On Tahitian Time

As the plane landed in Papeete, I knew we were in for a real treat as I could literally see through the crystal clear waters all the way to the coral reefs and white sands just beneath the surface... but boy I had no idea what was in store for us!

Our flight arrived in the late afternoon and we quickly dropped our bags off in the hotel room and literally RAN down to the beach in order to see our first Tahitian sunset -  glad we made it - it was probably the best sunset of the entire trip!

The next day we took an early morning tour around the island of Tahiti.  The island is only 72 miles around with one main road so it only took around 3 hours to circle. The first stop was a ferns grotto (cave with water) that formed from rain water that had seeped through the volcanic rock and pooled at a base of a mountain and with all that humidity, the ferns grew around the entrance. Somehow fish made it there as well? The guide brought a stale baguette to feed the fish. Next up we headed to a waterfall. After a short hike through a picturesque forest with pebble streams, the forest opened up to this huge waterfall.

The guide proudly stopped at what the locals refer to as a "blow hole" which wasn't much more than a place the wave erosion had eaten into the rocks causing the wind force of each wave to spray out all over the rocky outcrop. There were numerous signs scattered around the island warning of falling rocks and every now and then we would notice rocks on the side of the road.

After the tour, we had our tour guide drop us off at the capital city (Papeete) for some shopping. What was next? Well, as we had not yet had lunch and he dropped us off literally right in front of a bakery, it was an easy decision. We were drawn to the window and spent a few minutes admiring all of the different type pastries. Melissa quickly saw what she was after - an eclair and I chose the largest palmiers I had ever seen - literally bigger than my face! After our snack, we went to the Tahitian black pearl shop next door for some window shopping... Before we knew it they were offering us something to drink and we were pulling up a seat to learn about the Tahitian pearl and looking for a matching pair. From far away, they look the same but when you look closely they have a different tint, some purple, some green, some silver.. all very pretty. Melissa picked out the perfect pair, chose they type of earrings mounts and just 30 minutes later, we were done.

Now it was my turn to do some shopping so we headed to the Farmers Market as I was looking for a Tahitian tiki statue to add to my collection. Downstairs there was everything from fresh tuna steaks for US$5 to quiches and every fresh fruit you can name and even some I couldn't. Upstairs is where the souvenir shops were located. Like in a lot of island tourist destinations, the sales staff were more interested in watching the TV under the counter than selling anything, so you had to practically beg them to give you a price on anything. (Prices are conveniently not marked so they can be adjusted for each customer.) The Papeete Farmers Market had the largest selection of tiki statues I have seen outside of Hawaii. Happily I found one and negotiated just before they closed up shop - 45 minutes before the posted closing time.. I might add..Must be on Island time! 

The next day we headed to Bora Bora, but we would be back to the island of Tahiti for one more night before catching our flight to Auckland (on our way back home to HK). On our return to Tahiti the guy at the front desk informed us at check in that they upgraded us to one of their overwater bungalows. We enjoyed watching the sunset from the balcony with a case of the local brew - Hinano and a fresh baguette & cheese.