in the distance and I can hear its small cries for the last couple of hours. There are hundreds of dogs roaming the island and unfortunately our guide this morning told us that although Tahitians love dogs, most can't afford to look after them well so they are let loose to multiply. They have no animal control here and it costs $200 US to spay them.
Arrived in Papeete, Tahiti this morning at 8am. The weather has been beautiful. This island like all the others are cloaked in clouds at the highest peaks. (around 6000-7000 ft). The clouds float on top and through the mountain peaks.
I was a little disappointed because I had expected the waters around the island to be so clear that you could see to the bottom. It was a beautiful blue but not brochure turquoise. There were large brown sections in the ocean and our guide explained that the runoff from the interior muddies the water and makes it impossible the coral to grow due to lack of salinity in the water.
We were taking a bus tour around the island at 9am and were the first people off the ship. A lovely air conditioned bus picked us up at the dock and we spent the day touring the island. Our guide was terrific and spoke perfect English.
We stopped at the home of James Norman Hall, writer of Mutiny on the Bounty. The house had lain in ruins until about 2 years ago when they decided to turn it into a museum and refurbished it replete with a manuscript page halfway typed and inserted in an old typewriter. It looked like a set decoration from a movie - a little too staged but none the less cute, however I sat outside while the other tourists roamed the house and the fragrance in the air was incredible. The flowers and plants are quite like Miami but far more profuse, and the air was filled it a heady scent of flowers and spice. I sat on a bench listening to the birds chatter inhaling the perfumed air.
Angry bees, angry bees.
We continued along the main road of the island which has about 200,000 people on it (the island silly, not the road.) There are some magnificent homes here and poor poor shelters (you can't call them homes) that the majority live in.
Though they seem to be pleasant and fairly happy the disparity between rich and poor smacks you in the face.
Since it is owned by France the main language is French and the second language is Tahitian. Each island in this group have their own unique language though the common language is French, They work on the French monetary system and the courts are run like France. The people's attitude is mixed - 50% like the French government and the other 50% would like to be separate. Tahiti was bought by the French from the ruling chief years ago for $60,000 US dollars which he promptly drank away.
The center of the island is magnificent. The mountains are covered in green and it's a rain forest in the interior. We continued on our tour and went into the mountains to see a very tall waterfall. We all got off the bus and walked about 10 minutes into the forest filled with palms, bamboo and huge trees covered in moss and lichen. You could hear the waterfall well before we got to it. I and a few other brave ones walked as close to it as we dared and the mist felt terrific. Didn't need to take that shower this morning when all of a sudden it started pouring cats and dogs. Really really pouring hard. Between the waterfall and the rain you couldn't hear yourself think!
Angry bees, angry bees.
We were so wet that there was no need to rush back to the bus and we didn't. Suddenly it stopped raining. Len took scads of pictures (will upload tomorrow night.) We were told that the weather is like that all the time - rain in the interior and dry near the ocean.
Winter months are called the "season of plenty" the summer months the "season of famine" where nothing grows since it is too hot and dry.
We stopped at a blow hole where the ocean rushes in and make a terrific sound as the water pushes the air through the hole first. Terrific. Len of course went down really close and the guide kept at Len telling him to get back - he didn't listen and took some great photos.
We stopped at one of the only small markets open on Saturday afternoon. Nothing to buy just typical souvenirs like shells, beads and such. They close their markets and stores at noon on Saturday and don't open till Monday. During the week the everything closes for siesta at noon.
We watched a group of fisherman with nets drag out hundreds of small fish (about 8" long) from the ocean and the group of about 15 men, women and children sat on a tarpaulin on the ground stringing 15 fish on a bamboo shaft which they sell in the market for about $10. US. The food market opens at around 3am when people come from all over the island come to sell their fruits and veggies. I wish we could have seen this but the ship (not allowed to call it a boat) leaves at 6am and I am afraid we could miss the boat if we go to the market. You can get off the ship all day and night long until it is time to depart. As a matter of fact I see a couple of people coming on board now. (It's almost 3am)
We got back to the ship around 5pm and were scheduled to go to a restaurant in town and a Tahitian floor show but we were so tired we decided to stay aboard. Had a bite to eat and I fell asleep for a couple of hours while Len put his photos on his computer. That's why I am up at now 3am!
Angry bees, angry bees and crying dog.
Although it is a nice place to visit, it is like the Bahamas with mountains.
Tomorrow we sail at 6am to Moorea, an island that should take us no more than one hour to get to (You can see it from here)
We have a snorkeling trip lined up. I understand that the water around that island is brochure turquoise and I look forward to seeing it myself.
I guess I should try to get some sleep but that is not likely to happen.
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