Friday February 26, 2016 – Papeete, Tahiti – The ship’s arrival (port side to town) between 7 and 8:30 AM was met with heavy clouds and rainfall – a common situation here and part of why the vegetation is so lush and verdant. Apparently it had been raining for 2 weeks solid, attributed to the remnants of the Cyclone that hit Fiji with winds up to 350 KPH (217 MPH) that devastated that island, killing some 45 people. So during the entire tour it was raining, at times quite hard, but warm rain. This prevented us from taking pictures of the lush vegetation and gorgeous scenery. However, in the afternoon, most of which we spent in the fabulous Market, the rain subsided and stopped by late afternoon. The departure time was 10PM as we were sailing just 11 miles across to Moorea for the following day. The islands are so close that it is a 10 minute helicopter ride, or 6 hour swim, or 20 minute ferry. Many people live in Moorea and work in Tahiti. The other principal Island of 118 that form French Polynesia (Porinetia Farani in Tahitian), besides Tahiti and Moorea, is Bora Bora which we did not visit, but is only a short ‘plane ride away.
French Polynesia has a population of 275,000; Tahiti has a population of 179,000 and Papeete 128,000. It has been a dependence of France since June 27, 1870. Tahiti is located 4,100 miles from Los Angeles, 3,800 miles from Sydney and 5,900 miles from Tokyo. It does have a semi-autonomous government, but a French Governer General appointed by the French President is the final authority. It was interesting to note that President François Hollande visited French Polynesia less than a month ago. Other varied but interesting facts related by our excellent guide are – Tahiti has 237,000 cars; Minimum wage is US$1,500 a month; 200,000 tourists visit the Island each year; There is 21% unemployment; US$1 = 105 Polynesian French Francs; In 2015 there were 3,500 Drunk Drivers that were caught and as the law states, they loose their license on the spot and have to go before a judge to get it back after 6-12 months suspension; 45,000 people have diabetes; Outrigger Canoe racing is the principal sport; Petrol is US$6.00 a Gallon; 80,000 people were infected with chicungunia; Average ocean temperature is 28C (82F) and air temperature is 25C – 30C (77F to 86F) with 85% humidity and an average rainfall of 2 meters (79 inches) a year. Other statistics (to get them all over with in this paragraph) relate to housing. A 1,000 Sq Meter (1/4 of an acre) plot of land costs US$120,000 and a modest house built on that land costs an additional US$200,000 – US$250,000, leading to home ownership of about US$350,000. Rental of a studio apartment on average is US$600 a month, a 1 bedroom – US$800 and a home US$1,000 to US$1,200 a month. All goods (other than what is grown on the island, has to be brought in and thus everything is expensive. We heard that one guest asked for a sandwich and discovered (too late) that it cost US$40.00 and the accompanying local beer US12.00. We went “native” and bought a US$3.00 sandwich from a stand-up kiosk in the market and each local beer in the supermarket was US$3.00!!
Papeete – (pa.pe-ete) Pape = Water and ete = Basket in Tahitian, thus Papeete is “Water from a Basket”, so called because it was a very swampy area. Papeete is the capital of French Polynesia and is situated on the island of Tahiti which forms a part of the Pacific Windward Islands / Society Islands. It is Shaped like two circular “blobs” joined together by a isthmus, with each “blob” being a volcano. The larger of the two Tahiti Nui (NW) is where Papeete is located and rises to 7352Ft in the form of Mt. Orpheus (In Tahitian – Nui = Big; Iti = small). The smaller Tahiti Iti (SE) rises to 4345 Ft in the form of Mt.Ronui, with the causeway between the two barely 3 miles wide. Early settlers appear to have been on the island as early as 850AD probably from SE Asia but some evidence is coming to light that there were settlements as far back as 1500 BC (with Tonga in 1200 BC and Samoa in 1000BC). Western involvement include Captain Samuel Wells in 1767 claiming the island for King George III; Louis de Bougainville in 1768 claiming it for the French; Captain James Cook in 1769 to observe the transit if Venus; Captain William Bligh in 1788 to collect Breadfruit for the slave plantations in the West Indies. When Bligh left, 6 months after his arrival, the crew wanted to stay and mutinied on his ship, the HMS Bounty, letting Bligh and 18 crew off in a small boat, which they survived. In 1797 Protestant missionaries from the London Missionary Society attempted to convert locals to Christianity with French Catholic Missionaries arriving in 1842 and soon thereafter it became and remains a French territory sending 2 senators and 2 deputies to the French Legislature in Paris. Elections are held every 5 years and the “Independence Vote” garners at most 30% each election as France pumps in funds and help for the islands, thus most are happy to remain French. There is free medical care for all citizens and a good hospital that is authorised and does kidney transplants (Large number of patients on dialysis machines).
Our visit started at the archaeological site of Marae Arahurahu – This is on the West Coast and consists of a restored ancient temple – now a group of black basalt volcanic stones forming a rectangular precinct with a 3 step pyramid, the steps being A) – 6ft high; B) – 3 ft high and C) – 6 inches high, in a clearing. This step structure was the altar (te Ahu) and only the priests were allowed to climb. The entry is past Tiki statues guarding the religious area, then some 100 yards up the hill is the clearing with the temple (Marae) with its supernatural powers and vital energy. It is where important ceremonies concerning the community were held, including human sacrifice in ancient times and is like an open air temple / place of worship where gods (they had 200), ancestors and living humans communed. There are many of these on the island and over the years a Japanese team of archaeologists has restored all of them.
The next stop was the new Museum of Tahiti and her Islands, a beautifully laid out set of buildings with a central garden showing the origins, culture, people, artefacts and in general drscribed the hisory of Polynesia and specifically Tahiti. Our guide who was part US Citizen, part Local Tahitian, claimed through his maternal ancestry, that he was an Olero – a person who was an intermediary between the people and gods. Olero’s are responsible for welcoming ceremonies, war council, peace functions etc and had to be proficient with language, customs, ancestry and religion. He performed a welcome ceremony for us chanting in Tahetian, and waving around a group of 3 large (2 ft long) sacred leaves he took from the Marae area, which was really special. We also visited the gorgeous 1 hectare, Water Gardens of Vaipahi which even in the heavy rain showed off the fabulous flora, colours, lushness and brilliance of the plants on the island. I’m sure it would be great to walk around them in the sunshine! The 4 hour tour ended back in Pape-ete and the ship.
We then went searching for the Market, where we hoped to have lunch and experience the fruit / vegetable as well as local artesan market. It lived up to all expectations and definitely a must see for any visit to the island. We were amazed by the colour of the produce and the diversity of fruits and Vegetables. Some we recognised, but others were unknown to us. We stood up for lunch looking at the activity of the locals, while munching on baguettes purchased from one of the sellers. For some 6 hours we wandered the market and surrounding g neighbourhood. The market has 2 floors, most of the lower floor is produce vendors and half a dozen kiosks selling food. The upper level has artesan shops, from magnets and plastic items to Pearls (black pearls are particularly well known) and carved mahogany. The area is filled with shops most of which closed at 5 PM and a few others at 5:30 PM. Nelson, decided to return to the ship, while Diana and Roger decided to keep on shopping and wandered into an unsavoury area, before returning to the port area where the locals had more curios. There was a food area where trucks would drive up in a parking lot, setting up BBQ’s, tables and chairs thus forming an outdoor restaurant. We were very tempted to partake, but decided to return to the ship. In the evening, on the ship, Se saw the most amazing Tahitian show, with very colourful music, dancers and wardrobe. The end to a fabulous day in this enchanting island of Tahiti.
PS – Language – Our guide told us the days of the week, which I state, however the spelling is probably off as I use only the words as I heard them – Munire = Monday; Hanapiti = Tuesday (2nd day); Hanatu = Wednesday (3rd. Day); Hanu Ha = Thursday; Manape = Thursday; Manape = Friday; Mananci = Saturday (day of food); Tapati = Sunday.
Roger & Anne Travels 