Day 1 Papeete

Day 1 

My transfer from Unique Tahiti was waiting, as promised after I cleared customs. My luggage did make it although it looks a little beat up.

For the cost of my transfer, Tracey included a tour of downtown Papeete to orient me on this unique city. It’s very urban but has little pockets of beauty all over the place. There are multiple parks and benches set into the shade everywhere I looked. And although they like their graffiti, the downtown area was surprisingly litter free.

Cars here completely understand the meaning of the crosswalk!

After Tracey dropped me off at the Hotel Tiare Tahiti, I checked in unpacked a bit and headed down for the breakfast included in my rate. It was delicious—the bread was amazing but the coffee was strong enough to stand your spoon in. But, I added milk and drank it anyways. I needed all the help I could get!

My room at the hotel is on the 4^th floor overlooking the harbor. It is immaculate. It reminds me of the rooms in Italy. The most important aspect is that it has air conditioning! Which works in an interesting sort of way. On each wooden room key fob, there is a piece of metal that you insert into a slot near the door. This turns on the electricity for the lights and AirCon.

This is my view from my room. The cruise ship in this picture is just leaving port now.

After my breakfast, I headed out to an ATM and a walk along the waterfront and through some of the side streets. It was EARLY—I’m talking 7:30AM early. Tracey told me most people here rise with the sun and get out because the weather is so pleasant early in the morning. By noon, she says, it’s just too hot and people wait until late afternoon to come back out.

So today I saw a sunrise from the airplane while we were high above the clouds, had my breakfast and walked about 2 or 3 miles and was back at the hotel by 930. I turned on the A/C in my room, took out my contacts after 30 plus hours and BAM, I was out. I slept for about 4 hours and got up and showered. That felt heavenly but I don’t know if I get the whole shower thing here:

To the left of that, behind the shower door is an elevated tile, one step up and on the wall in back, a towel bar. I guess you take the actual shower in the recessed part and step up to the back to dry off? Who knows, but that is what I did.

The water in the industrial port here is even pretty!

That’s the ferry that you take to Moorea—the island you see in the background.

 There were lots of women on the sidewalks with fresh flowers making flower crowns and hats. It smelled wonderful.

The temperature has dropped a lot and there is a nice breeze now. I see people out walking with their kids on the waterfront—on their way to the park for a little play-time.

I am told the food trucks (roulottes) will start setting up down the street around 6PM. That is where I am having my dinner tonight!  And then this Gypsy will be heading to bed. I am still tired. I have a Western Isle tour tomorrow morning. They are picking me up at 9:40.  Snaps from the roulottes:

Oh and you know what else? I forgot to say last night, during some fairly decent turbulence, we crossed the equator! This is the first time I’ve ever been I’ve been in the Southern Hemisphere! And for a little education: Directionally, French Polynesia is sort of directly below Hawaii and it is as far south of the equator as Hawaii is North. The days and nights here are almost exactly even, year round. Sunrise and sunset about 6:30 or so. And because I’ve been dying to know, I filled up the sink in the bathroom and when I let the water out, it spun in a counter-clockwise direction! So now we know!