Tahiti and Moorea

The mystique of Tahiti as an exotic island paradise is well deserved. What a delightful place it is and what a fine day we had while the QE2 was docked in Papeete, the main city on the island of Tahiti. Fletcher Christian and the mutineers of The Bounty returned to Tahiti for the women they took with them to Pitcairn Island. There is some question whether the women went willingly or not, but at any rate, the people who came on board at Pitcairn were the descendents of that group.

QE2 docked in an area very nice for a port. We were only one short block from the main shopping area where we wandered through a produce and flower market and fabric stores. Oh, the fabric stores! They were filled with luscious Polynesian florals in all of the colors of the rainbow. It was so difficult not to buy some, but there is not space for one more yard of fabric in my quilting stash. There were also some fabulous shell necklaces that I was very tempted to buy. However, they were very large and I can’t imagine that once away from Polynesia they would be a part of my wardrobe even in Florida.

We walked with two other couples from the ship to the next dock to buy tickets for the fast ferry to Moorea, a neighboring island. It was the scheduled time for the ferry to depart so some of us went to the gangway to see if we could slow boarding down enough for the Jerry and Tony to purchase tickets. We couldn’t slow it down, but they were waiting for everyone to board anyway. We had a smooth 30-minute ride between the islands, first on the open back deck and then inside as the rain began.

Ah, the rain. The lush vegetation isn’t there because the island is a desert. The little rain storm ended quickly and we all began walking to the nearest beach, about 45 minutes away. We were walking along in single file down a two-lane paved road with quite a bit of traffic for a little island. We watched as the gray clouds and the rain moved lower down the hills until we were in a deluge. But, it was warm and we were dressed in swimsuits, so what was the difference. We were walking by houses the local people live in and enjoying being in such an exotic place.

As we turned a curve and walked down a hill, we came to the Soffitel Resort – google it! We walked to the bar across the driveway and asked the uniformed guard if it would be possible for us to have lunch there. He checked with the person in the guardhouse nearby and said it would be possible, so we walked to this posh resort, soaking wet. There was a server in the restaurant who said that we would be welcome to have the buffet lunch since there would be no lunch in the formal dining room. She said it cost 8400 Polynesian Francs and thought that was about $12 US. She checked and said that wasn’t quite the exchange rate- it was actually $116 US each for a buffet lunch.

The rain had stopped again, so we said thank you so much, climbed over their little stonewall to their private beach, walked across their beach to the adjacent public beach and settled in. As I looked back, I could see one of the staff members cleaning the highly polished rosewood floor where we had left a little trail of watery footprints. At the far end of the public beach there were toilets, an outdoor shower and a restaurant in a little house. The six of us sat outdoors under a beach umbrella at a little round white picnic table and enjoyed a wonderful lunch of French fries, vegetable panini, and apple-peach Hi-C for $54 US. So the six of us had a delightful lunch for less than half of what one of us would have paid at the resort. After lunch we swam in the calm, spectacularly clear and shallow water for a while. Then we took turns changing to street clothes while semi-wrapped in a ship’s towel – a bit too European for me, but I can learn.

Jerry and I decided it was time to catch the fast ferry back and set off on our own when once again we were trudging in a deluge with the ship’s towels over our heads and shoulders. Jerry said not to worry that as soon as we got off the beach road onto the highway we would get a ride or a taxi would stop. The first car to pass us on the highway stopped, and three teenagers crammed us into their little car with them. They were so nice! They took us to the ferry, dropped us off and continued on their way.

As we waited for the ferry, they cut open a fresh coconut for us and instead of afternoon tea, we sipped the cold coconut milk through two straws. What a great time we are having! The ferry ride back was once again fast and smooth in spite of the rain shower and we watched sea birds flying overhead from the inside of the ferry where we were comfortable and drying out.

After sailing away and having dinner, we ended another day on the open decks enjoying the fresh air and the balmy breezes under the constellation The Southern Cross.