Papeete

 Saturday, January 21. Cloudy, 31 C.

At 5:30 AM, I awoke, looked outside and we were just tying up in downtown Papeete. What a splendid sight and surprise to sleep through any changes in noise, I suppose the earplugs helped. The plugs were in as Fellette has a cold and makes strange noises!

Shortly after, Wally phoned and we chatted. What a neat way to start the day. We four walked off the ship around 9:45 to the Main Street in Downtown Papeete in a matter of minutes. Both couples had a domestic shopping list, some of which we bought but the search continues for many items. It is not an easy thing to pick up ‘what you forgot to bring’ on such a trip as this. In New Zealand it will be far simpler but that is weeks away. Oh pity us!

We soon recognized that we had been here before, a couple of times actually, when is a bit harder to pin down. Doug and Fellette have not yet gotten confident in using our sole US dollar credit card. The second one seems to have not made our packing list. Dummies! As a result Jim turned into my Banker today, wow his socks and now his money. I will have it sorted next time we walk off, tomorrow in Moorea!

After too many shops we decided to sit and grab a bite to eat and drink. There we just relaxed, took in the view and decided that the ship beckoned!

Fellette was ready to sit and read in the comfortable cabin for the rest of the day. I flaked out and dozed, then got up, did our obligatory visit to lifeboat procedure and wrote the blog. The day drifted away nicely. 

I am so sorry I cannot give more information about this town and the Islands, but there is no printed information on the ship. I feel the blog is incomplete.

There is a Folkloric Group of Polynesian dancers and performers coming on board around 7:00 but I will have the blog sent by that time. Hopefully I can get a decent picture or two for tomorrow. We sail tomorrow morning at 5:00 for the two hour process to get us to Moorea.

A Good Day...

That is the side of a building on the main street, just across from the ship's pier.

The busy market in the town centre: no purchases there for us.

View from the mezzanine. Sister Moe was with us here in 2014.

My usual ‘Canon Stance’ photo along the main drag.

A beautiful recreation of a Polynesian Catamaran. Some version of one of these spread the Polynesians around the Pacific.

Does that look cool! We believe that Moorea, [still French], is that island in the background. [Who knows.]

Look, Gail is emerging from a glass of beer! It must be a Mirage!

I believe I took this exact same picture of Fellette by the Amsterdam in 2014.