After a lumpy and rolly journey with rather variable wind
that meant motor-sailing through the night to ensure that we would arrive in
daylight, we arrived at Marina Taina at 15h30 on April 20. Our first sight of Tahiti was of jagged
mountain peaks thrusting into the clouds with squalls in the valleys and
verdant greenery covering all the lower slopes that fell into the sea. Really very dramatic! Rounding the West side of the island you are
in wind shadow and the wind dropped dramatically so that we had to motor. We were moored on the outer concrete pontoon
at Marina Taina which entails med mooring but then the marina staff dive and
attach additional bow lines to blocks of concrete set in the sea bed. Although it gets a little bumpy at times from
passing boats we are clearly not going anywhere. We have a beautiful view across the water to
Moorea.
Friday saw the arrival of electricians and our new house
batteries which were installed efficiently and quickly. They then turned to the windlass a decided
that there is an issue with the motor – they came back on Saturday and removed
it to take away for repairs. As it was Howard’s birthday we invited the crews
of all the WARC boats that had arrived, to a Happy Hour on the dock. We stocked up on beer from the nearby
Carrefour and wondered how many folks would arrive. The dock ended up crowded
with all the crews celebrating Howard’s birthday.
After the windlass was removed on Saturday we decided to
take the bus into Papeete. The bus
service is certainly not very frequent at the weekend – it is supposed to be
better during the week. We wandered through
the center of Papeete, including the colorful indoor market, but most stores
were shut, especially after lunch which may have been exacerbated by the French
Presidential elections, however we were able to visit the cathedral. We bussed our way back to the marina and
walked to the nearby food trucks for dinner where we ate too much pizza
followed by crepes!
On Sunday we picked up our rental car at 8h30 and embarked
on a tour of the island. On the East side
of the island we enjoyed some stunning views and a coastline that is battered
by the prevailing wind and waves. We stopped at Pointe Venus and Le Trou de
Souffleur – although no water was blowing through this blow hole due to the
direction of the ocean swells. At the isthmus between Tahiti and Tahiti Iti we
opted to go down the West side of Tahiti Iti and found a wonderful seafood
restaurant called Las Plage de Maui right on the sand. Here we celebrated Howard’s birthday again
with wonderful local fish dishes. After
too much lunch we continued to the end of the road where the famous Teahupoo
surfing beach is found. Returning up the
West side of the main island we enjoyed a relaxing, cool walk through the
botanical gardens. These gardens were
planted in the early 20th century by the American Harrison Smith.