Hanging Out With Miss Tahiti

“They were the eyes of the children of the sun, eyes that had stirred disciplined seamen to desertion, eyes that had burned ships, and created the mystery of the ‘Bounty’, eyes of enchantresses of the days of Helen.”…Frederick O’Brien, “Mystic Isles of the South Seas”, 1918

We arrived in Papeete at 5 am; tired, unwashed but ready to see the sights. Several months ago, at the Merrie Monarch hula festival, in Hilo, we made friends with a nice Tahitian lady, named Maire (meaning Maile in Tahitian which is the name of a wonderfully fragrant vine and, coincidentally, the name of our cat). Maire had told us she would love to show us the sights of Papeete and we were delighted, as there is nothing better than being shown around by a native. Especially when that native is a former Miss Tahiti and seems to know half the inhabitants of Papeete on a personal level.

Maire first took us for a look at the Aranui, which is docked down at the port. We got to watch as workers were loading her up for the voyage, which is starting tomorrow. She's a huge ship and quite beautiful. That's our room, the little balcony to the upper left of the orange life boat on the right. 

After we took care of some business at the Aranui office (upgrade of our cabin!), we headed into town to the big central market. Whenever I'm in a new town, I love to go to the market first. Here is where you see the locals doing their thing, whatever that may be. There was a lot of touristy stuff there (Tahitian ukes, pareaus, wood carvings, etc), but there was also lots of fruit, fish, meat and even a couple of small music bands playing Tahitian songs. 

Walking around with Maire, every other minute or two we would walk into someone she knew, kisses would be exchanged (we are in a French territory, after all) and she would introduce us to then. When they found out we were here to sail on the Aranui, many would explain how some friend of theirs had been on the ship and it had been the experience of their lives. Things were looking good for our upcoming voyage. 

And here is Maire and Amy in the market...

And here are some pictures in the craft market, where Amy got a beautiful shell lei...

After looking around the market for awhile, Maire took us to one of her favorite restaurants, the Bleu Banana. Right over the water, with an amazing view of Moorea on the horizon, we had a lovely lunch of tuna tartare and tuna with fois gras on top. Never had anything like it. 

Of course, Maire knew everyone in the restaurant. Not only the staff, but practically all the customers; mostly young, beautiful women. And just let me say here that everything you've seen and heard about the beauty of Tahitian women has not been overstated. 

So we sail tomorrow morning on the Aranui. Not sure when we will be able to post, as there is no Wifi on board, but when we can, we will.