Today, Ann, Cathy, Gyl and I left
the ship and met Fara Spector, a tour operator/owner we used a couple of years
ago for a tour of the island. Fara assigned Marcelo Tamaititahio to drive
around Tahiti. His photo is at the end of part 2.... What
Tahiti lacks in wide white-sand beaches, it makes up for in waterfall-laden,
shadowy mountains, unpretentiously beautiful black-sand beaches, sheltered blue
lagoons and a distinctly Polynesian, modern buzz. This is the heart of the
French Polynesian islands, where the cultures from all the archipelagos are
mixed in the energetic capital of Papeete. We left Papeete to explore the
majestic, water and mountainous views. We were lucky to have blue skies
today as the weather had been rainy for the previous few days. Our first
stop was the Tahara’a Point viewpoint overlooking the city and the island of
Moorea in the distance. Next we stopped at Point Venus, the historical
landing point for most European explorers like Cook and boast the
only Lighthouse on the island. A quick
stop at the Blowhole proved almost disastrous for my camera. The force of
the waves shot the water up and over the wall, we were standing behind and
drenched three of us and my camera in ocean salt water.
Luckily, I was able to dry off the camera and continue snapping photos...Ann
was the only one who was not soaked to the skin...I mean so wet...I bought a
t-shirt to change into. We continued to Faaone waterfalls enjoying the
lush scenery along the way. We stopped at the Viapali Gardens to stroll
through rare species of wood trees and tropical flowers...they had some of my
favourites, water lilies and Lotus flowers. Our last stop was the Arahurahu
Marae, situated in a beautiful valley...this scared area served as a religious
and social place in the ancient Polynesian
societies. We had a great tour and I did see
some new place...we returned to Papeete and visited the markets and got some
WIFI. Papeete would not be complete without a visit to the Roulettes, a
Tahitian original...car restaurants which open at night in Vaite Plaza located
next to where the ship is docked...they offer fast foods at a reasonable price.
Tomorrow morning we will arrive in Moorea.
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