At last, the day had arrived - our first day ashore for 11 days, and what a place for it - Tahiti in French Polynesia, somewhere I have wanted to go for many years. JL was very excited because he would be stepping foot on French soil! He celebrated by going for a swim at 6 o'clock as we arrived!
We got up early so we could watch the sail in, and all I can say is wow!!!!! The island is made up of rugged green hills and mountains, which made an amazing silhouette at dawn. As we got closer we could see lots of luxury houses scattered over the hillside - dream homes! We approached the harbour and were greeted by a group of surfers who had just paddled out ready to play in the waves in the harbour entrance. We continued along the beautiful coastline of Papeete, the main town of the island, eventually docking alongside an incredible luxury yacht (that was roughly the size of 10 detached houses!) and another cruise ship.
I had a quick call home to wish my little brother a happy birthday :-). And then off to meet for our tour - Snapshot of Tahiti. We made our way ashore, pausing briefly to see the local Tahitian musicians who had arrived to welcome us, and picked up our coach (thankfully air conditioned, as even at 9.30am it was roasting!). The coach drove along the island's main road which goes all the way round the coast, as we admired the incredible green hills on one side and turquoise waters on the other side. The first stop was a place called Point Venus, which is where many early navigators arrived, and is named after Captain Cook's scientific observation mission of the planet Venus. There we saw the island's only lighthouse, a monument to Cook, and a fascinating display of stones brought from all the different groups of Pacific Islands, dated according to when the Bible was brought to the different places (many of the early settlers were missionaries, and the Catholics, Protestants and Mormons all rushed to try and get the best locations for their churches/ temples!). There was also a memorial to the HMS Bounty, which as you know if you read my history lesson the other day came here in 1788 (and didn't want to leave!) The best parts of the stop for us however were the black sand beach (as the island is volcanic) where lots of locals were enjoying the sea, and the stray dogs that were fishing in the shallows!
Next we headed for the Arahoho Blowhole, which is a geological phenomenon where the rough sea waters force themselves through holes in the rock, and then spurt out at the top by the road. It was fascinating, and the views all around were amazing.
Another pretty drive took us to the Taharaa Viewpoint, which as the name suggests has amazing views back to Papeete and to Moorea (tomorrow's destination) in the distance. (We could just about make out our ship!)
The final stop was the James Normal Hall Museum. He was the author of the famous Mutiny of the Bounty book and the museum was a recreation of his house complete with all his old furniture and books. It was set in beautiful gardens full of tropical flowers, a breadfruit tree which is a descendent of one of the ones that Captain Bligh took to the Caribbean, and some chickens! (Apparently lots of people on the island keep chickens to eat the many biting centipedes which are in abundance there!)
We returned to the ship and had some lunch, then set out again on our own. Luckily it had got a bit cloudier and windier by now, making it just hot rather than unbearable! We had a few shopping missions for the afternoon and succeeded in most of them - JL found himself a sturdy glasses case for his new sunglasses, and a copy of Charlie Hebdo, and I found postcards and a post office! I couldn't find a nice magnet so I have decided to make my own using one of the beautiful Tahitian coins I got as part of my change!
We picked up a map from the tourist office which had a walking tour on it, and for the next 2 hours I took JL on a guided tour of the town, looking at various impressive administrative buildings, churches and cathedrals, tree lined streets, lush parks, statues, war memorials, covered markets (decorated with a mixture of Valentines Day and Chinese New Year banners!), and water features. My favourites were the lily filled pond which had belonged to the Polynesian Queen Pomare, the 300-400 year old Banyan tree which the painter Gauguin used to climb and sit in on a daily basis, the seaside park full of outdoor exercise equipment (a playground for adults!), and the hotel which Henri Matisse stayed in when he painted his view of Papeete harbour. JL liked the story of the road which was called Bruat Avenue, but was then renamed Pouvanaa a Oopa Avenue (bearing in mind every vowel in The Tahitian language is pronounced, this one makes quite a mouthful!). He was also very excited to find some Banyuls in one of the wine shops! (But at £30 for a 500ml bottle we decided not to indulge!)
We eventually got back to the ship, with rather sore feet, at which point I collapsed in the cabin with a cup of tea and JL went to get himself a large beer in one of the bars. A very hot day - but no sunburn - yay!
After a long shower and a short rest, it was time to go to dinner. We had a table by the window so got to watch the sunset. We then went to the theatre to watch the local Tahitian cultural group who had come aboard - drummers, singers, and beautiful female and male dancers in fantastic costumes. They got a well deserved standing ovation.
JL then went and had an early night while I went to the onboard cinema to see the evening's film which I missed at the cinema - Pride (true story about the group of gay activists from London who join together to support a group of striking miners in Wales - it was wonderful and made me cry!)
I took one last look out of the balcony window at Tahiti (where the ship was staying until 5.30am!) and then fell into bed exhausted!
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