Tahiti
May 29-Jun 1
On Tuesday, May 29 as the sun was setting, we arrived at Papeete, Tahiti, the capital of French Polynesia. The approach to Tahiti was amazing. It is the largest of the French Polynesia islands. The island's rugged terrain, marked by numerous rivers and deep valleys, is dotted with jagged green peaks. The highest of these peaks are Mt. Orohena at 7,334 feet and Mt. Aorai at 6,783 feet, which were obscured by thick clouds.We were able to spot the island at over 60 miles out. Usually we're not able to spot an island until we were about 30-35 miles away. Tahiti is shaped like a figure eight, forming two islands joined by a small isthmus. The larger island is called Tahiti Nui, while the smaller island is called Tahiti Iti.
When Captain Cook and the other early explorers first discovered Tahiti the natives came out in canoes and offered their young nude women to the sailors. That must have been an interesting time for the sailors. Well, times have changed and the only welcoming we received were the nasty noises of a big city. Overall Papeete is a city with very little South Pacific romance to it. We enjoyed Raiatea and Bora Bora much more. Those islands are less developed and have better anchorages for snorkeling.
Clemencia
In Papeete, Rhum Punch got a new crew member by the name of Clemencia. She is in her early twenties and will start grad school in the fall. She is from New Jersey but was recently working in Colorado. She had been in Papeete since May 11 waiting for Rhum Punch to arrive. With sailing it is difficult to predict exactly when a boat will be some place because you have to depend on the weather. Alan had told Clemencia we would arrive between May 15 and 30 and we made it on May 29. Clemencia will be with Rhum Punch all the way to Australia.Circle Island Tour
On May 31, Pete and I rented a car and
took a tour of the island. We went to Point Venus, Tahiti's northernmost point,
where Captain Cook observed the transit of the planet Venus in 1769. This event
allowed them to more accurately measure the distance from Earth to the sun,
which in turn gave the sailors the ability to navigate more accurately using
the sextant. There is a lighthouse with a plaque on it to mark the
occasion.
We also went to Faarumai waterfalls. There is one waterfall
located about a 10-minute walk from the main road. We had our bathing suits so
we took a dip. Actually Pete went all the way in; I only made it up to my
thighs because the water was the coolest water I had ever been in. We walked
another 10 minutes into the forest to get to the other two falls, which were
separated by a narrow strip of land. All the falls were dramatic; the water was
plunging from at least 300 feet cliffs.The Gaugin Museum was also on our tour. In case you didn't know, Gaugin was a French artist who lived on Tahiti from 1891 until 1893. The museum mainly had information about his life and copies of all his paintings. Gaugin married a 14-year-old native girl and settled on Hiva Oa. While we were on Hiva Oa we saw the grandson of Gaugin and the girl. He was near a store cleaning a goat.
One of our last stops on our
tour was the Lagoonarium, which is located at Captain Bligh's restaurant. If
you are ever in Tahiti and you want to go to a cheesy aquarium, come here. The
aquarium consists of 5 pens of fish and sharks located at the end of a dock. To
enter the lagoonarium, you walk to the end of the dock then go into the mouth
of a huge plastic shark and go down the steps. Actually it was neat to see the
sharks under water and close up. After the tour, we stopped in the restaurant
for a cold drink.Our last stop was the Supermarche Continent, the largest store I have ever been in. It was like a super large Price Club or Wal-mart. It has more than 40 aisles of stuff. We met the rest of the crew near there and did our last major provisioning before we depart Rhum Punch. In my guide, it states that islanders from other islands take the ferry and rent a car to get here to shop because even with the cost of the ferry and car, they save money on groceries and other goods.