Journal Entry July 17, 2005 - Out and About on Tahiti!

Author: Scott

Today we had big plans of waking up early to visit the market ( Marche) in downtown Papeete. Early means well before 0800, by 0900 everything closes down, so that folks can get to church by 1000. Somehow though, we didn’t quite get on the ball this morning, it was more like the ball pinned us to the bed. By the time we reached the market, we only had a few minutes to whiteness the frenzy. We will have to return next Sunday if for some reason we are still in Papeete! We then decided to walk up to the store and possibly drop by the protestant church to listen to the famous singing. We were wearing shorts and flip flops and felt a little self-conscious so we just moved on to the store. With groceries on our back and in our hands we almost ran back to the boat to meet up with Antoni and Titaina for a day of touring the island. We were so excited after weeks of being in Tahiti, with the industrial zone comprising our major sightseeing, we were finally going to get a chance to really see Tahiti. We were so lucky to meet Antoni in Nuku Hiva, you just never know when you meet someone how they can turn out to be such a good friend down the road.

Pam and I waited on the quay and our hosts pulled up in Titaina’s car looking ready for the outing. Once inside the car, imagine that a real car, we were off and running. Antoni started to give us snippets of information, and this information he continued to provide all day, as well as to patiently answer our onslaught of questions. We first learned Tahiti is divided up into many districts, each having its own local government. Within a few minutes we had broken free of our known boundaries and were seeing uncharted territory. The island is beautiful with a barrier reef creating blue lagoons around much of the island’s perimeter. With our monoculars, we could just barley see the white water, off in the distance, crashing on the reef. The sight is powerful and beautiful, and a scene we hope to always see from a distance. Our first stop was “the Grotte” or Grotte Vaipoire. The Grotte are two caverns that are naturally formed from rainwater runoff. These giant caverns continuously drip water into clear cold pools that some people come to bath and swim in. The area of the Grotte is very lush with an abundance of exotic tropical plants. After we had a look we were back in the car zooming around the island to the rainy side. As we rode on we learned Tahiti has a population of about 120,000 people. The island is really two islands connected by an isthmus. The small island is called Tahiti Iti, and the larger main island is Tahiti Nui. There is also no personal income tax on Tahiti, only corporate and business taxes. We were also told of the wild oranges that grow on the tops of mountains in Tahiti and can only be harvested each July. These special oranges are considered a real treat in Tahiti and fetch a high price at the market. As we drove on we passed a noni juice plantation. Noni juice is made from an island fruit and is thought to have great medicinal qualities; it is believed to build up the immune system. Antoni takes the juice daily and is an advocate for noni juice. Ironically, we also discovered Tahitian’s don’t like the taste of noni juice and most of the product is exported throughout the world.

We pulled into the Cultural Center, located near the isthmus joining the islands and overlooking a spectacular blue lagoon. The cultural center houses the Paul Gauguin Museum which we learned displays very little of the artists original art, so we decided to skip visiting the museum. Instead, we were taken to a restaurant that overlooked the lagoon for a traditional Tahitian brunch. On our way into the restaurant we walked up the dock, just out front. The water was fenced off and divided into small pools. Apparently fish were farmed here and we stood over the pens watching the fish swim in circles and then it was time to head in for brunch. After sipping on a cool Hinano beer we headed up to face the buffet with mysterious delicacies of Tahiti. There was a central table which held the Tahitian food. We took samples of curried chicken, locally grown spinach, tarot root, and breadfruit. There was Poisson Cru, an island culinary mainstay, made from raw fish, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions marinated in a lime and coconut milk sauce. In the center of the table was a white urn, tightly covered. Titaina explained with a smile on her face that inside the urn was fafaru, which is a fermented fish, and that it was housed in the urn to contain its odor. To be blunt, the fish stinks! This is one of those times on the voyage I had to muster up my courage to share a cultural experience. I gingerly lifted out a few slices of the slightly green stinky fish, and scooped up an overly sufficient dose of the accompanying coconut milk sauce used to mellow the flavor of the fafaru.. Titaina explained she liked fafaru, but this is due to years of fafaru traditionally eaten with her family, she praised me for my bravery. In addition to the Tahitian food, we had other more mainstream dishes to choose from, including a large desert laden table. We ate well and learned more about Tahiti from Titaina. It was so nice to have friends to educate us and share the experience with. I even managed to eat my fafaru, though I can not claim to have liked it. Pam also gave it a taste. The coconut did cover the flavor a little, but there was still plenty of green slimy putrid fish flavor to remind me what I was eating. Maybe in twenty years I would grow to appreciate the flavor, but probably not.

After our meal it was back into the car for just a quick trip over to the botanical gardens, but just as we pulled in to the parking lot, the rain started to fall steadily. We were all well fed, dry and comfortable, so we voted to skip the gardens and continue the drive. We came along a large coconut plantation with hundreds of coconut trees densely planted with the palms snaking around each other as they rose into the sky. Antoni pointed out that the trees had metal bands around their trucks to prevent the rats from climbing the trees to eat the coconuts. I had already become aware of the possibility of a coconut falling on my head while walking under a coconut tree, now I could start thinking of a rat slipping on the metal band and falling through space to land on my head. Of course I had to pass this thought on to Pam and she was not amused.

As the rain continued to fall we drove out over the isthmus to Tahiti Ita. Antoni pointed out the breakers coming into the bay that divided the two sides of the island and told us this was where they held international surfing competitions. You could easily see this would be a prime location as huge waves crashed down on the reef in the distance. The surfers are pulled out on jet skis past the reef and then surf in on massive waves just to pull out before they come crashing down onto the reef. Cowabunga!

We drove around Tahit Ita and Titaina showed us a small white sand beach where many locals visit. We then drove back over the isthmus to the other side of the island. We drove for quite a while and passed through a number of districts until we reached Venus Point. The Captain Cook Lighthouse at Venus Point marks where Captain Cook observed the transit of the planet Venus in 1769 on behalf of the Royal Society. There is also a sculpture that honors the missionaries that came to French Polynesia, displaying a rock from each island and the date the missionaries arrived on each island. We wandered around Venus Point and came out onto a broad black sand beach overlooking the bay. This was a perfect location for a photo and we were supplied with a perfect rainbow in the background. We had a picture taken of ourselves and we photographed our friends.

Our next trip in the car was quick; we drove for just a few minutes up a hill and pulled over to admire the view from the top of one of the hills overlooking the bay. This was the bay where the Bounty first made landfall in Tahiti. Antoni pointed out where his home was located and then it was back on the road.

After a full day of touring, we had finally circumnavigated the island and we were approaching the quay. The last district we drove through was the industrial district but we did not require any assistance from our guides to recognize this part of the island, in fact we could probably start giving tours of the industrial area ourselves. We reached the quay and were dropped off, with plans to visit Titaiana who worked at a local jewelry store that sells black pearls, so we could learn more about pearl farming. Antoni would be leaving Tahiti for a trip to Easter Island and we are not sure if we will have a chance to see him again.

What a wonderful experience today was. We are so happy we had a chance to really see Tahit and Antoni and Titaina were wonderful tour guides. Our dinner back on the boat was pure American cuisine, cheeseburgers! We spent the remainder of the day trying desperately to make some headway on our journal. Tomorrow will start a new week filled with a series of attempts to get our engine issues resolved so we can escape from the Papeete quay.