Papeete, Tahiti

Papeete is the largest city in French Polynesia, and typical of many island cities we’ve been to -
not much to our liking. In addition, it was Sunday, and the French don’t work on Sunday.
Doesn’t matter that tourism is their main economy and that 700 tourists are here for only one day.
So we wandered along the shoreline for a while, and just generally relaxed. Docked next to us
was a sailboat school from Woods Hole, MA. Beautiful ships!


As most of you know, Bali Hai is a mythical island dreamed up by James Michener. While many
people think it is a small island off Oahu, where Michener was stationed during part of World
War II, in this part of the world it is believed to be Moorea, as seen from Tahiti. We agree.







One of our favorite wildflowers is the wild ginger. It looks like it’s made of wax, it’s so precise
and shiny.



















Among other things of interest we found this 3-headed idol, and polynesian lingerie.



















The evening entertainment aboard ship that night (there’s a great show every evening after
dinner) was an authentic Tahitian dance troupe. 6 men and 8 women, and they were
FANTASTIC! Incredible energy and flexibility. We couldn’t take pictures during the show, so
you’ll just have to imagine the dancers: Women had a skimpy cloth halter, and all the men and
women had actual grass skirts. That’s it. Again, fascinating show!