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.
Looks like the WC is off to an awesome start so far! Minus the few days of rain, you look to be having a great time! Thanks for the updates and multitude of pictures, love them all!
ReplyDeleteJeff, I can't believe that the Tahara'a Hotel is still closed with the beautiful view it has. I spent part of my honeymoon there a zillion years ago. I look forward to your posts every year from the South Pacific. Thanks for the memories...
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